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Join a pop punk band Seungcheol, they say. It will be fun Seungcheol, they say.
If you had asked Seungcheol five years ago what to expect before joining a pop punk band with his best friends he could have assumed maybe three things.
- At some point he’s going to have to wear all black. Vernon insists on fitting the “image” of a pop punk star, whatever that means.
- Late nights will be spent writing, writing, writing. Pouring his worst fears and bottomless hopes onto a piece of paper until his fingers bled, searching for that one line, the one hook to captivate an audience.
- Cup ramen will overflow his credit card statement because up and coming artists don’t exactly make bank.
And so far, he’s been pretty correct in his assumptions. Five years in and black takes up the majority of his wardrobe and his body is about 75% more sodium than it was in university. The only difference in his expectations is the bleeding more so came from the heavy drum banging he’d partaken to rather than his time spent writing, but he’ll still count it as accurate.
They’ve done well as a team, more than others can say. Breaking into the still developing punk scene in Seoul meant they needed to lay a foundation for who they were. Diamond, coined by Seungcheol himself after too many late nights with too many energy drinks, took inspiration from the early heavy guitar riffs from All Time Low and rock ballads of Avril Lavigne.
It took a few years, small clubs and local events taking up most of their schedule as they all worked menial jobs to come up with extra cash, but one viral hit and an email offering a recording contract later and all of a sudden they were one of the biggest names in pop punk in Asia. No longer needing their day jobs, each moment was spent thinking of the band, the music, the look . And a recording contract meant an actual practice space. With working amps and everything.
All great and dandy, except they have practice in 30 minutes and Vernon is still knocked out in his room after him and Seungkwan got into a fight last night.
Rolling his eyes, Seungcheol bangs on the door in front of him, “Vernon-ah! Get up, we gotta go!”
A groan sounds from the room before Seungcheol pushes his way in, looking at the pathetic display in front of him.
Hansol, known to the public as his middle name Vernon, lies haphazardly in his bed pushed up against the wall. His room is a disaster, papers with scrawled lyrics everywhere and takeout piling up next to his bed. Peeling tape threatening to drop the hundreds of posters and quotes he’s got painting his walls.
Vocals, and sometimes guitar, Vernon’s strong baritenor voice is at the forefront of many of their hit songs, with even more writing credits to back it. A compliment to Seungcheol’s low tone, joining forces had been a match made in heaven, discovered when covering a Green Day song during noraebang, Vernon singing his heart out while Seungcheol threw out whatever English words he could remember from the song in harmonization. The light in Vernon’s eyes flaring for days as he pestered Seungcheol. Let’s start a band hyung, a real one. You, me, Shua, and Mingyu, yeah?
Aish he’s usually cleaner than this. Seungcheol thinks to himself as he steps over the mound of clothes Vernon has laying on the floor.
Shaking him once, he calls “Vernon. Vernon . Wake up.”
No response means his next step, whacking Vernon until something moves. His weapon of choice being the closest pillow hanging off the edge of the bed.
Getting a good grip on it, he aims a sharp thump to the face, effective enough to get Vernon’s eyes to flutter open.
“Sunshine?”
A guffaw breaks out of Seungcheol’s mouth. Ha, even in dreamland he's thinking of Seungkwan, “Not your sunshine Vern-ah, but appreciate the compliment.” he winks, even though Vernon most likely can’t see him in his sleep daze.
Vernon barely lifts his head, dried drool at the corner of his mouth and only one eye slightly open.
“What time is it?” he asks blearily, looking for his phone amongst the covers.
“Ten, we gotta leave in the next five minutes if we want to make it to the studio in time.”
“Shit-” Vernon exclaims, fighting with his duvet to get it off of him before clumsily running to the bathroom, presumably to change out of his shirt. Despite its dark red color, he can still see the stain on it from when Seungkwan threw his drink at Vernon last night, loudly claiming that he was done with him and his games before walking out of the club they were in.
Ah Seungkwan, ever the presence to be around.
Boo Seungkwan. Cherubic little spitfire disguised as a youth music teacher who hosts on the side. Typically adorned by soft fabrics and fluffy bangs, he’s a stark presence next to his long term boyfriend’s safety pinned shirts and ripped jeans - at least I think they’re together right now? Seungcheol wonders vaguely. Voice sweet as candy, skin as smooth as silk, it’s no wonder Vernon was a goner from the word ‘go’.
Their fight last night was one of many. Him and Vernon - only referred to as Hansol, Sollie, Sol-ah or the precious “ jagiya ” by Seungkwan - have been together on and off these days. Having met through mutual friends at a show one night where they were covering for an act that had gotten sick the morning of, Seungkwan and Vernon hit it off like a house on fire, spending every waking moment together after that night.
While best friends and acclaimed twin flames, their bursts of love then hatred hit fast and burned everyone around them. When they were on good terms they were cuddly and gross and soft like melting cotton candy. A picture perfect scene with soft edges around the perimeter. It was the bad days everyone feared. The ugly, disgraceful jealousy. The yelling when not spending enough time together, grating as it ricocheted off the walls into the night. The petty flirting with other people to make the other mad. A non-extinguishable flame of rage. The last one really grinded on Seungcheol’s gears. If he has to break up another fist fight at a club and disinfect another black eye because Vernon decides to get possessive he’s going to lose his shit. The two of them were inevitable and inseparable when good, but when it was bad they burned and burned and burned .
It’s a wonder sometimes how they’re still together, but one too many days without the other and then they’re back in each other’s orbit like nothing ever went wrong. Sappy and lovey as a stereotypical high school k-drama.
Well…maybe not a high school drama if the compromising position Seungcheol caught them in last week was anything to go by.
It would be hilarious if it didn’t give Seungcheol such a headache.
Trailing his feet to the bathroom dorm, he speaks through the wood separating them, “When did you even get home last night? I didn’t see you before I fell asleep.”
“Around 4, woke up on a patch of grass next to the entrance of the expressway. Took a taxi back.” Vernon’s voice yells back.
“Vern, you can’t be doing that shit! What if you got hit by a car?”
Typical. A fight with Seungkwan usually led to a binge drinking night out for Vernon. Said it made him “feel” his emotions more, as if that made sense. Seungcheol’s been through enough nights of having to drag Vernon home to know that “feeling” his emotions over soju could be replaced by better hobbies. Has Vernon tried yoga? Yoga seems like a less stressful hobby for Seungcheol to have to witness. He should recommend it at their next group meeting.
The door rips open, a new shirt on Vernon’s body and leftover eyeliner still smudged around his eyes.
“Got hit by a car? Sounds like good writing material to me. Let’s go hyung, you said we’re gonna be late, right?” He negs at him, walking out of his bedroom.
Yeah, definitely recommending the yoga at the next team meeting.
_
A pristine studio with state of the art equipment seems to go against the whole “starving, brooding artist” thing his group has going on, but Seungcheol’s not complaining.
After dragging Vernon up, making it to the company building is a simple affair of Seungcheol driving and Vernon pulling his headphones over his beanie as he gazes out the window. Despite being an award winning songwriter, he can never seem to let his daydreaming escape with the passing world go as they ride to their company. He types away on his phone, ignoring Seungcheol as music blares in between his ears. Seungcheol weaves his way through the familiar streets, his own music humming low in the car.
Making their way to their dedicated space, pushing the door open reveals his team. Joshua and Mingyu sit across the couch, both typing away on their phones. Jeonghan, their team manager, stands off to the side, fiddling with the sound equipment. He glances up as the door opens.
“About time.”
Yoon Jeonghan. An enigma. Cunning to a dangerous degree, eyes constantly filled with mirth as he analyzes down to the depths of one’s soul in a split second. Beautiful to a fault as well, with soft features framed by just slightly too long hair curling around his ears.
He’s as terrifying as he is gorgeous, and Seungcheol’s been obsessed since the day he met him. Not that he’d ever mention it.
Seungcheol bows slightly, pushing Vernon’s head down with him. “Sorry, had trouble getting Vernon up this morning.”
“Rough night Vernonie?” Jeonghan says, all knowingly, a chuckle making its way out of his next breath. While never joining them on their nights out, he seems to figure out every single thing that happened with just a look. Despite his slim stature and oversized sweaters, one word out of his mouth and he quickly takes the number one spot as the most intimidating person in the room.
Vernon, ears flushing red, seems to choose to ignore that comment, instead shouldering his way past Seungcheol and into the recording room.
His eyes meet Jeonghan’s, twin grins on their faces as they grab seats next to each other to listen to Vernon scream out his emotions in the mic.
Ah, the youth. Ever the dramatic.
_
It’s later on when they’re in the middle of a discussion of No, Mingyu-ah, just because Soonyoung tells you it’d be cool if the band did an album cover full of tigers doesn’t mean we’re going to do it when a ringtone of Wonder Girls’ Nobody breaks through the room.
Quirking an eyebrow, Mingyu nudges Vernon next to him, “Listening to some new music lately Sol-ah?” he asks with amusement dancing in his eyes, Seungkwan’s nickname sarcastically dripping out of his mouth like syrup.
Kim Mingyu, bass and accompanied vocals. A puppy-like face with a body like a tank. The face of the group, he’ll eye-rollingly tell people. After a grueling semester together in university, Vernon picked up Mingyu from one of their shared classes and brought him to a movie night, his presence becoming a familiar sight shortly after. While Mingyu’s face could be used for modeling contracts, god knows he's gotten offers, when they brought up the idea to him he surprisingly agreed. Said he wanted to do something real , to feel the rawness of being a rockstar.
Hilarious , Seungcheol internally scoffs while thinking back. The only real and raw experience they had was having a group cry after realizing all of their bank accounts hit the negatives a year into their shtick and one of them would have to sell feet pictures in order to put dinner on the table.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Vernon flips him off before jumping to his feet, stepping out of the studio as a low, soft “Kwan-ah?” drifts its way in, the door shutting behind him.
Jeonghan waits a beat before asking, “They’re good right now?”
Seungcheol rolls his eyes, “Who knows, they fought last night but it looks like they figured it out somehow between me waking him up and the twenty minutes we rode in the car over here.” It is about that time for their usual fight, like clockwork at this point. Seungcheol wonders how they’ll do it this time. If Seungkwan will flirt with another guy and cause Vernon to go on a tirade or Vernon will get in his own head for a few days and not answer his phone, causing Seungkwan to rampage through the studio looking for him.
He hopes it’s the latter. Usually Seungkwan will bring him apology coffee for causing a scene when that happens. Vernon still thinks he can act out because they’re in the same group and “I can’t help it when I see someone else with Kwan-ah, hyung, something just takes over me. Just like you and Jeonghan.”
Seungcheol smacks him over the head after that comment.
Tch, jokes on him. Now he doesn’t tell Vernon shit about how pretty Jeonghan is and how annoying it is to see the interns smile up at Jeonghan like he contains all the stars in the sky. How do you like that ?
A bang, the door reopening jerks all their attention to Vernon, who is decidedly not in a good mood anymore.
Stalking to the solo chair in the corner, Vernon tears his earphones out of his bag, along with his lyric notebook, a tangerine sticker contrasting the dark color of the moleskin.
He’s huffing, eyebrows drawn in as he slams his stuff against the table in front of him, no regard for the noise he’s making, backpack loudly hitting the floor as he throws himself into the chair.
They’re all staring at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but Vernon’s not speaking.
Joshua’s voice peaks up from next to Mingyu, “Everything good Vern?”
Hong Jisoo, preferably Joshua. Vocals as light as air with sharp tang in between his teeth. Keyboard and supporting guitarist when necessary. The only one Jeonghan declares to be on his “level” as they both scheme behind everyone’s backs. If Jeonghan is the beautiful ethereal mastermind then Joshua’s his little sweet smiling second in command, the two becoming gremlins of people when their forces join.
Native English speaker, originally from LA. Vernon latched onto him as soon as they met, cracking jokes in foreign tongues that Seungcheol can barely catch sometimes. He was, to all their shock, the easiest to convince to join the band, an excited glint on his face as he let out a simple, “yeah, why not?” when he and Vernon approached him with their pipe dream.
Despite his easygoing characterization, that doesn’t mean he’s not above teasing, Seungcheol and Mingyu usually playing the victims in that respect.
Swiftly following Joshua’s inquiry, Mingyu pipes up next, mocking, “Yeah, did the table do something to you that we don’t know about?”
The pen presses harder into the page, ink smearing across his palm, “Don’t worry about it, hyung.” Vernon spits, and ends it there.
Seems the phone call didn’t go well, Seungcheol muses as his eyes flit back to Jeonghan. Amusement taking over his features, Jeonghan winks at him before stepping up to bat, jeering,
“Well, nothing better than a fight with a boyfriend to get the inspiration going, right Vernon-ah?!” He exclaims while clapping him on the shoulder, tone so bright it could blow a fuse. “Let’s get those creative juices flowing, yeah?” he ends while nodding, a giant, mocking, proud look on his face as he beams uncaringly at Vernon’s seething form.
And because Vernon can’t cuss out Jeonghan like his mind is more than likely doing less he wants to find hair dye in his shampoo tonight, the pen continues to press harder into the paper as Seungcheol hides his giggles into his jacket.
_
The session doesn’t last too long after that, Vernon darting out claiming he’s going to work on some “solo project” back at their shared apartment.
Solo project, my ass. Seungcheol thinks, Probably just going to brood at the Han River. You’re not subtle at all, Chwe Vernon.
Joshua and Mingyu head out shortly after, both citing plans that Seungcheol barely listens to. It does, however, allow him a moment alone with Jeonghan.
His track record of being alone with Jeonghan doesn’t yield high marks, more often making a mockery of himself than anything else. His last attempt led him to oversharing too much about his upcoming doctor’s appointment and no, despite popular belief it really doesn’t come off as cool to talk to your crush about your rash problem
Jeonghan’s jotting down notes next to the soundboard, probably things for their producer, Woozi, to keep in mind, and scrambles his mind for something, anything.
“Do you, um, have any plans this weekend?”
Jeonghan raises an eyebrow at Seungcheol, a quirk to his lips.
“Keeping you all in line seems to take up the majority of my schedule so no, I don’t, Cheollie.”
Crap, that’s embarrassing. Of course Jeonghan doesn’t have personal time, he’s too busy wrangling them together since Seungcheol is such a bad leader! How could he do that to Jeonghan, he deserves better than that!
He can feel his ears burning bright red. “Ah, um, sorry about that. I try to keep them under control but you know- sometimes it’s hard to-" He's sweating, he can feel it. If he tries to lift his hand to scratch at the back of his head like he wants to, there'll be a spot on his armpit he just knows it.
Jeonghan stands, tote bag swinging over his shoulder as he turns to face Seungcheol. “Cheol-ah, calm down. It's literally my job. And I've dealt with way worse, an overdramatic 24 year old and his boyfriend aren't gonna be enough to make me quit."
Oh well that’s great. Nice. Really nice. Because Jeonghan is really nice. And pretty.
He should start saying words again, shouldn’t he?
"Well, I'm glad because, um, I really like working with you." Seungcheol responds, arms swinging against his sides as his body leans closer to Jeonghan’s. He can smell his hair product from here, subtle but apparent, jasmine lifting through the air.
It would just take one moment, to drag a hand and tuck a strand behind his ear, if Seungcheol lets himself dream.
Jeonghan’s eyes smile back, softer than normal. "You're not too bad yourself, Choi Seungcheol."
Be cool. Be cool.
He lets out a puff of air, "Sick, cool. That's really, uh, great. Yeah."
"You're ruining it." Jeonghan says airily, floating away to the exit.
"Yup okay gonna stop talking now."
_
“Sunshine, don’t do this, please.”
Muffled words can be heard as Vernon paces back and forth in the living room. He’s in his pajamas, socks sliding along the hardwood as Seungcheol gently closes the front door, announcing his entry.
“Kwan-ah, light of my life, let me see you. I’ll make it up to you I promise. I'll do anything, my love.”
In that outfit? He’ll have to step that up if he wants to schmooze Seungkwan back into his good graces.
And Seungkwan seems to agree as well if the sigh he can hear all the way from the front door is anything to go by.
Approaching a very haggard Vernon, who spooks at Seungcheol’s approaching figure, he leans forward, taunting,
“Trouble in paradise?” he mouths, wiggling his eyebrows.
The death glare Vernon shoots at him would kill a lesser man, but Seungcheol likes to think of himself as stronger than that.
Flipping him off once more, he should really come up with something new , Vernon continues to pace, voice getting increasingly sappier as he moves his conversation into his room, shutting the door behind him.
Kids these days , Seungcheol chuckles, and goes to prepare lunch.
_
Midnight in his and Vernon’s shared dorm doesn’t usually call for lights out, so Seungcheol takes a nice rest on their sofa and puts on a drama while he eats dinner.
He’s in the middle of a wonderfully calm rewatch of Itaewon Class when Vernon storms through their apartment and rips their front door open.
Jumping almost off his seat, he whips his body around to scold him only to be cut off as none other than Seungkwan appears in his vision, grabbing desperately at Vernon’s hair as they make out against the door frame.
Okay then…
He debates going back to his show and ignoring the display in front of him. Damn, he’s gonna have to rewind back a couple minutes and turn up the volume. Ugh, he was just getting to the good part of this episode too. Maybe he should watch in his room.
Man, he hates watching his dramas on his laptop in his room, preferring the living room space to sprawl out with the wondrous world of surround sound.
Munching on his food, he gives the happy - I think? - couple their Notebook moment while he scrolls on his phone, patrolling the local news articles. Ooh, a new Boba shop opened up nearby, he should text Jeonghan about that.
They keep going for a few minutes, Vernon hiking Seungkwan up on his thigh as he pushes him further into the frame, bodies melding so close together they’re almost indistinguishable as separate entities. Seungkwan’s not being any more subtle, whines coming out of his mouth as his hands shift from Vernon’s hair down to his shoulders, clutching tightly.
We’re gonna get a noise complaint from the neighbors..again. He rolls his eyes and keeps scrolling.
A pathetically long time passes before he gets any acknowledgement. Vernon’s mouth breaks away to trail down Seungkwan’s neck, a moment long enough for Seungkwan to open his eyes and make contact with Seungcheol’s. Lifting a hand to wave at the two, Seungkwan’s eyes widen in horror, mouth opening to yell right as Vernon swoops in to catch it in a kiss again. He lets him have it for just a second, before beginning to squirm against the pressure of Vernon sliding up against him. Finally, Seungkwan gains enough of an upper hand to let out a “ Sollie , not in front of Cheol-hyung.” in a breathy, high voice.
Seungcheol pipes up from behind, teasing lit in his tone,
“Yeah not in front of Cheol-hyung, please . And you’re letting all the cold air in, by the way.” he adds, smirk threatening to take over his face.
Jerking away like he was electrocuted, Vernon faces Seungcheol’s mocking stare with wide eyes. Not surprising, Vernon tends to get a bad case of brain melt whenever he kisses Seungkwan. He lets out a fusion of cut off words, a mixture of what - huh - and shit , before finally deciding on a direction, grabbing Seungkwan’s hand and pointing a finger at Seungcheol, making him look eerily similar to a school librarian, a goth one at that.
“Not a word of this to the others.”
Oh he’s typing to the group chat as we speak. “No promises! Have a good night Seungkwan-ah!”
Seungkwan’s not faring any better, flushed face and hair a disaster, “Love you hyung! I’ll make it up to you. Promise!” he calls out as Vernon drags him off to his room, presumably for some business Seungcheol should count his blessings he’s not seeing live.
His dinner and show dies off around an hour later, Seungcheol dragging his body to his room for some well needed rest.
Thumps and twin moans invade his ear drums as he walks down the hallway to his room. Shutting his door quickly, he throws on a pair of earphones before tucking himself into bed.
He texts Vernon a quick, So are we seeing Seungkwan for brunch next week then? And shuts down his phone.
He’ll act like the hand that slams against the wall in response is just the sound of the wind outside as he dozes off to dreamland.
_
A slam of the door around 3 a.m. jolts Seungcheol awake, followed by a muffled array of angry swears before he hears music blast on.
Ah, Sleeping with Sirens. So Seungkwan won’t be joining them for brunch next week, it seems.
The music turns up even louder.
They’re definitely getting that noise complaint.
_
Jeonghan buys him kimbap as consolation the next morning after he complains for a solid twenty minutes about his wild night in. It only makes his heart flutter a little.
_
A sold out tour is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A dream come true wilder than all of their aspirations combined. It can leave no room for error. No possibility for slip ups.
“I’m performing a new song tonight.”
Vernon declares as he stalks into the venue, eyes blazing with fire. He’s got his leather pants on, which blares the red siren signal in Seungcheol’s brain as soon as he comes into view that something is going to happen tonight and there’s a 90% chance it’s going to send him into a stress sweat. Vernon in his hot pants is never a good sign for a normal evening.
Finally registering the words said, Seungcheol springs up to a stand, disbelief across his face as he sidesteps Vernon’s stride.
“A new- Vern, we haven’t rehearsed anything new?! You can’t just go up with a new song that we haven’t prepared before-”
Vernon swiftly cuts him off, “Went over it with Shua-hyung last night, he’s gonna back me up on guitar, got the back vocals set up with Woozi-hyung this morning and I got sheet music for you to check for the drums tonight. And Mingyu-hyung already agreed when I asked him earlier so. I’m doing it.” He's barely looking at Seungcheol, eyes glazed over but sharp, like he’s thinking thirty steps ahead for his plan, flickering between the stage and the currently empty audience section.
Is he serious right now?
“Are you drunk Vern? What the fuck?” Seungcheol gapes at him
A wild grin returns back on his face, borderline feral. “On the contrary, I’ve never felt more sober, hyung.”
Before Seungcheol can get another word out, Vernon takes off in the other direction, combat boots clicking loudly against the linoleum.
Well, shit . Tonight is either going to be a show for the books, or the show that ends all their careers.
_
They agree to close with the new song, hopefully giving Seungcheol enough time to pull together the beats in his mind before Vernon hits the mic.
Jeonghan, the wonderful manager that he is, laughs right in his face when he expresses concern over Vernon’s plan.
Little shit of an enabler, he is.
Vernon stays aloof in the rehearsal, not even running through his new song in its entirety before cutting it off and saying he’s set. Seungcheol can see what he’s doing, trying to let the high of the stage take over in the moment to let out all his emotions. It’s a good plan in theory, if you prefer the melodramatic route.
Aish, is it too late to go home, sleep, and never wake up again?
The show kicks off without a hitch, venue full to the brim as the energy raises high, higher, higher .
Song after song, Seungcheol pounds at the drums, slamming his frustration across his set, even closing out with a solo when the air really gets to him.
Joshua’s grabbed the guitar for tonight, wailing complicated riffs with ease and Mingyu’s bass notes are striking deep, low heart shaking beats echoing throughout the building.
Vernon is on fire . Running around the stage, head banging with the audience, his aura is towering over everyone, so intense it almost seems like he’ll swallow them all whole.
They break for water before the dreaded last song arrives, and Seungcheol really, really hopes that whatever Vernon planned doesn’t fuck anything up.
Wrapping the mic wire around his hand, Vernon strolls to the center, swagger in his step as he approaches the spotlight.
Even though he only sees Vernon’s back from this angle, his presence is striking as he takes the center. Despite his introverted tendencies, the stage has always been his wheelhouse. His space to mold and shape his audience’s experience.
“Everyone having a good time tonight?“ Vernon croons into the mic, resounding cheers answering back to him making his lips curl.
“This last song is new, and never performed live before.” He explains, voice low and deep as he scans the crowd, “Sunshine. This one’s for you. The only one who makes this cruel world worth living.”
He nods to Joshua who counts off the beat, and the music blares.
Running 'round the whole city for someone
To look me in my eyes and tell me pretty lies
Teardrops keep blurring up my sight
And right now I'm driving in my car
Going so fast, baby, so fast, baby
For how short notice it was, it’s a good song. Really good. Vernon’s messy handwriting dubbing it Black Eye on the sheet music he handed Seungcheol three hours ago.
Angsty, angry, full of the words he can never get out of his mouth, it’s so undoubtedly Vernon he doesn’t know how there was a world where this song didn’t exist prior.
Hurling his sticks to his snare, he lets go of his thought process and just jams , head moving to the beat along with the rest of the band.
Vernon’s having the time of his life, letting all the tenseness he saw prior release out of his body, practically yelling into the mic, emotion thick in his throat. His body is angled to the side of the stage, like he’s aiming to light a fire to someone in the audience.
So why you keep coming to me?
With your innocent eyes, you smile so bright
Stop wasting your sunshine on me
'Cause I can't tell if it's real or a lie
Seungcheol glances to his side quickly to flick his hair out of his eyes only to spot a lone character in the corner of the venue.
Boo Seungkwan. Making heart eyes at one center vocalist.
Oh, now he sees what he’s doing.
Chwe Vernon, you absolute dork .
He’s so going to make fun of him about this later.
_
“Ok, I’ll give it to you, that went better than expected.”
Backstage after a show is quiet, amp backlog still ringing in their ears as they sit in the small dressing room. Mingyu and Joshua left to go grab dinner for the group, leaving Vernon and Seungcheol to their own devices. Jeonghan hangs off to the side, typing details into an Ipad, more than likely updating their social media accounts with photos from the night.
Despite the anxiety-inducing start to the show, walking off the stage is exhilarating, receiving cheers and head pats in numbers up to the ceiling from their crew. Jeonghan specifically gives him a sweet squeeze to the shoulder, thanking him for trusting Vernon.
If he got that every show, he’d let Vernon do whatever the fuck he wanted , Seungcheol thinks dangerously.
“Told you you had nothing to worry about hyung.” Vernon grins back.
Jeonghan cuts in, “You should talk to Woozi about putting that on the album, Vern-ah. I think it could be a real hit.”
Vernon’s eyes shine, excitement coating them at the offer. “Yeah. I think I will.”
“Sol-ah!” A voice interrupts.
Swinging his head around, Seungcheol barely has time to shuffle away before a body ambushes Vernon next to him.
“Sol-ah, is it true? Did you write that for me?” Seungkwan frantically asks, body pressed up against Vernon’s, legs trapping him with arms wrapped around his neck.
Stars in his eyes, Vernon smiles slowly and leans back, encompassing Seungkwan fully in his embrace. “They’re all for you, my lovely muse, every single one.”
Aw. You know, for how much he hounds on Vernon for being a walking disaster when it comes to his relationship he has to admit, they really are quite cute together sometimes.
Seungkwan gets a crazy look in his eye, licking his teeth. “I’ll put a muzzle on you.” he declares before diving down and taking ownership of Vernon’s mouth.
Okay, that’s his cue to leave.
Sliding out from his seat as they begin christening the couch, gross he doesn’t know where this has been , he bolts for the door that Jeonghan is holding open for him, seeming to have caught the hint as well that they were no longer welcome.
“Absolutely nuts, both of them.” he says, exasperated as they walk down the hallway together.
Jeonghan hums, “I don't know, I think they're kinda cute.”
Seungcheol gives him a look, making Jeonghan laugh, nudging his shoulder with his own as they walk a little closer out the exit of the venue.
_
“Sollie,” A voice can be heard behind a closed door, choked up between wet smacking sounds, “You don’t have a license, though.”
“Artistic liberties baby.” another voice pipes back, before words become unimportant once again.
Yeah, Seungcheol’s definitely not covering the cleaning bill for that one.