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As a young kid, Minghao had always been very picky with his clothing. Some clothes were nice and soft, while others were rough and uncomfortable. Minghao found that if his clothes weren’t made of cotton or silk, they often made his skin flare up in nasty rashes, dry skin cracking and bleeding if he picked at them.
At first, his parents had thought he had some form of sensory issue, but when they first noticed the bleeding on his arms when he was four, they had figured out that it was eczema. Minghao honestly would’ve taken anything over eczema, but he wasn’t that lucky. Instead, he grew up with a wardrobe full of cotton, bamboo and silk clothes.
When Minghao joined Seventeen at only 17 years old, clothing became a living nightmare for him.
As a Kpop idol, Minghao wasn’t allowed to pick his own stage outfits, and even the shirt he was given with his Korean name on was made of some sort of polyester. Minghao didn’t even know how to complain, only knowing the basics in Korean, so he simply had to live with the pain of itchy, cracking skin everyday.
At some point a few weeks after debut, Minghao managed to get his hands on a nice cream that he could put on after a shower that helped moisturise his skin and reduce the pain, but it didn’t work 100%.
Once the group started being allowed a say on their own styling choices, Minghao went straight to his favourite stylist and told him everything about his eczema and how painful certain materials were. Life improved significantly after that. Minghao was given lots of cotton and bamboo shirts to wear rather than the nasty synthetic materials he had always been given before. Jeans were still an absolute pain, and pretty unavoidable for some comebacks, but he was given looser fitting jeans than the other members to try and tone down how much it would set off his rashes.
Five years after debut, still nobody knew about his eczema in the group, but that changed when Junhui went into his wardrobe one day and for once noticed that everything in there was either cotton, bamboo or silk save for Minghao’s extensive jean collection. Much to Minghao’s displeasure, Junhui approached him about it.
Junhui caught Minghao while the two of them were cooking dinner, saying almost nonchalantly, “Oh yeah, Hao, why are all of your clothes made of cotton or that soft stuff? I get that you like to be comfy but damn, isn’t that restrictive? Are you trying to be all eco-friendly, because that would be cool?”
Minghao sighed, turning to look at Junhui, sort of disappointed that in the many years Junhui had been stealing his clothes he hadn’t noticed the same thing. “I have eczema. It’s really bad so I have to wear all natural stuff to avoid rashes. And yes, it's very restrictive, so pay me some respect that I’m still the fashion king of his group despite having more restrictions than you lot.”
Junhui laughed, almost knocking over the pan that was resting on top of the stove. “Right then, fashion king, will you get over here and try some of the amazing soup I’ve almost finished to make sure I won’t kill anyone with the taste.”
Once Minghao had tried some of the admittedly delicious soup Junhui had made, they set up the table and sat down to eat with the rest of the group.
When Junhui and Minghao got into their bed that evening, Junhui spoke up again. “Is that why you always insist on bamboo bed sheets? Ooh, and your silk pyjamas. I love your silk pyjamas.”
Junhui wrapped an arm around Minghao’s waist and dragged him closer, Minghao squealing as he was pulled across the bed from where he had just gotten comfy.
“Yes, Hui. Of course it is.” Minghao sighed. “Maybe that's why I love you so much with your pretty cotton-filled head. Now stop asking questions and sleep. We both need it.”
Junhui’s laugh was music to Minghao’s ears. Minghao always loved how Junhui never took his jokes to heart. With a final kiss, the two boys fell asleep in each other’s arms, comfortable and warm under the soft bamboo bed sheets.
———————
Only a few days later the group was busy on promotions for Left & Right.
Minghao wasn’t happy about his outfit. He had been given a pair of denim jeans and a matching denim jacket. Denim had always been one of the worst fabrics for Minghao, always making his skin dry and itchy. The cotton tank top was the only relief he had, but it did nothing to cover his arms.
After one of their final comeback shows, Minghao ran off stage the moment the lights went out and grabbed his bag of soft clothes, hiding in the bathroom to get changed as tears flooded down his cheeks.
His legs and arms were so red, skin cracked and bleeding in some places. Minghao wished he had thought to bring his eczema cream with him, but that was his own stupid mistake.
Minghao sat curled up in one of the cubicles for the better part of fifteen minutes before he heard the soft voice of Jeonghan calling his name. His Chinese name. It made him want to cry even more.
When Jeonghan knocked on the cubicle door, Minghao sighed and undid the lock, stepping out and into Jeonghan’s arms. Jeonghan held him tight, careful to avoid any of the worse spots of rashes on Minghao’s arms.
“Junhui told me about your eczema. You should have told us so we could get your outfit changed.'' Jeonghan said, voice soft as he spoke.
Minghao nodded. “One of the stylists knows, but she was sick when the outfits were decided. I didn’t want to be a problem.”
Jeonghan sighed, tightening his arms around Minghao. “Okay, honey. Let’s go home so you can get some rest.”
Jeonghan kept his arm around Minghao as they walked out to the minibus, getting a head start against everyone else so Minghao could get some peace and quiet.
The minibus was quiet on the way back home. Everyone had clearly noticed Minghao darting off as soon as the performance was finished and they were smart enough to keep quiet on threat of Jeonghan.
When they got back to the dorms, Junhui took over Minghao-duty and led him up to their dorm, Jeonghan giving Minghao a final hug before he said goodbye and watched the two Chinese men head up to the top floor.
When Junhui and Minghao reached the top floor, they unlocked the apartment door, Mingyu and Wonwoo following behind them, and headed straight to their room. Junhui and Minghao got changed, Minghao into some silk pyjamas and Junhui into a pair of basketball shirts and a tee that was clearly five sizes too big for him.
Junhui climbed into bed behind Minghao, looping an arm around his waist to hold him close and press a kiss to his cheek.
“I’m sorry about today. I’m sure Jeonghan will deal with it well.” Junhui whispered, pressing little kisses to Minghao’s face as he spoke.
Minghao writhed around in Junhui’s arms until he could bury his face into Junhui’s chest. “Not your fault. Jeonghan will definitely deal with it.”
Junhui chuckled, knowing that Jeonghan would probably have ripped the heads off a few people if he had his way. “Jeonghan hates seeing you upset. Especially when you ran off crying. He said that next time you should always go to him to cry because he can wipe away your tears for you. I’m saying the same thing. We’re always here for you, HaoHao.”
Minghao smiled. “Stop being cheesy and let me sleep.”
Junhui smiled as he pressed a final kiss to Minghao’s cheek before he closed his eyes and let himself drift off with Minghao in his arms.