Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When they watched the rechoreograph of their song, a chorus of "ahh"'s and " oohh"'s echoed around the dance practice room as they got to the second pre chorus.

Unlike the usual choreography, one of the members had to sit on two other members' legs and look at the one to their right. Since the vocals were high, Seunghyun was sure to take it. The other two, however, were yet to be decided.

They sat in a circle, Jinho, their leader, distributing the non-singing dance parts.

"Since the three need to stay at the back during Seungjun and Jinho's part and Ksoul and Mingeun are to their side, I think it's decided who it's gonna be."

The members blinked as they did the process of elimination in their head which left Beomjun and Myungjae. Their heads turned as they asked whether it was a good idea to decide that fast.

"Well, Myungjae needs to conserve energy for the upcoming dance break and Beomjun's line is right before Seungjun and mine, so it only makes sense to give them a break for a bit as Seunghyun takes the spotlight." Jinho explained, the members nodding in understanding. Myungjae, however, was as stiff as a rock.

He very badly hoped that he wasn't the one Seunghyun looked at, or he would melt on the spot. It's not that he likes him or anything, he just thinks he's cool. Totally.

"Are you okay with it, Myungjae hyung?"

"Uh… yeah, sure."

"Myungjae-ah, your face is turning red. Should I get your inhaler?" Seunghyun's hand on his shoulder only made him turn redder. He knew that he didn't need it— considering the fact that his face would be blue if he was actually breathless— but couldn't say no either. At least not without a reason.

So, instead, he stuttered. "Y-Yeah, thanks."

The older flashed his usual puppy smile before standing up and jogging over to the table where their bags were placed, going through Myungjae's bag like it was his own and taking out the device.

"Wait, how come you need it now? We haven't even started practicing yet." Seungjun pointed out and suddenly all eyes were on him as they waited for an answer.

"Yeah, don't you only lose breath when you do vigorous movements for a long period of time?" Ksoul said this time, everyone's curiosity raising as they waited for an answer.

"O-Oh, well, that's because-" As if on time, Seunghyun came back with his inhaler before sitting next to him, Myungjae thanking him gratefully before taking a huff.

He put it down and took a deep sigh. Nothing changed as he expected. It wasn't his asthma that made him lose breath.

It was Nam Seunghyun.

———

Practice went by smoothly, Jinho teaching each member one by one without any complication. They were all talented— despite whatever Ksoul thought— and learned the choreography within a few hours.

It was time for the second pre chorus and Jinho slowly walked everyone through with counting. He was a good teacher, making sure no one was left behind.

Jinho and Seungjun sang their duo part as they had no music yet while Ksoul and Mingeun danced from behind.

Finally, the part Myungjae had been dreading. He, Seunghyun, and Beomjun made their way to their position where they stood behind the four who finished their parts and did a graceful wave of their hands before kneeling on the ground.

Myungjae looked at Seunghyun through the side of his eye as he sang and danced gracefully, backing up as he did and sitting on his and Beomjun's knees.

He crossed his legs and turned to Myungjae, closer than they've ever been, gently gliding his hand over his cheek. With Seunghyun's cold hands swiping on his warm face, Myungjae can't tell if his face is turning red from his lack of oxygen, the heat, or the pretty boy on top of him.

The part finished just as soon as it came, Seunghyun getting up while the two turned around to kneel in the opposite direction.

Myungjae breathed heavily, feeling like the older took his lungs away and left him with nothing but a few puffs of air left. In fact, he started getting light headed. He breathed desperately and right next to him, Mingeun noticed.

"Myungjae, are you okay?"

The blonde barely heard him before nodding his head slightly. He didn't even look at him, scared that he might fall any second if he did.

Mingeun was ready to tell them to stop the practice, but he was too late. Seungjun was already finishing his line which meant everyone had to stand back up.

Thud!

Everyone's heads snapped to see where the sound had come from. Myungjae had fallen to his knees before falling forwards, his head hitting the polished wood floor with a bang so loud that it alerted even the 90's love team on the other side of the room.

"Shit!" Seungjun was the first to move, being the one closest to the blonde. He quickly picked him up and gently let him rest his back against his chest. He was unconscious and his breathing was slower than it should be by the looks of his heaving body.

The other team rushed over and crowded the unconscious boy. Everyone was in a frenzy and only Minseo was clear-minded enough to grab his inhaler from one of the desks.

Seunghyun took it from him and brought it to Myungjae's lips, watching as he inhaled it through muscle memory. He knew that that wasn't the right time, but the younger looked so pretty with his eyes closed.

"Is he okay?" Hyeontae asked worriedly. Beomjun could only give him the same worried look before patting his back. "I'm sure he is."

Hikaru and Ksoul— who both disappeared from the scene— came back with a wet cloth and a bandage and Seunghyun retreated to let them pass, Hikaru kneeling down to clean the blood dripping from his forehead.

"He must've hit his head pretty hard. Can someone get an ice pack?" He asked, Beomjun saying that he was on it and taking Sangwoo with him.

Seunghyun's eyebrows furrowed worriedly. If Myungjae felt like passing out, why couldn't he have said so?

"He probably didn't want to hold you guys back." Hyunwoo's hand was on his shoulder. Had he said that out loud?

"Yeah, but he should know that his health and safety should be a priority. He's the most vulnerable out of everyone here."

Hyunwoo agreed silently. Myungjae wasn't just asthmatic, but sickly too. It was worrying to the point that the director and producers suggested he should withdraw from the program, but his stubbornness didn't let him listen.

Beomjun and Sangwoo came back with an ice pack, Hikaru taking it and pressing it on Myungjae's forehead after he cleaned the wound.

Despite being unconscious, he looked so pretty. Seunghyun admired the way his lips were slightly parted, letting out quiet breaths as his heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. His eyes darted to the hand wrapped around his waist and the chest he was leaning against.

A pit of jealousy brewed at the bottom of his stomach upon noticing Seungjun's hands all over him. He snapped himself out of it, feeling stupid for thinking such things.

A few minutes passed and everyone waited anxiously for Myungjae to wake up. The 90's love team went back to practicing but still helped keep a close eye on him in between breaks.

Seungjun still had the blonde resting on him, seated in between his legs with his back to his chest. He held the ice pack on Myungjae's forehead, gasping slightly each time the younger would grumble, only for him to stay unresponsive.

To his right, Seunghyun watched closely. He counted each time Myungjae's chest would heave, being on guard in case anything happened to his breathing.

Mingeun was just to Seungjun's left, sleeping on Beomjun's lap as Beomjun carded his fingers through his hair, sleep soon catching up to him, too.

Jinho sat at the opposite side of the room, running his fingers through his hair and down his face in stress. He felt like a terrible leader for thinking Myungjae could practice in an unstable condition.

After each round of practice, Myungjae needed to take a few puffs of his inhaler. It wasn't because he was tired, it's because it kept repeating. Jinho should've just let him sit it out until the other members got it right.

"It's not your fault, Jinho." Minseo reassured as he went to sit next to him. Hyeonggeun followed, sitting at his unoccupied side. "How is he?"

"I don't know… it's been at least 40 minutes now. Should we take him to the hospital?"

"You know what the director said. He said to wait for one and a half hours for him to wake up before we can take him." Hyeonggeun reminded. As much as he wanted to bring him to the hospital, they had no choice but to wait.

Jinho sighed defeatedly and rested his forehead in his palms. The two next to him rubbed his back comfortingly.

Just then, the sound of a pained groan filled the silent room, everyone's heads snapping to look at the direction it came from, even Mingeun and Beomjun who were half-asleep.

"Myungjae, you're okay!" Seunghyun exclaimed happily, the younger looking at him through squinted eyes before hissing and feeling his head.

"Oh, sorry!" Seungjun pressed the ice pack back against his forehead apologetically.

Everyone rushed over, surrounding Myungjae with worried looks and an abundance of questions about how he felt. His head was spinning as he could only hear ringing in his ears.

"Ugh, what happened?" He asked, taking ahold of the ice pack and holding Seungjun's forearm which was still wrapped around his waist.

"You collapsed. Are you okay?"

Myungjae turned his head to see Minseo so close to him, their faces mere inches apart. He could see his strong eyebrows, full lips, and sharp nose much clearly now. Their breaths hit each other's face before he looked away, embarrassed.

"It's okay if you can't talk yet, just take your time." There was a slight squeeze on his abdomen from behind that made him turn around. This time, he was met face to face with Seungjun who looked at him with worried eyes. Worry never looked so pretty on someone.

Myungjae blushed and looked away to hide it, only for a hand to wrap around the back of his neck, making him look up once again. Hyunwoo looked at him worriedly just like everyone else did. "If you're not okay, we can take you to the hospital."

He loses consciousness once again.

When he woke up, he was now on his own bed. He sat up, rubbing his forehead in pain. Myungjae's eyes darted, realizing that it was nighttime and everyone was asleep. He also realized that his bed felt different than before.

The blonde looked down, finding Seunghyun asleep on his bed with his arms wrapped around his waist. He was still in jeans, indicating that he probably didn't mean to fall asleep.

Memories rushed back into Myungjae's mind and he turned into a tomato once again. His hands dragged down his face with a quiet groan.

He was so fucked.

Chapter Text

The next night in the dorms, he was washing his face when a figure came up to him from behind to get ready to brush his teeth. Myungjae couldn't see who it was, so he ignored him as he finished washing up.

Upon raising his head and flipping his hair back to gently wipe his face, the figure began to speak.

"Are you okay, Myungjae? Minseo told me what happened yesterday." Myungjae recognized that voice as Taeseon's. He lowered his towel and smiled at the older reassuringly.

"It's nothing, hyung. Don't worry, I'm fine." He went back to drying off his face. The lights in the bathroom were dim and the space between him and Taeseon was far enough that he didn't collapse due to his attractiveness.

Myungjae had terrible eyes, anyways. He'd need to be at least a few inches away from someone to really take in their beauty.

As he was drying his face, a hand wrapped around his boney wrists, holding tight so he couldn't move his right arm. When he turned, he saw the other with a stern expression on his face.

"It's not "nothing", Myungjae. We're really worried about you. What's going on? Is it really just your asthma doing this?"

Myungjae sighed and tried to free his wrist, only for Taeseon's grip to tighten until he was sure it'd leave a bruise. "C-Can you let me go?"

"No, or else you'll run. Tell me what's wrong."

The blonde gulped when the other used the assertive voice he recognized as his leader voice. He was like a siren when he used that voice even when he was just talking, enticing people to do as he says and tell him the truth.

"I-I…" Myungjae stuttered, barely able to get any words out. Taeseon's eyebrows furrowed and he yanked the younger's wrist so he was now with his back to the wall, one of hand pinned above his head.

"Tell me what's wrong, Myungjae-ah. We can help you if there's anything."

The mentioned boy's eyes widened as their faces were close. Even in the dim light, he could see the freckles Taeseon hid with makeup, his natural blush that changed depending on the temperature, his pink lips that curled up at the corners even if he wasn't smiling.

Myungjae completely tunes out the older's nagging, turning red in the face once again when he noticed that his other hand had joined the one that was pinned above him.

"Myungjae, are you even listening?"

"Hyung, you're so pretty."

Taeseon stops talking, eyes widening and his head retracting in shock at the sudden observation. Before he could speak, the other's head lolled.

He fell unconscious again.