Work Text:
Chan is a workaholic.
It’s a known fact amongst the boys that Chan has a hard time stopping work at a reasonable time. Now don’t get them wrong, every now and again they have their own habits of pushing it a little too far too.
But Chan? His overworking is on a different level.
This is why when Chan gets into those habits of overworking himself or falling into what they liked to call ‘Leader Guilt’ they have found ways to stop him.
———————
It’s been three days.
What made it worse was one of the days was supposed to be a day off for Chan. Clearly, he didn’t take it.
Jisung was fed up.
He was used to some rough deadlines given to them by the company before but this time around it was just harsh. They had to have nearly twenty songs that fixed the concept of their next album in less than a week.
Sure they had some songs that were already finished that could work but they still have many more to still write. Changbin and Jisung had been taking shifts between each other to continue working on music and also keep an eye on Chan.
Chan had refused to leave the studio at this point.
Jisung knew it was because of the stress of needing so many songs but it still wasn’t an excuse. Chan had written 12 songs in these three days, the only issue is the last few sounds like shit. It was clear that sleep deprivation was trying to take over him.
Jisung couldn’t help but worry as he entered the studio to relieve Changbin. Changbin gave him a sympathetic smile before glancing over to their leader. He looked like shit, hair matted in all different directions and the bags under his eyes getting more severe.
Jisung gives a small nod to Changbin before setting down his stuff and moving to his computer. Changbin gives a quick kiss to the younger boy’s temple before calling out to Chan.
“I’m heading back, don’t overdo it, Channie-Hyung.”
Chan waves him off with a hand, his eyes not moving from his computer screen. Changbin lets out a small sigh before turning on his heels and heading out the door. Jisung boots up the music software and finds the file he was working with last.
The two of them sit in mostly silence aside from the music they are editing. It’s about three hours in that Jisung thinks it’s a good time for a break, having not eaten in a few hours.
He stretches a little as he makes his way to his feet.
“Channie-Hyung, I’m going to get some food, do you want to come with me?”
“I need to finish this song up, Hannie, can you go by yourself?”
“Yeah sure, I’ll probably just go to the convenience store down the road, what would you like?” Jisung asks as he fishes out his wallet from his bag.
“I’m not hungry.”
Jisung glanced over to the older man, his concern growing worse. Chan had a habit of getting in the zone and forgetting to eat or drink something. Jisung hoped Changbin had gotten him to eat before he left and that’s why Chan wasn’t hungry.
“Okay… I’ll be back then,” Jisung mutters, heading for the door.
The whole walk to the convenience store Jisung was in his head. Has Chan eaten? When was the last time the boy ate? He had seen Chan barely eat these past few days.
He needed to know.
Jisung is quick to pull out his phone, digging through it until he finds Changbin’s contact. The line rings a few times before finally, Jisung hears Changbin’s voice on the other side.
“Hannie? Is everything okay?” His voice was rough as clearly, Jisung had just woken him up.
“Umm I’m not sure, did you get Chan to eat anything today? I’m going to the convenience store and Chan said he wasn’t hungry so I want to make sure he’s not starving himself.”
The line was quiet for a few moments.
“… he told me he was going to eat with you when I asked him to eat something earlier. I swear I’m about to go over there and drag him out of the studio myself.”
“No! It’s fine Changbin… I’ll just get him some food and make him eat it. You rest, I’ll see what I can do to get him to leave the studio. If I can’t then we can resort to brute force.”
“Okay… if you think you have it under control then I’ll let you, just call me if you need anything.”
“Of course, Binnie-Hyung. I love you.”
“I love you too, Hannie.”
With that, Jisung hangs up the call and enters the convenience store. He takes a second to find himself and Chan something to eat, also grabbing a few snacks to give Chan options. He grabs a few drinks and makes his way to the register.
The walk back to the studio was a little easier, at least Jisung knew Chan needed to eat and could get him to do so. He just wished Chan didn’t try to do that in the first place, pausing work for all of five minutes to eat something isn’t going to put you behind schedule.
Jisung gets back into the studio and grabs his food from the bag before moving over and setting the bag on. Chan’s desk.
“What’s this? I said I wasn’t hungry.” Chan comments.
“Binnie-Hyung told me you haven’t eaten yet. So you need to eat, Channie-Hyung.”
“Okay, I will. Just give me a second to finish this up real quick.” Chan replies.
With a small sigh, Jisung nods, knowing he didn’t have much of a choice in the compromise. Jisung walked back over to his desk, breaking open some of the food he had gotten. He starts snacking on it as he goes back to his work.
It had been almost twenty minutes and the food was still sitting on Chan’s desk, untouched. Of course, the leader was too wrapped up in work to think about eating. Jisung knew he was doing the best he could but that didn’t mean his mind wasn’t trying to convince him otherwise.
He should go over there and force Chan to stop working and eat.
He should shut down his computer.
He should yell at him until his lungs give out.
Jisung wasn’t doing enough.
His mind was screaming that he wasn’t doing enough.
Jisung could feel the tears well up in his eyes as he suddenly stood from his chair. The chair in question tipped back from the sudden moment and slammed into the floor.
This caught the attention of the leader.
“Jisung, what are you do-“
“Why won’t you eat?” Jisung’s voice was soft as he asked the question.
Chan was caught off guard, surprised by the sudden outburst of the younger boy. Jisung didn’t give him a chance to respond, worried if he didn’t get it out now he couldn’t later.
“I get it, we have an impossible-to-meet deadline right now and we’ve all had to kick it into high gear. The songs won’t write themselves, I understand. But it’s been three, almost four, days now since you came back to the dorms. Everyone is worried about you, and Changbin and I have been trying our hardest to take care of you! To force you into naps even if it means you only sleep an hour or to bring you food and make sure you eat something so you don’t pass out or harm your body more! Yes, you’re our leader, but under no circumstances should you be overworking yourself this hard! I-… I-…”
Jisung could feel his heart pounding in his chest, reaching up to press against it, almost worried that if he didn't, it would beat right out of his chest.
“I-… I can’t… I can’t watch you do this to yo-yourself.”
By this point Jisung’s heart was pounding in his chest and the tears were streaming down his face. His whole body was shaking as he sunk to a squat, hugging onto his calves for dear life as he cried into his knees.
Not even a second later Jisung feels a pair of arms wrap around him, pulling him into Chan’s embrace. Jisung relaxes into the older boy's arm as he tries to calm himself. Chan draws random shapes into Jisung’s back as his other hand gets busy playing with the younger boy’s hair.
The two of them sit like this for a while longer, Jisung trying to calm himself down and Chan trying to console the boy. Eventually, Jisung leans his head back, glancing up at the leader.
“I… I’m sorry I shouted at you.”
Chan offers a small smile, “Don’t be. It was the kick in the ass I needed.”
Jisung lets a small smile fall across his face, “So are you going to eat something now?”
“Yes, I will.” Chan replies, brushing a few strands out of Jisung’s face, “And how about after we head back to the dorms and get some sleep.”
Jisung’s smile goes wider before he leans up, his lips meeting Chan’s in a kiss. For a minute the two boys stay like that, wrapped up in each other and the kiss.
Soon enough they get themselves off the floor and gather their stuff. Hand in hand they make it back to the dorms, to which the members that were still awake were happy to see.
That night Chan and Jisung cuddled together as they drifted off to sleep.
——————————
Their comeback was in three days. That means interviews, awards, and most importantly performances. Chan was not confident on the last one, lately, he’s been pouring more and more work into making sure he gets the dance perfect.
It was starting to worry Hyunjin, especially since the older boy is doing several hours of extra practice on top of their already scheduled practices. This is the second-day Hyunjin watched as Chan practiced for an extra three hours without even stopping for a water break.
Hyunjin knew if he didn’t intervene soon, it wouldn’t be good. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, especially with how hard-headed Chan was. He always preaches pacing himself and taking breaks but always had a hard time understanding that concept himself.
This is why he sat down with Chan and had a long talk about what he was doing and explained if he kept going at it how he was that he’d injured himself. Chan seemed receptive to Hyunjin’s lecture.
But Hyunjin knew better.
They were supposed to have a day off tomorrow and Chan said he was going to stay home and rest. Hyunjin knew that was too good to be true.
Which is how he found himself sitting in their dance practice room on his day off. As far as his boyfriends knew Hyunjin was off at an art class for the day.
Hyunjin had a sneaking suspicion that the leader was going to make his way back to the dance studio even on their day off. So, as extreme as it may be, he figured he can just sit in the studio and work on his art and wait to see if the other boy would show.
Which inevitably…
The door to the dance studio opens to reveal a certain leader making his way inside. He turns to drop his bag off only to jump, surprised when he finds a Hyunjin staring him down with his arms crossed.
It was like Hyunjin just caught Chan sneaking a cookie from the cookie jar. Chan immediately started trying to stutter out a defense. To no avail though as Hyunjin shoots him a glare and he is quick to quiet down.
“What brings you to the dance studio?” Hyunjin asks the older boy.
Chan ignores the question, “I thought you were at an art class.”
“And I thought you said you’d take a break and rest today.” Hyunjin fires back.
“I know I know, I just… I still feel like I'm sloppy on the dance.”
“Have you heard Minho or me complain about your dancing?”
“Well no but-“
“No buts. You have been doing great with the dance, you’re just getting in your head, Hyung.”
“I know, you’re right. I just really want this comeback to be perfect.” Chan mutters out.
“And it will be,” Hyunjin says, moving to his feet and standing in front of Chan, “Because we have an amazing leader who works his ass off for us to succeed.”
Chan softly chuckles, “I don’t think that’s necessarily true.”
Hyunjin smiles, moving his arms to wrap around Chan’s neck, “Oh but it is, Channie-Hyung. You are our hardworking leader who pushes all of us to be better. Sometimes you just need to be reminded that pushing yourself too much can cause more problems than good.”
Chan nods, knowing the younger boy had a point, even if he didn’t necessarily want to believe he did.
“So, how about we get out of the studio and enjoy our day off? We have practice tomorrow and Minho and I can help you work on the dance a little more if you don’t feel confident about it. But I can promise you, you’re doing amazing, Hyungie.” Hyunjin tells him, twirling his fingers into the ends of Chan’s hair.
“I guess I can accept that compromise,” Chan admits in defeat.
“Good, because you didn’t have a choice either way.” Hyunjin chuckles.
Chan shakes his head before pushing forward to give a kiss to Hyunjin. The kiss was soft and sweet. For a few moments, they stay like that, relaxing with each other.
Eventually, they make their way out of the dance studio and back to the dorms where they finish their day with a small movie marathon and plenty of cuddles.
————————
When it came to Chan overworking himself, Changbin had very little tolerance for allowing it to happen. He had seen Chan in many different ways, sleep deprived and overworked were by far the absolute worst.
So it was no surprise that when Jisung told him Chan hadn’t left the studio in four days, he was pissed.
Changbin tries his hardest to trust Chan. He’s the leader and he loves to make sure everyone is taken care of, surely he should hold the same standards for himself. But every time Changbin is disappointed to find himself or another member having to step in and stop Chan from his self-destructive behavior.
Changbin opens the recording studio door and an awful smell hits his nose. He sees all the cups and old discarded boxes of instant noodles and it is clear Chan is overdoing it. He probably only ever left his chair to go to the bathroom, Changbin is fully aware Jisung was probably bringing him food so he’d eat.
Chan was hunched over the computer, the clicks of his mouse being the only sound in the room. He was so wrapped up in his work he didn’t even notice Changbin enter the room.
Changbin knew as soon as he started trying to get Chan to leave the studio he was going to be dealing with one of two types of Chan. The first one is the sleep-deprived leader who will argue but can still be reasoned with.
The other one…
Changbin reaches out and gives Chan a slight shake on his shoulder, “Hyung, you’ve been locked up here for a few days, you need to take a break.”
“I need to finish this song,” Chan said simply, his eyes staying on the screen.
“And when you’re done? Are you just going to say you have to finish another song? You can finish it up after some rest and when you have a clear head.”
“Just go away, Changbin.”
Well… he was definitely going to be dealing with the second type today.
“No, not until you take a break, even if it’s for a few minutes to get some fresh air.”
“I don’t need a break, I don’t need fresh air, I need to finish this fucking song and all the other songs that still need fixing.”
“Chan-hyung, you’re overworking yourself, you don’t need to be going so hard on this. We will get the songs done in time.”
“Yeah, we.” Chan scoffs.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Changbin knows he shouldn’t indulge in Chan’s crankiness but he couldn’t help it.
“Well, I wouldn’t have to stay so long if you or Jisung started to pull your weight!” Chan shouts over his shoulder.
Yeah, Changbin is done.
“Nope! We’re not doing this! You are sleep-deprived and saying shit you do not mean right now, you’re going home,” Changbin was done, pulling out Chan’s chair and pushing the boy away from his computer.
Chan gets to his feet, stepping in front of Changbin, “What the hell dude! We need to finish up these songs!” Chan fired back.
Changbin didn’t say anything, bending down and hooking a hand behind Chan’s knees, his other hand moving to grab the older boy's wrist. Before Chan knew it Changbin had him up on his shoulders in a fireman’s carry.
“Nap time!” Changbin shouts, not hesitating to walk out of the studio, making sure Chan doesn’t get hit by the door when he does.
Chan tried, and tried, and eventually, he gave up as the younger boy would not budge. It was not easy carrying a grown man a couple blocks home on his shoulder. Changbin is thankful that it’s 3 am and no one is out or else they would be getting stares like crazy.
Changbin manages to finally make it back to their dorm building, only getting a few dirty looks when he walks past the front desk with Chan still on his shoulders. He doesn’t let go until the doors to the elevators shut.
“You know I hate you right?” Chan fires at Changbin as soon as he gets set down.
“No, you don’t, you’re just tired and stressing over deadlines so you’re mad I won’t let you keep overworking yourself. So since you’re not giving yourself healthy boundaries, I will.”
“We’re going to miss our deadline though, we can’t fall be-“
Changbin waved the older boy off, “We will cross that bridge when it comes, hell if it comes. We can get all the songs done, and editing said songs will be easier after you’re clear-headed from rest and proper food.”
“You don’t know that! We still have so many songs to finish and if we do-“
The doors of the elevators open and Changbin grabs hold of Chan’s wrist, practically dragging the boy into their dorm. Changbin closes the door to the dorm behind the two of them before finally letting go of Chan’s arm.
“Go shower. You smell.” Changbin says.
“Changbin I need to get back to the stu-.” Chan starts.
“Shower,” Changbin says firmly, his arms crossed as he stands between Chan and the front door.
Chan rolls his eyes before letting out a sigh and turning on his feet, begrudgingly walking to the shower. It takes a few minutes but Chan finally finishes up his shower and Changbin was at the door with a change of clothes for the older boy.
After Chan gets changed Changbin drags him to his room, and the two lie in the bed. Changbin wraps his arms around the older boy, holding him tight against his chest as he plays with his hair.
It’s not long before Chan is out like a light.
The next morning Changbin wakes up to find Chan drawing circles into his arm. He smiles softly before reaching a hand up to brush at Chan’s bangs, getting the older boy’s attention.
Chan glances up at Changbin, a look of guilt spread across his face, “I’m sorry for what I said, Binnie. I don’t think you or Jisung are slacking when it comes to songs, I should have never insinuated that. I’m also sorry I yelled at you, you didn’t deserve that.”
Changbin offers him a smile, “I know you didn’t, Channie-hyung. It was the exhaustion talking. All I ask is you to stop pushing yourself so much. You shouldn’t have to bear all the burdens, especially regarding deadlines.”
Chan nods, “I know, I know I can count on you and Hannie. I also know I need to be better about not overdoing it too.”
“That you do.” Changbin chuckles.
Chan smiles up at the boy before his face drops a little, “Also. I hope you know I don’t hate you. Of course, I love you and I can’t believe I could ever say such a thing.”
“I know you love me, Channie-hyung. I love you too.” Changbin replies, giving the older boy a quick kiss on his temple.
The two boys lie together for a little longer, enjoying the momentary peace before they have to get up and get on with their day.
———————————
Chan had been in the studio for the past three days, eyes glued to his computer screen. Every time he seems to promise himself he would pace himself better they get a deadline dropped on them and Chan can’t help but lock himself away.
Seungmin had frankly been missing Chan, lately.
He never really had excuses to see Chan when he was working and most of the time he would only let Changbin or Jisung go into the recording studio when he got like this.
Whenever Chan’s overworking got really bad he tended not to want the other members to see it. Hence how the visitor rule got put in place.
Luckily Seungmin convinced Jisung to let him tag along to the recording studio. He told Jisung he wanted to work on recording his vocals, figuring trying out new songs would be a good way to practice. Plus they’d have a better idea of what different voices would sound like in the songs and where Seungmin’s voice would fit best.
Honestly, Seungmin was sure he could have convinced Jisung with less. Nonetheless, he was able to tag along so that’s all that mattered anyways.
When Seungmin had stepped into the studio he couldn’t help but glance around to find Chan. Chan was of course sitting in his chair, lost to the world as he focused on his music.
“Okay go ahead and hop in the booth, I’ll pick out a song we can mess around with,” Jisung explains, wasting no time in moving to his desk.
Seungmin gives him a nod, tossing his bag to the side before stepping into the recording booth. For the next hour or so Jisung and Seungmin worked together on a few different songs, getting a few good recordings during this time.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom, did you want to mess around and try a few variations of the chorus for this song?” Jisung asks
“Sure, why not, I’ll see what I can come up with,” Seungmin responds.
With that Jisung heads out of the room for the time being, leaving the younger boy in the recording booth alone. Well technically Chan was there but he was still wrapped up in his own songs.
Seungmin tries the chorus a few different ways, none of them feeling right. He tries a few more times, to no avail, before his eyes glance over to Chan.
Seungmin moves to peek his head out, getting Chan’s attention off the first time since he’s come into the studio.
“Hyung, do you mind listening in and telling me what you think is missing?”
“Sure, I don’t mind, Minnie,” Chan says, moving over to the desk with all the buttons that Jisung was sitting at before he left.
Seungmin ran the chorus once more, still not happy with how it sounded.
“What do you think, Hyung? Something just doesn’t feel right I guess.”
“Hmm… maybe we can try it higher? It doesn’t fit the rest of the song with how it’s being sung now.”
Seungmin nods and he runs the chorus again, it’s a little better but still not where it needs to be. They keep at this for a little while longer, the chorus not sounding right to either of the boys.
By this point, Seungmin’s voice was going a little horse with how much he was trying to hit the higher notes for the chorus. Yet he didn’t want to stop, determined to get it right.
Unlucky for him Chan could hear the strain in Seungmin’s voice and it was pretty clear he was going to lose his voice if he didn’t stop.
Chan presses the button so Seungmin can hear him, “I think this one sounds pretty good. Let’s go with it.”
“Are you sure? I feel like I can do it better.”
“It’s fine, Minnie. We’ll just keep the last take and we can always come back later if we want to redo it.”
“Channie-Hyung, I know it sounds bad. Just let me do it one more time and I promi-“
“No, Seungmin. You’re going to lose your voice if you keep trying this. You need to take a break and rest your voice.”
“You know it’s hard to lecture someone about resting when you don’t rest, Hyung.” Seungmin comments.
Chan sighs.
Of course, Seungmin had a point, it’s not like he could deny it with his matted-up hair and eye bags that you could see from across the room.
Well, Chan had a few choices. He could let Seungmin keep going, which was not going to happen. He could pull the leader card and make Seungmin stop, but he’d be a hypocrite and Seungmin wouldn’t accept that answer easily.
Or…
“Okay, you got me. How about we both call it quits for the day? Does that sound fair?” Chan proposes.
Seungmin thinks for a moment before nodding, moving to take off the headphones and get out of the recording booth.
Chan lets out another sigh, keeping his word as he moves to his computer to save and close everything out. Chan grabs his bag and turns to find Seungmin also with his bag, all ready to go.
Seungmin was quick to pull the older boy into a hug, tucking his face into Chan’s shoulder.
“Thank you.”
A weak smile spreads across Chan’s face as he wraps his arms around the younger boy. Chan knew how much the boys didn’t like seeing him overworked, especially the younger ones.
“No, thank you. If you didn’t make that comment I’d probably have gone right back to work.” Chan responds.
Seungmin moves to glance up at Chan, offering a smile to the older boy. Chan can’t help but smile back wider as he leans down and kisses the boy.
The kiss was precisely what Chan needed in this moment, it was full of love and understanding. This moment was perfect…
A throat clearing pulled the two boys from each other.
“What did I miss?” Jisung asks, glancing between the two boys.
“Not much, I’m just going to take this one home for the day, I’ll probably take a nap too. Do you mind finishing up?” Chan asks.
Jisung didn’t hesitate to respond, “Not at all. Get some rest, Channing-Hyung.”
With that, the two boys make their way out of the studio and back to the dorms. It doesn’t take Chan long to settle into bed, Seungmin lying down with him.
—————————
Minho is going to kill Chan.
In the most loving way possible of course.
Chan has been running himself into the ground. If it’s not locking himself in the studio, it’s being stuck in the dance studio practicing the dance a million times, or being off with a vocal teacher to work on his voice for their newest comeback.
Minho is certain Chan had not stepped foot in the dorms in the past four days. He definitely smells like he hasn't at least.
Considering he is the second oldest in the group and the current oldest is driving himself into an early grave, Minho will have to be the responsible one. That fucking sucks in his opinion, especially when it means babysitting his Hyung.
So Minho did just that, he’d watch him carefully when he drilled the dance or made sure he had food when he tucked himself off in the studio. Hell, he forced Chan to chug down some tea so he wouldn’t completely ruin his vocal cords.
Minho was already going crazy with having to chase down Chan and make sure he was taking care of himself. No matter what he does Chan is still running off no sleep since his solution to this was 20-minute naps on the studio couch.
So, Minho had enough.
Chan was once again in the dance studio and he had asked Minho to help him mark the dance, again. Normally Chan would dance perfectly fine, he had been for the past few days. But today he was sluggish and sloppy through the whole thing.
Minho didn’t blame him, it was clear Chan was running himself into the ground. It was only a matter of time before Minho was sure Chan would hit the floor either from pure exhaustion or tripping over his own feet.
Minho lets out a sigh.
This is going to be a bitch to deal with.
Minho walks over to the computer where the song is currently playing out and stops the song. It takes Chan a second to realize the song isn’t playing overhead anymore, glancing over to Minho.
“Did I mess up?” Chan asks.
“No. You’re doing just fine, I think you should take a break.” Minho explains.
“But I’ve been sloppy this whole time, I can tell. I should run it again until I get better.”
“You’re only sloppy because you’re tired, Hyungie. You’ve been running off barely any sleep for the past four days.”
“It’s not been that long, I’ll be fine,” Chan says, making his way over to the computer to start the song again.
Minho immediately stops the song once more, “Yes, it has been that long, and as the dance leader I am saying you’re dancing just fine. So take a break.”
“Well I’m the leader so I will not be taking a break. You can leave.” Chan remarks, clicking the song on again.
Chan starts walking away to start dancing once more and Minho just shakes his head.
Minho hopes Chan will forgive him for what he is about to do.
Minho once again turns off the song, this time going all the way to turn off the computer. Chan immediately spins back on his feet, shooting a glare at the younger boy.
“What the hell was that?! I told you I’m trying to practice.”
“And I told you to take a break, Chan.”
“Now you’re being disrespectful? I can’t believe you.”
“It’s decided, I’m your Hyung now since you’re acting like a child and not wanting to take care of yourself!”
“What kind of bullshit is th-“
“Chan, I’m not fucking around!” Minho shouts, the older boy immediately shutting up, “Now, you’re going to get your shit and get your ass home before I get the other boys in here to help me drag you home. I’m not doing this shit today.”
Chan looks torn for a second like he wants to double down on the leader card and tell Minho to fuck off. But as aggressive as Minho’s tactics are, he knows it’s coming from a place of caring and not wanting to see Chan fall further down the rabbit hole.
Chan lets out a sigh, moving to grab his bag and heading straight for the door without a word. Chan listens to the younger boy and heads straight home still very ticked off.
Chan makes it to the dorms and goes straight to the bathroom, hopping in the shower and the feeling of the water relaxing him a little. After the shower, Chan changed into his pajamas and by this point, Minho had also made his way home.
Chan saw him standing at the end of the hallway, but he didn’t have the heart to say anything to the younger boy, immediately heading into his room.
It stung a little but Minho understood Chan wasn’t exactly happy with him at the moment. He just hoped things would be different after Chan got some rest. Minho went on with the rest of his night, thankful Chan was at least home and sleeping.
The next morning Minho woke to feel something heavy press on top of him. It takes him a second for his eyes to adjust, processing a certain Aussie laying on top of him. When he fully realizes that Chan was laying on top of him Minho reaches up a hand, brushing at Chan’s tangled hair.
Minho is the first to speak, “Sorry that I dropped honorifics… and that I cussed you out.”
Chan lets out a small chuckle, “Sorry I was such a dick.”
That made Minho chuckle as well.
The two boys stay laid there, relaxed into each other, Minho drawing random circles into Chan’s back.
—————————-
Chan had found himself once again locked away in his studio. It was a normal occurrence to find him there, especially since JYPE just gave them a deadline for their newest album. Chan just wanted to muscle through it and get it done.
Which of course meant he’s spent every free second he had for the past three days in the studio.
To Chan it was fine, he had done this several times before and been… relatively okay. What did it matter if he did it once again? Well, that question got answered when a knock was heard on the studio door.
“Come in,” Chan calls out.
He glances over his shoulder to see Changbin entering the room.
“Hey Binnie, what’s going on?” Chan asks.
“Channie-hyung get your maknae before I beat him,” Changbin responds simply.
“What do you mean?” Chan says, his attention being pulled away from his computer at the mention of I.N. and conflict in the group.
“He’s overworking himself and the only excuse he’s been giving is ‘If Chan can do it, so can I’. So clearly you’re the one who has to fix it.”
“So… I made I.N. think it’s okay to overwork yourself,” Chan said simply.
“Basically, but to be fair it is kind of your fault, you workaholic.”
“Not helping.”
“Didn’t say I would.”
Chan lets out a sigh, taking off the headphones from around his neck, “Okay where is he?”
“The vocal practice room, Seungmin’s with him but his voice is practically gone.”
Chan nods, getting up from his chair and rushing out of the door. It takes him a few minutes to get to the vocal practice rooms and another couple of seconds to figure out which room they were in.
Chan’s heart broke as he heard I.N. attempting to sing, his voice was completely hoarse by this point.
Seungmin was the first to realize Chan had entered the room, giving the older boy a nod as he approached. I.N. glances over to find Chan standing there, worry quickly spreading across his face.
“I told Binnie-hyung not to bother Channie-hyung about this,” I.N. whined to Seungmin.
“You should know better, of course, Binnie-hyung was going to tell him.” Seungmin remarks, “I guess I’ll leave you two alone to talk it out.”
Chan nods, offering the boy a small smile as Seungmin leaves the room. I.N. moves to take a seat in one of the empty chairs, Chan following suit and sitting beside him.
“You shouldn’t be overdoing it, Innie. Your voice is almost completely gone because you have been.” Chan says, grabbing ahold of the younger boy’s hand.
“But you overdo it. And it’s not like I intended to lose my voice, it just kind of happened.”
“I know I tend to want to get a lot of things done and sometimes yes that means I overwork myself. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to do. I don’t mean to drive myself to the point of exhaustion either.”
I.N. nods, “Yeah but no matter how many times we ask you to stop you seem to always end up doing it again.”
Chan sighs, “I know, Innie. I’m really bad about it. I need to get better about it, both for my health and so I stop worrying my boyfriends all the time.”
“Yeah, you do,” I.N. mutters out.
Chan smiles a little at the younger boy, brushing back his bangs a little, “Can I ask why you’re so worried about your singing?”
“I don’t know, I saw how hard you were working on all the songs and I just… I wanted to do right by you and your songs. I don’t want you or any of my hyungs to be disappointed in my singing, it has to be perfect for the next comeback.”
“Innie, your voice is already amazing. You already work so hard and I can speak for all of us, we could never be disappointed by you.”
I.N. nods, letting his head fall to Chan’s shoulder, “I know, I just… I feel like I could be better, or should be better really.”
Chan nods, “I understand wanting to chase perfection, it’s not an easy thing to stop yourself from doing. But you don’t need to chase after this unachievable standard. You are doing amazing just as you are.”
I.N. nods once more, “Thank you, hyung.”
“Of course, anything for my favorite Maknae.” Chan replies kissing I.N. on his forehead, “Now how about we head home and get you some tea for your voice.”
“That would be nice,” I.N. replies simply.
The two boys get to their feet and head back to the dorms, hand in hand. Chan takes the time to make some tea and the two of them relax on the couch and watch a movie together.
———————-
Felix never liked when Chan got like this.
Chan never understood that he didn’t have to bear every burden of the group. They were a team and they should share the responsibilities. Chan was too headstrong to see it that way though, convinced he had to do it all and by himself no less.
So it was no surprise Chan had found himself locked away in his studio for four days straight.
Felix had gotten into the habit of stopping by and checking on him, ensuring he was eating and taking a nap occasionally. Felix by no means liked that his leader felt the need to lock himself away but once it started it was always hard to convince him to stop. So if Felix didn’t have anything else going on he would sit in the studio with him and watch over the older boy.
Until Felix got an idea on how to possibly get Chan to go back to the dorms finally, it wasn’t an overly complicated plan but it would work well for what he needed.
So that’s how Felix found himself with a pillow and a blanket tucked under his arms as he walked into the recording studio.
Chan does a double take as he looks over at him, “Whaddya got there Lix?”
“Oh well I figured you got lonely sleeping overnight at the studio so I came to join you,” Felix explains.
“Felix, you don’t need to spend the night with me, you need to sleep, preferably on an actual bed.”
“But the studio is good enough for you to sleep in, why is it not good enough for me?” Felix asks innocently.
Well shit, Felix has Chan there.
“Because you’re still growing and need to be comfortable when you sleep, I already have a bad back so what’s the harm in making it worse?”
Felix snacks at Chan’s arm, “No, you are not hurting your back worse just to prove a point. Either I get to sleep overnight with you in here or I sleep with you in the dorms. Your choice.”
Chan knew the ‘choice’ he had wasn’t a choice. He didn’t want to see Felix sore in the morning from a lumpy couch and he sure wasn’t going to let Chan stay here by himself.
“Okay fine, I’ll finish up a few things and we can go to the dorms together.”
“Okay, then I’ll be waiting,” Felix responds, moving to take a seat on the couch.
Chan stayed true to his word, working for another hour or so before finally shutting down his computer. Felix busied himself with a game on his phone, passing the time until Chan was ready to go.
Chan gathers his things, adding Felix’s blanket and pillow to his bag before tossing it over his shoulder. With both of them ready they make their way out of the building and down the road to their dorms.
When they made it back to the dorms Chan dropped off Felix’s blanket and pillow before retreating off towards his dorm. Chan made it to his room, starting to dig out a change of clothes before he heard a knock on his door.
“Come in,” Chan calls out.
The doors open to reveal Felix who leans against the door frame.
“Oh hey Lix, did you need something?”
“Not really Umm... I came by because I want to take care of you.”
Chan gives Felix a confused look, not understanding what the younger boy meant. Felix just offers him a smile back, crossing the room and guiding the older boy to his feet.
Felix leads Chan to the bathroom, turning the water tap on as Chan strips from his clothes. Once the tub was filled up enough Felix guided Chan into the tub.
Felix took his time to pamper the boy. He washed Chan’s hair, spending time massaging his scalp. Once Chan was done with his bath Felix helped dry him and helped him into comfy clothes.
Felix sits Chan down at the dining table as he heads into the kitchen to make him something with substance. Chan had been surviving the last few days on Ramen and other instant meals, he needed something a little healthier.
Felix brings Chan a plate of food after a little while. Chan didn’t hesitate to eat, getting it down rather quickly. Felix took care of his dishes once he finished.
After their quick meal, the two boys head to the couch to cuddle and watch a movie. It didn’t take long into the movie for Chan to fall asleep. Felix just smiled over to the boy and that’s him a kiss to his temple.
“Sleep well, Channie-hyung.”
After the movie finishes he enlists the help of Changbin and together they (well mostly Changbin) carry the sleeping Chan to his bed.
The next morning Chan awoke in his bed, with Felix cuddled into his side. A smile spreads across his face as he looks down at the younger boy.
He loves how much his boyfriends care for him, even if he doesn’t initially want to agree.