Work Text:
Wishes are having their late dinner after their fansign just now. They are tired but at least they don't have any schedules tomorrow other than practicing for their comeback and tour in Japan soon. Usually, their dinner would be filled with the boys talking to each other about their day or laughing at some funny stuff that they found on social media. Sakuya would show some Tiktok challenges as a suggestion for the members to film it later.
However, tonight feels different. Everyone is so eerily quiet, especially from the hyung line. “Why do I feel some weird tension in the air?” Ryo points out the current atmosphere that he's feeling.
“Oh you're right,” Sakuya agrees.
The maknaes observe all of their hyungs and find something interesting with their behaviour right now. Riku is currently enjoying his meal and probably too enjoying it that he doesn't realize his favourite younger brother is talking. Sion is eating quietly but his gaze holds so much depth. It's as if he's angry about something. Those eyes that can be seen during practice and the maknaes think that it's odd because they're not working right now. Yushi is also eating ‘peacefully’. It's ‘peacefully' because he's eating well as usual but his face shows that he's not in a good mood but they assume that Yushi is tired.
Now, onto Daeyoung. Unlike the rest of the hyungs, Daeyoung is eating so little and slowly. It's not that surprising that he eats a little because he's still working hard on his diet even though the boys think that he's already healthy enough. However, Daeyoung looks so timid at this moment. He looks like a puppy who just got scolded by its owner. The maknaes also notice that Sion and Yushi are glancing at Daeyoung sometimes.
Something is weird. The situation is weird, and the worst thing is the maknaes have no idea what is going on.
After finishing their dinner, the maknaes are in their room and the 2 ‘cats’ are already heading back to their dorm. Daeyoung is staying in the first dorm for a moment as he is in-charge of washing the dishes with Sion. It's common for both of them to have a small talk that's not related to work while washing the dishes but not today it seems.
Daeyoung can feel the tense feeling when he's around Sion after coming back from work. He's not sure what happened but since everyone is tired because they just went back from Qingdao and they're still working again today, it's not surprising that their schedules took a toll on their emotions.
Nevertheless, Daeyoung can't just stay quiet without saying something, although he's scared as hell to start a conversation with Sion.
“Take a rest, hyung. I'll finish the rest,” Daeyoung assures that he will clean all the plates and utensils and ask Sion to rest now.
“It's okay.” It’s short but the tone ends up being cold that Sion mentally facepalms because he doesn't want Daeyoung to misunderstand him.
“Oh, okay!” Daeyoung smiles a bit before continuing to wash the dishes.
Sion shuts his eyes tightly. This is not how it's supposed to be. He lets out a small sigh, just a little bit quiet so that Daeyoung doesn't hear him and takes it the wrong way. This is all Riku’s fault. Sion is the type to separate the work life and his private life but maybe this one is an exception.
If Riku didn't share that in the Only You group chat, he wouldn't be feeling so annoyed right now.
What most of the members, including their managers, don't know, the OnRiYu trio have their own secret group chat just to talk about some stuff or maybe gushing over their maknaes’ cuteness and antics. It was supposed to be a fun group chat between 3 of them until Sion realized that the way Riku and Yushi talked about a certain member is… very strange.
That certain member is none other than Kim Daeyoung, or Jaehee when they're working.
Sion actually isn't sure when it started. At first, they would laugh and tease Daeyoung's random silliness or when he's clueless about something. Sometimes they would complain about how noisy Daeyoung's alarm was and how hard it was to wake him up. Of course, it was just a playful complaint. They also talked about how cute and oblivious Daeyoung looked when the fans teased or pranked him. Well, Daeyoung was still new to the idol world so he had a lot to learn.
But something has definitely changed once Daeyoung started to spend time with 3 of them together.
Since Daeyoung would be turning 19 soon, Sion suggested that the youngest child of 3 brothers should be added into the Only You group chat but surprisingly, Yushi was completely against the idea. Sion wondered why but Yushi didn't seem to give him a concrete answer and gave an excuse that he's comfortable with just 3 of them in this group chat and that there's no need to add Daeyoung.
Sion: ‘Do you have a problem with Daeyoung, Yushi?’
Yushi: ‘No’
Sion: ‘Then, what's the problem?’
Yushi: ‘Nothing. I just don't want him to be in this group chat’
Sion didn't understand but he just let it be at first. Maybe Yushi disagreed because he wasn't that close to Daeyoung yet and to be honest, Sion too. So he understood why. But he started to notice how Riku and Yushi became closer to Daeyoung, especially Riku. Sometimes, both of them would talk about the tall tree and Sion couldn't help but feel a bit left out in the conversation. Every time he joined their conversation, it didn't end up well. Kinda. The response after he intervened in the convo always ended up awkward.
It wasn't until after their debut, Sion began to be aware of his feelings towards Daeyoung and he found out that Riku and Yushi felt the same too.
Sion: ‘Daeyoung is really cute. I like him’
Yushi: ‘??????’
Sion: ‘Don't misunderstand! I like him as a brother!’
Riku: ‘Well, yeah! Sure’
Yushi: ‘You’re not the only one who likes him’
Sion realized that he had rivals, very strong rivals because both of the cats had already made their moves towards the puppy. Only the rabbit just started to hop towards the puppy. He has been feeling this way since a long time ago and only now, he admitted it.
Now Sion finally understood. When they're about to make their debut, Sion asked both of them again whether to add Daeyoung into the group chat. Yushi gave the same answer but Riku also agreed with Yushi which surprised Sion. Only then, he noticed that the reason why both of them didn't want Daeyoung to be in the group chat was because they wanted to gush over the main vocalist. It would be embarrassing to do that with him in the group chat.
Back to the present, Sion can't stop thinking of what Riku sent to their group chat earlier. They had a video call event earlier. Again. Riku sent a video of a fan asking Daeyoung which members he would like to be his boyfriend. Sion noticed that his name was written in a large font and the fan was pointing his name indicating that Daeyoung should answer him.
But Daeyoung answered Riku instead.
Riku was celebrating in the group chat and he was definitely happy that he was the one chosen by Daeyoung. He has been playing the role of Daeyoung's girlfriend ever since that variety show but he doesn't mind being the boyfriend either. What's important is that Daeyoung chose him. That's all that matters.
Yushi didn't say anything but posted a screenshot of the PS that Daeyoung wrote to the fan which was ‘Ah… Is it B?’ The option B was Yushi.
Sion tried his best not to feel bitter about it. He's not sure whether Daeyoung purposely avoided him or he just didn't notice. It's impossible not to notice when his name was big enough for someone who wears glasses like Daeyoung to see. But the fact that he didn't even mention his name at all is what upset Sion the most.
He is good at separating work and personal stuff so he shouldn't be bothered by this thing but it is bothering him. Clearing his throat so that his voice won't come out like he just got a heartbreak, Sion asks, “Why don't you play along with what the fan wants?”
Daeyoung turns to Sion with a bewildered expression, “Yes?” He doesn't know what his hyung is talking about. The fan? Did he hear it right? Because what happened during work, stayed at work. That's Sion’s motto. But why suddenly he's asking about the fan? And which fan is he talking about?
Seeing Daeyoung's confused expression, Sion just decides to let him be, “Nevermind. I must be out of my mind.” He feels bad after looking at Daeyoung's face. He's aware that the 3 of them, well only 2 of them, are in a bad mood and Daeyoung knew that. Yushi in particular, is really obvious that he's unhappy.
“It's okay, hyung. We're all really tired these days,” Daeyoung understands. In fact, he's also not in a good condition recently.
Both of them don't know when they will get rest. It would be nice if they get a week of rest. Or 2-day rest is fine too. Speaking about rest, “Let's play games together when we have time,” Sion suggests.
Daeyoung's eyes brighten up at the mention of games, especially with Sion. “Yes! It's been a long time since we played games together alone.”
Sion’s ears turn red after hearing the word ‘alone’. Yes, alone. Only two of us. Sion still remembers when both of them went out to play games at the PC room. They did that to become close to each other and Sion had so much fun that day because he beat Daeyoung twice. He wishes that they spend more time together again.
“Daeyoung-ah, you're mine, you know?” Sion mumbles slowly.
“Did you say something, hyung?” Daeyoung asks while looking at Sion as he thinks that the leader is talking to him but he can't hear it.
Sion panics. Daeyoung didn't hear that, right? He already spoke in a very soft voice but never thought that it would be picked up by the younger guy’s ears. Sion laughs while trying to play it cool, “I said that I will beat you again.”
“Ah, hyung!” Daeyoung stomps his feet and pouts in annoyance. “This is so embarrassing.” He looks away and focuses back on washing the dishes.
“Aigoo, our Daeyoung-ie is so cute,” Sion quietly coos at Daeyoung's cuteness.
Daeyoung heads back to his own dorm after clearing all the dishes with Sion. Luckily they don't have a schedule tomorrow so he can spend his day sleeping after a hectic nonstop schedule. His eyelids are very heavy now and he needs his bed as soon as possible.
Ah, I need to shower first.
Is it okay if he doesn't take a shower just for today? But his body feels sticky and it's obvious that he smells stinky right now so it's better he takes a shower first. A clean body is good for a better sleep. That's right! Once he steps inside the dorm, all he needs to do is to grab his towel, go to the bathroom and then sleep after doing his nighttime routine.
But as soon as he opens the door of his dorm, Riku, who is in the living room, immediately stands up and goes towards Daeyoung. Then, he grabs Daeyoung's left hand while saying, “Let's watch some drama tonight.”
Daeyoung is very sleepy currently but suddenly, he's wide awake when Riku asks him to watch a drama together. He notices that Riku seems to be in a good mood today and he doesn't want to ruin it for the latter so he agrees to watch the drama with him. Besides, it's one of their routines together, so why not since tomorrow is their free day.
“Sure, hyung! But let me take a shower first.”
“Okay, but make it fast. I'm actually very sleepy but I want to spend time with you,” Riku says before pulling Daeyoung to his room and pushing him inside as a sign for him to hurry up.
‘Knock knock’
“Come in!”
As promised, Daeyoung comes to Riku’s room after he takes his shower to watch a drama together. The older is enthusiastic when the former comes and he already gets his laptop ready on his bed.
“So, what drama are we watching tonight?” Daeyoung asks as he takes a place next to Riku on his bed.
Riku shrugs. Actually, he has no idea what to watch either. He kept searching for some interesting dramas but it seemed like he had watched almost everything. Then, he looked through the Japanese drama and movie section. Still, he couldn't find anything that caught his eyes.
He feels bad for Daeyoung because the puppy is definitely sleepy and he should be sleeping now as that's what he likes the most. But here he is, sitting next to Riku while anticipating to watch the drama with him, and yet, Riku just wastes both of their time because he didn't know what to watch.
“I'm sorry. I don't know what to watch. I just want to watch something interesting with you,” Riku apologizes. To be honest, he purposely drags Daeyoung with him because he's so happy today. Both of them have a very close and special relationship ever since they're trainees.
Riku is lucky to have met Daeyoung earlier. But if only he had noticed him in the beginning, maybe he could have Daeyoung all by himself. At first, he only treated the main vocalist as someone who is like a friend from his hometown. Daeyoung's friendly and bubbly personality brought out a comfort for Riku. There's no awkwardness between them and Riku would always feel happy whenever Daeyoung is around.
However, the closer Riku is with Daeyoung, the harder he falls for the younger.
Daeyoung is very caring towards everyone and often tries to make other people comfortable. He's just super nice to everyone and it's no wonder why everyone likes him. Sometimes, Riku is curious whether Daeyoung is aware that he has a lot of admirers who are head over heels for him. Does he know that those admirers are fighting everyday to get his attention? Does he know that everything he does gets talked about in their group chat?
“Hyung, have you watched the drama that Ryo talked about earlier?” Daeyoung asks.
Riku snaps out of his thoughts when Daeyoung asks him something, “Oh? What drama is it again?” Then, he searches for the drama that was mentioned by his favourite younger brother on his laptop. “This one? Run On, right?”
Daeyoung takes a look and nods, “I think this is the one. Have you watched it?”
Riku shakes his head, “How about you?”
Daeyoung shakes his head too and it's so cute that Riku just wants to pinch the tall tree in front of him so badly. “Okay, let's watch this together!”
The first episode has just finished but Riku is already sleeping on Daeyoung's shoulder. The latter chuckles because in the end, he's the one who watched the drama alone. Riku must've been so tired because 30 minutes into the drama, he already dozed off. Daeyoung put Riku's head on his shoulder when the older one kept nodding his head while watching but didn't realize he was already fast asleep.
Daeyoung stops the drama that is about to play for the second episode and closes the laptop. After that, he carefully lifts Riku's head and positions him on the bed gently without waking him up. He puts away the laptop on the table, and then, fixes Riku's body so that he can sleep comfortably before pulling the blanket and covering him.
“Good night, Riku hyung. Saranghae,” Daeyoung says although he knows that Riku won't hear it but he's used to it. He used to say it to Ryo every night to the point that the maltese ignored it.
Turning the lights off and slowly closing the door of Riku’s room, Daeyoung goes to his bedroom to sleep now.
Daeyoung turns off any lights that were on in the living room before walking to his room and as soon as he enters his room, he turns on the light to brighten his dark sleeping chamber.
“Ah kkamjjagiya!” Daeyoung jumps in surprise when his bright room reveals a figure who is lying or sitting on his bed with both of his hands clasped together.
That person is currently staring straight to Daeyoung's eyes.
“Yushi hyung? Why are you here? Why aren't you sleeping yet?” Daeyoung asks Yushi who is on his bed right now.
It's already almost 2 in the morning and he knows that everyone is asleep since they are dead tired today. But Daeyoung is confused why Yushi is in his room when he's supposed to be in his own room.
“I'm waiting for you, Daeyoung-ah,” Yushi says casually while rolling his eyes a little as if it's the most obvious thing.
“But why? Do you need something from me, hyung?”
Yushi gets out of the bed and walks towards Daeyoung. Since his room is pretty small, Yushi doesn't have to take so long to reach the younger one. Daeyoung, however, is a bit scared of Yushi that he makes a tiny step backwards but it's already a dead end with his back against the door. He has nowhere to run. Or he doesn't want to.
With no hesitation, Yushi immediately grabs Daeyoung's wrists and leans closer to the tall guy's face before continuing his staring contest with Daeyoung. Meanwhile, the big puppy flinches when Yushi takes his wrists and he tries to look away from Yushi's glare because he's really afraid to look the elder one in the eyes.
Yushi moves his face to make Daeyoung face him but every time he does that, the latter also moves his face away from him. Sometimes, Daeyoung would take a glance at Yushi, trying to be brave to take a look at the human version of an orange cat, but no, he just can't do it as he shuts his eyes tightly after that.
Yushi hyung is scary ㅠㅠ
“Daeyoung-ah, where did you go just now?” Yushi asks seriously.
Daeyoung tries to shake off any of his anxiousness and brace himself to look at his Yushi hyung. He blinks several times while looking like a lost puppy to the shorter guy in front of him.
“Answer me, Daeyoung-ah. I'm not going to bite you,” Yushi assures him.
But you look like you're going to bite me ㅠㅠ
Yushi is still waiting for Daeyoung to answer his question but then sighs before releasing his grip on Daeyoung's wrists. His action caused the younger one to panic. He really doesn't mean to hurt Yushi but he's really nervous when Yushi is being serious because it feels like he had done something wrong.
Daeyoung grabs Yushi's arm and with a sad face, he responds, “I was watching a drama with Riku hyung. He asked me to watch it together in his room.”
Yushi raises his chin up to look at the tall tree’s face with a frown. “So you're fine staying at Riku's room but I can't stay in your room?” He can't hold himself any longer and doesn't realize that he accidentally bursts out to Daeyoung.
Daeyoung is taken aback with Yushi's outburst. He really doesn't know what he has done to his hyung but seeing him suddenly blow up like this, it must have been really upsetting. He noticed that Yushi was not in a good mood since they came back from schedule. Both Sion and Yushi sent glares to him and it scared Daeyoung so much that he wanted to apologize to them, but for what? Daeyoung didn't know until now.
It hurts Yushi's heart to see Daeyoung's sad face while looking at him. Yushi mentally groans and reflects on what he just did to the boy who is a year younger than him. The boy who is taller than him by more than 5cm. The only boy who treats him like an older brother and calls him hyung when the two maknaes treat him like a friend.
Can you pay attention to me like how you did with the maknaes? Can you take care of me like how you did with Riku? Can you admire me like how you praised Sion hyung’s looks and body? What do they have that I don't? Why am I the only one who hasn't received your love?
Removing Daeyoung's hands on his arm, Yushi smiles bitterly, “I'm sorry for that. I guess I'm too sleepy but I forced myself to stay awake. You should go to sleep too.” Yushi is about to leave Daeyoung’s room when suddenly, the latter takes his arm again and he turns to look at him, wondering why Daeyoung did that.
Daeyoung bites his lips and he doesn't realize that he unintentionally squeezes Yushi's arm a bit tightly but Yushi doesn't seem to be so fazed about it. He's waiting for what Daeyoung will say to him.
Taking a deep breath and mustering up his courage, Daeyoung asks Yushi, “Do you want to sleep with me tonight?” Daeyoung mentally slaps himself for asking that. Out of all the things he can ask Yushi, why did he suggest they sleep together on his tiny bed? One of them is going to fall for sure. There's no way Yushi would agree–
“I was about to ask that too. Glad you asked first,” Yushi grins and before Daeyoung can react, he pulls the latter to the bed. Yushi already takes his place next to the wall so that he won't fall.
Daeyoung blinks and is bewildered with Yushi's sudden changes in mood but as long as he's happy now, Daeyoung is at ease. However, “But hyung, my bed is small. Will you be comfortable though?” He doesn't mind Yushi on his bed but will Yushi be okay with it?
“If someone is going to fall, it's you,” Yushi points out while chuckling.
Ah, hyung… ㅠㅠ
Both of them are lying on the bed together. It's a tight squeeze but that's what they expected anyway with the size of the bed. They can't request a bigger bed either because the space they have in their room is very limited so they're just satisfied with what they have.
The room is already dark now but before that, both of them had a skincare routine together. Daeyoung's secret to his good skin is to wear one mask pack per day so he wore one before going to bed. He also gave one mask pack to Yushi and helped him to wear it.
“You can say it now,” Yushi says.
“Huh?”
“Those words you said to Ryo before bed.”
Daeyoung pauses to think for a moment, “Goodnight?”
“And then?”
“There's nothing more though,” Daeyoung decides to tease Yushi a bit.
Silent.
Daeyoung suddenly gets chills from the silence so maybe teasing Yushi is a bad idea on his part.
“Um... I mean, I love you, Yushi hyung.”