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"All right, let us stop for a little break before moving on." Hanbin cranked the volume down. In preparation for the Asia Artist Awards, the members were rehearsing their dance break. Ricky took a seat on the floor between Gunwook and Gyuvin, and the latter gave him a bottle of water.
The manager entered the practice room through the open door, and all of the members, aware that they had no schedule, stared at him in confusion. "Ricky, I need to speak to you," the manager said to Ricky as he turned to face the manager, with his doe-like, feline eyes.
Ricky, who was equally perplexed as the other eight members, returned their confused looks. Ricky gave his water bottle to Gunwook and as he stood up, Gyuvin squeezed his hand, and gave him a soft smile, hoping it would ease Ricky who was looking worried.
Ricky followed the manager outside the practice room. “Right Ricky,” The manager cleared his throat, “I have some unfortunate news. You are not going to be able to attend AAA.”
“What?” Ricky just grew even more confused, “Why?”
"Your passport is about to expire, and we do not have enough time to renew it for the Philippines, where it must remain valid for at least six months after the stay period."
Ricky was dumbfounded and at a loss for words. All he could do was nod in agreement with the manager's statement and numbly make his way back into the practice area, where the other eight members were waiting for him.
“Ricky?” Zhang Hao approached Ricky, lightly putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Xiao Rui?”
“I cannot attend AAA.” That was all Ricky said, staring blankly as the other members halted what they were doing and focused solely on Ricky. Ricky was being pushed to sit down between Gunwook and Gyuvin, with the other members encircling him on the floor.
“What do you mean?” Taerae asked, confused, “Why can you not attend AAA?”
“My passport is going to expire, and the company does not have enough time to renew my passport.” Ricky looked down at his hands, where his right hand is currently pinching his left palm, something he does when he is nervous. Taking notice, Gyuvin held Ricky's hand in his, and Gunwook followed suit, stroking Ricky's hand to soothe him.
“That’s bullshit! No fucking way did the company not know your passport was going to expire!” Matthew burst out, shocking the other members, looking annoyed, “They should have known! They’re the ones that have them!”
“Ricky, is there not any way they can speed up the process?” Hanbin softly said, touching Ricky’s ankle since his hands were occupied.
“It will not be possible; according to Manager Hyung. AAA is in 2 days.” All of the members were taken aback when Ricky abruptly got up and performed a 90-degree bow. Ricky could feel tears welling up in his eyes.
“Ya Ricky, what are you doing?” Ricky refused to move when Jiwoong hurriedly got up in an attempt to persuade him to sit down again.
“I am sorry.” With his head lowered, Ricky uttered, "You are going to have to change the entire choreography because of me."
"Get your ass out of that position, Xiao Rui." Ricky receives a mild reprimand from Zhang Hao, in Chinese, who is still shocked by Ricky's abrupt bow.
Ricky ignored Hao, and pivoted to face Hanbin and offered him a 90-degree bow. "I am sorry Hanbin Hyung for making you reposition the choreography due to my actions."
"Hyung, please stop," Yujin interrupted, all teary seeing his hyung in this state, embracing Ricky who had finally straightened up. "Our company is to blame for not noticing; what do you mean your actions? it’s not your fault."
Gyuvin grasped his hand and said, "Yeah Kim Ricky, you cannot help the fact that wakeone are so incompetent."
“Right, let’s all just go back to the dorms,” Jiwoong claps his hands, “We can sort everything out later, let’s just go home.”
As he walked behind the group, Ricky could not help but feel sorry for them since they have stopped practice just to be with him and go home because he could not attend, just to comfort him. Ricky was walking slowly and sluggishly with his head hung down when Gyuvin noticed that he was not walking with Yujin and Gunwook. Gyuvin released Yujin and made his way over to Ricky, telling the others to move on as they gave him a worried look.
Ricky felt a hand on his shoulder, which made him stop in his tracks. He looked up to see Gyuvin stopping him. With a quick glance at Ricky, Gyuvin embraced him; fortunately, nobody could tell who they were because they were wearing hoodies with the hood over their heads. Gyuvin was devastated to see Ricky trembling. Ricky is not the type to cry; in fact, he did not cry during their debut, music show wins, or Rookie of the Year awards at MAMA and MMA.
With red-rimmed eyes, Ricky raised his gaze from Gyuvin's chest and said, "Gyuvin, we can go home now."
Gyuvin lightly brushed the tears off Ricky’s face, giving him a soft smile. “Okay Kim Rick, let’s go.” Gyuvin clutched Ricky’s hand in his, interwining their fingers together to ground Ricky down, their hoodie sleeves covering their hands.
They arrived at the dorms quickly, where the membets were preparing a makeshift movie theatre in the living room. Taerae signalled for them to come closer as soon as he saw them.
"We were thinking of having a little movie afternoon." Grinning at the two 04 liners, Taerae put his arm around Ricky’s waist and guided him deeper into the temporary theatre. “Our Gyu and Rik are here.” In order for the three oldest members to hear him in the kitchen, Taerae slightly raises his voice. Running from their rooms, Yujin and Gunwook tackle Ricky and Gyuvin as they fall with an plop onto the mattress that has been placed on the floor. With the maknaes piled up like puppies on the floor, Taerae and Matthew could not help but giggle.
"Yujin, Gunwook." Hanbin comes out of the kitchen with a stern look on his face. “Let’s let Ricky and Gyuvin freshen up; come help me set up the table.”
Although Yujin and Gunwook are groaning, they continue to listen to Hanbin like the well-mannered children that they are. Ricky and Gyuvin, who were making their way to their shared room, receive a quick smile from Hanbin before he ruffles Yujin and Gunwook’s hair and shows them to the kitchen.
Once in their shared room, Gyuvin locks the door and leads Ricky inside. Before him, he kneels and forces Ricky to sit at the edge of the bed. “Do you feel alright, Ricky?” Ricky looks up into Gyuvin's eyes as Gyuvin presses his hands to his cheeks.
"Qyubing" Ricky broke down in tears, which streamed down his face and onto Gyuvin's hands as he attempted to dry them.
Sitting on the bed beside Ricky, Gyuvin comforted him by pulling him onto his lap and holding him in his arms. "Rui, it is not your fault," Gyuvin said. "We literally just went on a trip not too long ago, and the management are assholes; they should have seen your passport. It was their duty to have known. They had already done this to you on our trip to Jeju Island, and now they have done it again." Upon further reflection, Gyuvin could not help but grow increasingly frustrated and annoyed. He was treated like shit during Boys Planet, has debuted, and is still being treated like shit. How dare the company treat Ricky this way? His Ricky, Kim Ricky. The boy he has been by his side since they were trainees at Yuehua Entertainment, sitting beneath the staircase, munching on a bunch of mango and strawberry flavored snacks.
“I wanted to be there, Qyubing.” Ricky sniffles, snuggling further into Gyuvin. “I wanted to be there with you and with the other members.”
Gyuvin tightened his embrace, kissing the top of Ricky’s head. “I wanted you to be there too, Rik.” Gyuvin looked down at Ricky who was snuggled into his chest with a sad smile on his face. “Shall I not go too? We can say I am sick, and then spend the days in the dorm watching movies and eating all the snacks we have!”
“No Gyubing, as lovely as that sounds,” Ricky pushed himself away from Gyuvin’s chest, still in Gyuvin’s arms, looking at him directly in his eyes with a firm look. “You need to be there and get the award.”
“Okay Rui,” Gyuvin softly kissed him on the forehead, dismissing the fact that Ricky’s ears that went red as soon as he did it and took Ricky back into his embrace. “Any awards we get, I will get them for you, I promise.”
They sat in each others embrace for a couple of minutes before there was a knock on the door. “Guys, we are going to be starting the movie if you guys want to come along.”
"Jiwoong Hyung, we are coming." Ricky's warmth seems to be vanishing as Gyuvin speaks as he helps him up, slightly dampening the mood. Gyuvin pulls down his sleeves and gently dabs at Ricky's eyes. Ricky lets Gyuvin do what he wants by gradually closing his eyes. Gyuvin can't help but admire the boy. Even though Ricky was crying and lacked makeup, he was still extremely beautiful. Gyuvin notices Ricky put on one of his hoodies, and smiles slightly, leading him out of their shared bedroom.
As the two boys approached the living room where the other seven members were gathered, they saw that there had been a spot in the centre, between Zhang Hao and Matthew, for Ricky and Gyuvin to sit in. The boys took their seats, Ricky beside Zhanghao and Gyuvin beside Matthew. With open arms and a maternal smile, Zhanghao embraces Ricky as he leans in, into his neck and takes Gyuvin's hand with his free hand. Once both boys have settled in, Jiwoong plays the movie.
In the middle of the film, Ricky nods off on Zhang Hao's shoulder. Zhang Hao notices and motions for Jiwoong to turn down the volume a little. Jiwoong stops the movie, and they all assemble in a circle around Ricky so they will not have to speak loudly to one another when the others turn to face Zhang Hao and notice that Ricky has fallen asleep. Gyuvin carefully removes Ricky from Zhang Hao, who is just observing him with interest, alongside the other members, and settles the sleeping boy onto his lap in his embrace. They all witness, firsthand, Ricky sinking into Gyuvin's embrace and pressing his face as far into Gyuvin's broad chest as he can, whilst rubbing his face on his t-shirt to make himself feel comfortable. Every member softly smiles at the sight of this.
“I cannot believe this company.” Hanbin says, with an annoyed look on his face, softening up when his eyes travel to the sleeping boy. “How the can they do this to Ricky? It isn't like we haven't travelled in so long! We literally travelled abroad the other week, Ricky literally also went to Shanghai by himself the other week.”
“How about we do something tomorrow for Ricky Hyung?" Yujin says as he softly squeezes between Zhang Hao and Gyuvin, who allows him to be closer to Ricky. “Tomorrow will be our last day here before we have to fly out.” Yujin frowns a little at that thought; the thought of leaving his favourite hyung home alone hurts him, how is Ricky going to survive!
“I will take Ricky out shopping tomorrow.” Gyuvin says, “And you guys can prepare a surprise for him, sort of like a party, just to show we appreciate him and we love him, despite what the company feels, and that we will always be with him, no matter what.”
The members all nod their heads, delegating tasks to each member so they know what they are doing tomorrow.
Gyuvin just listens to them as he strokes Ricky’s hair, who smiles at the feeling unconsciously, making Gyuvin smile towards the sleeping boy in his lap, holding him tighter into his embrace. He looks up to see the members looking at him with amusement and fondness in their eyes.
“When are you going to confess to him?” Matthew asks, softly.
“Not now, after we come back.” Gyuvin says, “I know that if I tell him now, I will find it harder to leave him here, and I will make an excuse to stay with him. I cannot do that for you guys or for Ricky. We need to get that award for Ricky, and I need to be the one to get it, I promised him.”
“Okay, let's all head to bed.” Hanbin stands up, stretching his arms, and yanks all the sleepy ones to get up and make their way to their rooms.
Gyuvin carefully gets up, trying not to wake Ricky, and leads them back into their bedroom. As Gyuvin goes down to put Ricky on his bed, Ricky opens his eyes. He blinks at Gyuvin slowly, almost like a kitten, and Gyuvin’s heart wants to stop at the cute sight of disoriented Ricky.
"Qyubing." His soft voice slurs out, “Sleep with me?”
Gyuvin slowly goes into the bed with Ricky, who snuggles into his chest again and links their legs together, holding the tall boy like a koala bear. “Good night, Gyubi.”
“Good night, Rui.” Gyuvin finally closes his eyes, knowing Ricky is safe in his arms, and knowing that he is going to make sure he does everything in his power to never let Ricky cry ever again.