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Wumuti was bad at sneaking around precisely because he was trying too hard to be quiet. He opened the door too slowly, making its creak much more loud and prolonged than it would’ve been otherwise. The hardwood floor squeaked as he tried to creep towards his bed, managing to avoid the giant rug that would’ve partially muffled his footsteps. Even if Haru wasn’t awake, he would’ve been by now.
He didn’t bother pretending to sleep, sitting up instead. “You came back this time.”
“Oh!” The squeaking stopped. Haru couldn’t see Wumuti’s face, but he could imagine the surprised expression he was making. “What are you doing up?”
Haru shrugged in the dark. “Can’t sleep.”
His nerves were giving him trouble again for no good reason. It happened much less than it used to, but on rare occasions he would lay awake into the early morning because a pit of anxiety inside him wouldn’t let him rest.
After some more creaking, Wumuti sat down next to him. “Do you want anything? I think we have melatonin.”
“Nah.” Haru yawned. “It’ll give me weird dreams again.”
Haru could hear the smile in Wumuti’s voice. “Okay. Maybe something else?”
Wumuti didn’t resist as Haru dragged him under the blanket. His skin was heated, his heartbeat quick as Haru pressed his cheek against his chest. He smelled like flowery soap, and a little like something else, which Haru didn’t dare to think about too much.
Wumuti loosely wrapped his arms around him, close enough for Haru to leech warmth, but not enough to be stuffy. They laid in the dark without speaking, accompanied by the sounds of the wind rustling the branches outside the window and the occasional chirp of a lost bird.
Predictably, Wumuti ended up falling asleep first. He was clearly exhausted, and Haru had to wonder why Rui and Hyun didn’t just keep him in their room for the rest of the night. Making Wumuti grope around the stairs in the dark when he was at one percent mental battery sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Good thing he made it here in one piece.
Haru played with Wumuti’s hair, curling the strands around his fingers, until he got sleepy enough to doze off after him.
-
The only thought occupying Haru’s mind for the past few days has been the solo schedule, which also significantly stressed him out. There should’ve been nothing nerve-wracking about a casual video that would end up being fifteen minutes at most, the only requirements expected of him being promoting the group and answering some questions, - things he’s done multiple times before. The difference was that this time, he was doing it alone.
Wumuti kept gushing over him. “You’re going to be great! Everyone will love you!”
Haru smiled uncomfortably. “But I’d rather be with you all.”
“Aw.” Rui cupped his face, smooshing his cheeks. “Are you gonna miss us?”
He knew Rui was trying to lighten his mood, but he still needed to push down the spike of panic he felt at the realisation that he’ll be completely alone with this responsibility. At least he’ll have their manager to back him up, but only off screen.
“Yeah,” he said lamely.
“I would go with you for emotional support, but, well.” Hyun really did look guilty. Haru couldn’t fault them, though; they all had their own obligations to take care of that day.
“I’ll be okay.” Haru’s voice traitorously cracked at the last word, and he quickly lowered his eyes.
“Of course you will be.” Wumuti ran a hand through Haru’s hair. Haru leaned into the soothing touch, feeling a little better.
“Text us if you feel lonely,” Rui said helpfully.
“Yeah, and if I’m lucky you’ll reply within five business days,” Haru said dryly.
Rui sniffed. “Well, I’ll definitely read it.”
Haru sincerely tried to be excited, but as the scheduled day drew closer, he found it more and more difficult to ignore the anxiety rearing its ugly head. Logically, he knew he was well-prepared and everything will go fine, the problem was that his heart rate tried to prove otherwise.
He thought he was pretty good at masking his nervousness, but he did notice the other members treating him a little too nicely lately, even the usual teasing dialled down significantly. He wasn’t sure if he was more grateful or embarrassed.
The day before the shoot, Wumuti pulled him into their room and sat him down on his bed, then started digging around his drawers. Haru watched with slowly growing interest as Wumuti took out seemingly every container he owned and crowded it onto the table.
“A good fragrance can boost your confidence and make you feel more relaxed,” Wumuti said while clinking the bottles.
Haru nodded. “Sure.”
“Pick something out for tomorrow, okay?” Wumuti patted his shoulder. “Anything you like.”
Haru studied the bottles. He could guess at what some of the scents might be like, but most of them had vague names that told him absolutely nothing.
He picked up a bottle at random and sprayed the piece of paper Wumuti supplied him with. The scent cloud made him recoil. It was so strong and, for lack of a better term, interesting.
Wumuti smiled. “Maybe not that one. One second.”
He then proceeded to grab a handful of bottles and sprays and deposited them back into the drawer. “You won’t like these,” he explained.
Haru nodded and took a closer look. He could understand the appeal of some of the plant-based ones, even if they did all smell like just perfume more than anything else. He ended up trying out several fruit-scented ones, trying to decide which one he liked better.
Wumuti watched him curiously without saying anything, letting him work it out. When Haru set aside the papers without saying anything, he cleared his throat. Haru glanced at him.
“Let me suggest something,” Wumuti said gently. “Give me your wrist.”
Haru held out his hand. The bottle Wumuti chose was very pretty, looking like a fancy glass of whiskey.
It smelled good, too. It was almost pastry-like, with some cinnamon and vanilla from what Haru could tell, but that was only part of its appeal. The most important thing was that this scent was very Wumuti. He wore it all the time in cold weather, and Haru could conjure up in his mind the exact sweaters in Wumuti’s closet that this scent clung to for days.
First and foremost, it was comforting. Like Wumuti was right next to him, holding his hand.
Wumuti smiled. “You like it.”
Haru nodded, his nose stuck to his wrist. Wumuti really was full of good ideas.
He got through the shoot just fine. Whenever he had a free moment, or he felt particularly nervous, he discreetly raised his wrist to his face and let the scent work its magic, calming him down and making everything feel okay.
-
Rui finally made good on his promise and took him to eat the nice waffles.
The mountain of strawberries and sweet cream warranted several photos before Haru got to work. As far as bribes went, this one definitely turned out to be worth it.
Rui watched him while sipping iced coffee and occasionally stealing a strawberry. Haru tried holding out the berries for him to take, but he ignored them in favour of playing Jenga with the strawberries at the base of the pile.
Haru caught an unfortunate strawberry that Rui dislodged in his quest to pick out the largest specimens. “Should I get you a spoon?”
“No, I just want the one.” Rui delicately licked the cream off his thumb. It was his fourth strawberry.
Haru smiled. “You haven’t had this before?”
“I’ve never been here before in general.” Rui’s gaze traveled over the pastry cases behind Haru. “A friend recommended this place.”
Haru scooped out some of the ice cream and held the spoon out to Rui. “Maybe you’ll be able to take Muti-hyung and Hyun-hyung here in the future.”
Rui studied the offering for a few moments before leaning in and biting the ice cream. “Are you giving advice?” He asked.
Haru smiled slyly. “No, it's just a suggestion.”
“Aw, cute.” Rui reached across the table and ruffled his hair. “You’re definitely rooting for us.”
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Go on dates and stuff?” Haru thoughtfully chewed a bite of waffle. “Also, it would mean I can get the dorm to myself for a few hours instead of the other way around.”
“You’re acting like we constantly kick you out.” Rui swiped another strawberry.
Haru pointed the spoon at him. “You exile me from my own home - “
“It happened once,” Rui sighed.
“And then I have to wonder if the couch is useable or not - “
“Nothing happens on the couch, you’re safe.” Rui tried to keep his smile at bay, but failed.
“Yeah, anyways.” Haru dug up more ice cream. “How about taking them on a date?”
“We can’t exactly be obvious in public.” Rui thoughtfully sipped his drink.
Haru sucked at the tip of his spoon. “So? Hang out with them outside and do the obvious stuff at home - ah, wait.”
Rui was already smirking. “So do the same things we’ve been doing?”
Haru sighed in defeat. “Fine, I see your point.”
“So.” Rui neatly folded his hands on the table. “Can I count on you to vacate the dorms for a few hours soon? The day after tomorrow, for example?”
Haru narrowed his eyes. “I’m not even done with the dessert yet and you’re already asking me for more favours?”
Rui smiled wider. “But you’re so nice.”
If things continued like this, Haru needed to start considering taking bribe payments in cash.
-
Hyun was reorganising the kitchen cabinets again. It seemed to be a subconscious thing for him; whenever he needed to sort through something plaguing his mind, or just occupy his hands, it was time to clear out the cabinets and arrange everything so nicely that no one will be able to find anything for a week afterward.
Haru sat at the kitchen table with his cheek propped up with one hand, trying to memorise where Hyun was relocating his favourite snacks. He kept changing his mind about which shelves should be designated for what, forcing Haru to play a difficult round of find-the-ball-under-the-cup against his will.
Hyun paused as he slid out a can shoved to the back corner of the lower shelf. “Cat food?”
“Oh!” Haru raised his head. “It’s mine.”
Hyun looked at him.
“I’m not eating it,” Haru clarified.
“I… didn’t think you were.” Hyun set the next few cans on the counter next to the first one. “You didn’t secretly sneak a cat into the dorms, right?”
Haru leaned forward. “Wait, that’s a good idea.”
“No! No.” Hyun sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Haru.
Haru shrugged. “But no, she’s not in the dorms.”
“But she exists?” Hyun looked interested.
“Okay, how about this.” Haru set his hands down on the table, fingers spread out. “Let’s put everything back in its place and go feed her together?”
Hyun docilely shelved everything into more-or-less the same place it was before without argument. He seemed genuinely excited, looking at Haru expectantly as they quickly pulled on their coats and went outside to circle the building.
“Where is she?” Hyun looked around.
Haru frowned, checking under the cars parked next to the sidewalk. “She was here last week.”
“I hope she didn’t run out onto the road.” Hyun bit his lip, then turned to look around the patches of grass next to the walls of the building. Haru trailed after him, hoping the same thing. Maybe she found a better brand of cat food somewhere else.
A rustle reached Haru’s ears. “There!” He crouched down and reached out with his hand. A little nose peeked out from under the bush, sniffing at his fingers.
“Oh.” Hyun exhaled. “She’s small.”
“Yeah, I don’t think she’s an adult yet.” The cat allowed Haru to scratch her between the ears before ducking away. “It’s weird that no one took her home yet.”
“She might already belong to someone,” Hyun said.
Haru frowned, tilting his head to take a closer look at the cat as she licked her paw. “There’s no collar.”
“Maybe she’s microchipped.”
“Oh! Microchip!” Haru was excited to hear a word that sounded familiar without a translation. “The little thing with information in it, right?”
“Yeah.” Hyun crouched down next to the cat and hovered his hand over her. She looked up, then bumped her head against his palm.
“Okay.” Haru made a grabbing motion towards Hyun’s pocket. “Give me the can.”
The cat was already used to Haru, but because Hyun was here this time she was shyer than usual. She was friendly enough, but whenever she approached the opened can she would suddenly look up at them like she got caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to and turned her nose away from the food.
“Hyung, you’re staring too hard.” Haru made Hyun turn around. “She’ll starve at this rate.”
“I didn’t even do anything,” Hyun protested, though he did turn his back as requested. It took a few more minutes, but the cat eventually sat down to eat. Hyun not-so-discreetly turned his head to try and sneak a peek, which made the cat startle and stare in his direction anytime she sensed any movement.
Haru, with no such troubles, got busy with taking pictures.
The cat quickly finished the meal, then sniffed around the can and looked up at Haru. He showed her his empty hands, communicating that this was all he had.
Hyun reached out to pet her again, which she allowed for a few seconds before disinterestedly turning away and eventually scampering back into the bushes.
Hyun wistfully watched her go. “I guess she’s busy.”
“Or she got shy.” Haru smirked. “You’re so handsome, you intimidated her.”
“What are you on about?” Hyun rolled his eyes and threw an arm around Haru’s shoulders. “Come on, we haven’t seen Wumuti all day. Let’s go back inside before he starts looking for us.”
It turned out that Wumuti wasn’t thinking about them at all. Haru could tell that it somewhat dampened Hyun’s mood when he threw the door open with a loud “We’re back!” that reverberated throughout the entire building, and Wumuti looked up at them in confusion and asked when they even left. He didn’t even bother to get up from the couch.
Hyun tried not to look too embarrassed as he hung up his coat and shuffled away to throw out the empty can, shoulders slumped.
“Wow,” Haru said. “You didn’t even notice we weren’t home?”
Wumuti shrugged, smiling. “I don’t keep track of you guys like that.”
Haru sighed loudly. “And to think Hyun-hyung was so excited to come back and see you.”
“Don’t even try it.” Wumuti raised a finger in warning.
Hyun walked past them. Haru made very expressive eye contact with him, and Hyun somehow managed to telepathically get the hint. He then proceeded to give Wumuti a devastatingly doe-eyed look and sniffed quietly. “We were just running an errand. It’s no big deal.”
Wumuti looked at him, then at Haru, uncertainty beginning to creep into his face. “You were gone for… what, less than an hour?”
“I guess so.” Hyun’s smile looked very sincere, which no doubt added to the effect he was trying to have. “It’s okay, hyung.”
Wumuti held out for less than a minute, staring at Hyun’s retreating back. Then he gave Haru an exasperated look that was clearly meant more for himself than Haru, and ran after Hyun. “Hyun! Come back, I did miss you! Really! Hyunie!”
It dawned on Haru that he probably just earned himself another Wumuti-less night in their room. Now he had to decide whether replaying Pokemon X would be worth staying up half the night for or not.
-
The wind howled outside, whipping the rain against the window. Haru would’ve felt cold just listening to it if he wasn’t under a blanket, melting into Wumuti’s embrace on the couch, eyes closed as Wumuti stroked his cheek. Something was playing on the television, but Haru couldn’t remember which movie he chose or if it was a movie at all, and he couldn’t catch any of the dialogue anyways because Wumuti lowered the volume at some point.
“Are you going to take a nap?” Wumuti asked softly.
“Hmm. No.” Haru opened one eye, adjusting his head on Wumuti’s shoulder. Despite his words, the slightly spicy vanilla scent of Wumuti’s perfume and the warmth of their shared blanket were this close to making him nod off.
“You can if you want,” Wumuti said. “We have time.”
Haru hummed in acknowledgement. Wumuti’s hand moved to lightly scratch at the back of his head; if Haru was a cat he would’ve started purring.
He must’ve dozed off at some point, because the next thing he perceived was Wumuti gently shaking his shoulder. He startled and sat up straighter, the blanket falling to pile up on their laps.
Wumuti’s eyes curved. “We still have an hour, make sure you wake up properly by then.”
Haru let his head fall onto the back of the couch. “Oka-ay.”
Wumuti grinned and leaned in to kiss Haru’s forehead.
Haru’s dark side won in that moment. He dodged Wumuti’s lips and gave him a suspicious look, eyes narrowed. “Wait. I don’t know where your mouth’s been.”
Wumuti’s jaw comically dropped open. “Haru!”
Haru tried to look serious, but it was very difficult to hold back a smile. “Where were you between the hours of eleven in the morning and one in the afternoon today?”
He knew he was being annoying, but in his defence, it was very funny to see how red and how quickly Wumuti’s face could get. Though he didn’t expect Wumuti to actually get flustered and turn his back to him, crossing his arms in a huff.
Haru soon regretted the jab, because Wumuti didn’t cuddle with him from that point on. It was a little funny at first, like when Haru tried to initiate a hug at dance practice only for Wumuti to give him a deeply wronged expression and dramatically squirm away. After the third time, however, Haru began to suspect that he might’ve made a miscalculated move. Wumuti was avoiding his embrace.
He was parched. He was dying.
Hyun kept giving the two of them curious looks. On the other hand, Rui looked smug enough for Haru to think that he knew what this whole thing was about. Rui also kept clinging to Wumuti more than usual, which was impressive considering the usual was already a lot. So Haru was ambushed from that side, too.
Despite Wumuti displaying all the symptoms of yet another prank the likes of which he’s pulled on Haru in the past, deep down, Haru was a very soft person. He began to doubt himself, wondering if maybe he looked at Wumuti a certain way, or used the wrong tone of voice, and what if he really was upset?
“Is he pranking me?” Haru trailed after Rui like a lost puppy, hovering behind him as he sliced an apple into a bowl. “Is he actually mad? Hyung?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rui said cheerfully and handed him a slice. The apple skin was cut to look like bunny ears.
Haru stared at the apple slice bunny. “Yes, you do.”
Rui tapped Haru’s chin. “If you frown too much, your face’ll be stuck like that permanently.” Considering how unbothered he sounded, Haru dared to hope that Wumuti really wasn’t angry. Maybe he really was being dramatic as a joke.
He chewed on the apple bunny. He needed to turn the pathetic setting up higher if he wanted to get anything useful out of Rui. “He’s mad at me,” he said as miserably as he could.
Rui rolled his eyes and set the knife aside. “No, he’s not.”
Haru glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “You just said you don’t know anything.”
“Ugh. Hyun!” Rui called, looking behind Haru. “Tell him Wumuti’s not mad.”
“What?” Hyun leaned over to look at them through the doorway. “Why would he be mad?”
Haru set his sights on Hyun. While Rui and Wumuti were evil enough to pull anxiety-inducing pranks on him, Hyun was much more humane, even if he did prefer to be a bystander and refused to choose sides half the time.
Arms open, Haru went to shamelessly cling to Hyun. He smelled like liquorice and something weirdly metallic, which was how Haru knew that Hyun spoke to Wumuti not only very recently, but also long enough for Wumuti to spray him with something from his extensive collection of testers. He might have more intel.
Haru looked up at Hyun with a slow blink. “Will Muti-hyung be home soon?”
Hyun patted his head. “Honestly, I have no idea. Why?”
Haru ignored Rui giggling behind him. “Did he say anything about me to you?”
“Nothing in particular, no.” Hyun looked genuinely surprised.
This was fine. Haru will definitely need to stop by a pharmacy to check his blood pressure one of these days, but everything was completely fine.
“You’re not overthinking, are you?” When Haru took too long to respond, Rui came up and side-hugged him, resting his head on Haru’s shoulder. It would’ve made Haru feel even better if he wasn’t also laughing the whole time. “Don’t worry, he’ll come crawling back soon.”
Haru didn’t want soon, he wanted now. “He better,” he said.
Rui was absolutely right that Wumuti wouldn’t be able to pretend that he wasn’t the clingiest person in the group for too long. This also definitely fit his idea of a prank, and Haru was going to be so cool about it this time. In fact, he was planning to play hard-to-get when Wumuti does give in and drop the act, because that’s what he deserved.
Haru then made the mistake of looking through his closet. He wanted to choose his outfit for tomorrow ahead of time, but found himself pausing when he pulled down a specific hanger.
It was the shirt he wore for the video shoot. He was surprised that there was still a little bit of a scent to it; it turned mostly into overwhelmingly artificial perfume, but he could still detect a bit of that nice apple pastry smell fighting for recognition underneath. He stood there for a while, fabric pressed to his nose.
He couldn’t take it anymore. As soon as he heard the familiar footsteps, he ran to the living room and threw himself onto the couch.
“Muti-hyung,” he called out, collapsing in Wumuti’s lap.
Wumuti startled, blinking down at him. “Haru? What’s wrong?”
“I want a hug,” Haru said meekly. “I don’t care where you put your hands before this.”
“Enough with that!” Wumuti whined.
“Okay-okay, I’ll stop.” Haru clung to Wumuti’s waist. “Hug please.”
For a few seconds, Wumuti didn’t move. Then he wrapped his arms around Haru’s shoulders, the corners of his lips trembling in a futile effort not to smile. “You can be so rude.”
“I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry,” Haru mumbled, face smooshed against Wumuti’s hoodie. Wumuti’s hands were warm and comforting in their familiarity, and Haru felt the tension begin to bleed out of his shoulders.
Wumuti ran his fingers through Haru’s hair. “You ran in here so fast, I thought something terrible happened.”
“It did.” Haru’s voice was partially muffled. “You were going to disown me.”
“What?” That startled a loud laugh out of Wumuti. “I would never.”
Haru pursed his lips, putting as much emotion into his voice as he could. “Oh, I don’t know…”
It was the right thing to do, because Wumuti immediately pulled him up into a proper hug, which was all Haru really wanted.
“Don’t be like that, okay?” Wumuti nudged his shoulder with his nose. Haru didn’t know if it was his imagination, or if Wumuti really did sound a bit guilty. “I was teasing you earlier, don’t be upset.”
Haru pretended to mull over Wumuti’s words. “Okay,” he finally said, leaning all of his weight on him. “I guess I’ll believe you.”
Wumuti hummed, squeezing him like a stuffed animal. “You didn’t have dinner yet, right? Pick something you want to eat.”
He was definitely feeling bad, then. Haru deliberated for a while, then rubbed his cheek against Wumuti’s. “Nothing, hyung’s love is enough.”
Wumuti rolled his eyes. “Nice one. What’s your real answer?”
Haru grinned sheepishly. “Chicken katsu.”
“Got it.” Wumuti nodded.
Haru perked up. “Can we get some rolls, too?”
“Alright.”
Haru figured he might as well go all out. “Also, can we get a cat?”
“Sur - wait, no.” Wumuti stared at him. “Since when do you want a cat?”
Haru averted his eyes. “Don’t worry about it.”
-
Haru sighed and pushed his chair away from the kitchen table. This was more paperwork than he’s ever had to fill out in his life, although granted he’s never had a full-time job in another country before either. First of all he needed a break, and second he needed Wumuti’s help.
The company staff would’ve been more than willing to help him if he asked, and he did keep them in mind as a second option. It was an undeniable fact, however, that Wumuti not only had experience with similar things, but was also very good at explaining complicated terminology that was above Haru’s language level in simple terms.
He allowed himself fifteen minutes of Pokemon before sighing and going off to find Wumuti. The faster he gets it done, the sooner he can stop worrying about it.
Wumuti turned out to be in their room, along with Hyun and Rui, crowded into Wumuti’s bed. Judging by their clothes, they fell over and knocked out as soon as they got back to the dorm.
The three of them laid pressed tightly against each other, bodies overlapping to fit on the narrow bed. Wumuti was in the middle, head pillowed on Hyun’s arm and Rui’s face buried in his shoulder. His hair fell over his eyes messily, cheeks pink from the warmth of two people snugly tucked against him. Rui’s and Hyun’s hands laid limp over Wumuti’s sweater, like they were holding hands before falling asleep.
Haru paused, unsure if some official forms were important enough to disturb them for.
At this point, he’s seen them kiss, exchange sappy and loving looks, he even witnessed Rui grab Hyun’s ass once. Somehow though, this was the most intimate moment he’s ever walked in on.
He turned to leave, deciding to bother Wumuti later, but the floor decided to let out a deafening noise as soon as he took a step. He froze, as though lack of motion would turn him invisible. Behind him, he heard the bed creak.
“Haru?” Wumuti’s voice was hoarse. “What is it?”
Haru turned his head. Wumuti slightly raised himself up, careful not to dislodge the arms Hyun and Rui threw over him. “Nothing, it can wait,” Haru whispered.
Wumuti furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you sure? Is it important?”
“Kind of?” Haru shrugged. “I need help with a document.”
“One second.” Haru watched with growing fascination as Wumuti cautiously slithered his way out of the pile, trying to avoid moving their limbs too much. The task looked nigh impossible to Haru.
It took longer than a second, but Wumuti did make it out. Hyun sniffed quietly and turned his head once the space next to him freed up, but didn’t move otherwise. Rui was out like a light and didn’t stir at all.
Once Wumuti closed the door behind them, he glanced at Haru. “What? No joke?”
“Nah,” Haru said. “Actually, you guys are cute.”
He’s never seen Wumuti’s ears turn red so fast. He looked down and cleared his throat, then rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “So, um. Right. Let’s look at your document.”
Haru followed him back to the kitchen, staring at his back in wonder. He may have found a better weapon for his arsenal than making fun of them.