Work Text:
For the first time in a while, spArk finally had a day off to rest. With Iwol's birthday and their first anniversary coming right around the corner, they had been practicing for a few extra hours while going on a variety of talk shows/being mcs for the past few weeks. Seeing their efforts, the company decided that they should have a day to rest in case they burned out from over-working themselves.
Of course, Kim Iwol continued to make work at the dorm despite what Manager Chanyoung had told them the previous day. Jeong Seongbin watched from the kitchen, inwardly sighing at his hyung's behaviour. He truly wished he would just sit back and relax sometimes. Maybe he'd do so if he threatened to write another mark next to his name.
Unaware of Seongbin's inner turmoil, Iwol sat at the dining table checking through the plans for his birthday live, making sure it didn't seem like there was favouritism among the members or the opposite. Through the corner of his eye, he noticed Cheonghyeon spamming the buttons of the TV remote, with Kiyeon scolding him for taking such a long time to choose a show to watch. Joowoo sat comfortably between the two (despite their bickering) and was munching on his snacks (which were healthy snacks given to him by Iwol).
Watching the two argue, Iwol smiled softly to himself. He turned back to his computer, continuing to check on what prepartions had been completed by the company. After all, he had to make sure that spArk's image stayed in a good light so that he could avoid all of the scandals that occurred in his previous life.
"Ugh..."
A loud sigh of resignation left Cheonghyeon as he leaned his head backwards to look at his hyung. Catching his attention once more, Iwol turned towards him, wondering what he wanted. Meeting his eyes, Cheonghyeon gave a wide grin.
"Hey hyung, what's your favourite childhood show?" Cheongyeon asked, turning his body around to face Iwol, curiously waiting for his answer.
After a moment of consideration, Iwol hummed and replied, "I never watched cartoons growing up, so I don't have any favourites." Swapping his focus to his phone, he begun to monitor SNS, unaware of the shock his words gave the rest of the spArk members. Joowoo, along with Cheonghyeon, looked at Iwol with wide eyes. He stopped eating the snacks in his hands, disbelief evident in his voice.
"Did you really not watch any? Not even one?"
"Yeah," he responded, giving a small nod while scrolling through the recent posts of sparklers. His mind drifted back to the memories from when he was a kid, how his parents never cared for him, treating him like an object holding them back. How when he tried to take care of himself, he got in trouble for it, how he couldn't even get something to eat for hours and hours at a time. He wasn't even allowed basic needs, how could he have the chance to watch cartoons?
His thoughts drifted back to his sister, and he wondered if she got to watch those kinds of shows when she was younger. What if she was treated the same as him, or even worse? He couldn't remember anything, and his heart ached at the topic of his sister, the person whom had always stayed by his side, being hurt and not getting to have the same feeling of warmth he did when she took care of him. In the end, he decided to move on from the topic, focusing back on the conversation in front of him. He wouldn't let himself get gloomy and ruin the mood. Seriously, how did his thoughts even end up spiraling like that?
Looking back at the trio on the couch, Iwol was puzzled to see that Kang Kiyeon's jaw had practically dropped to the floor. Jeho, who had just walked in, was also shocked by the new information, although you could only see it through his eyes. Even his siblings had forced him to watch cartoons when he was a kid. However, by the end, he always got bored of them. The group had been silent, only staring at the oldest member, until Cheonghyeon suddenly brightened up, a light bulb seeming to switch on in his head.
"Then, Iwol-hyung, why don't we watch some of my favourite cartoons together? Actually, we should watch our favourite cartoons all together!" He began to babble to the two next to him about his own favourite cartoons, saying how "even though I didn't watch much due to my parents being strict, I got to see some every now and then." Seongbin joined the conversation, walking towards the group on the couch from his position in the kitchen.
"Sure, why not? And hyung, let's make it a time to relax rather than more content."
"But-"
Iwol cut himself off as Seongbin smiled at him silently, his eyes daring him to continue what he was saying. When Iwol closed his laptop and moved to the couch, Seongbin's smile grew wider as he sat beside him. Jeho chose to...sit on the floor, which Iwol responded to by raising an eyebrow at him. He simply stared back and shrugged. Jeho really was like a truck, an unmovable bastard...
As Cheongyeon was about to click through shows again, Kiyeon quickly snatched the remote out of his hand and searched up his own favourite cartoon on YouTube. He ignored his friend's protests, scrolling until he found a video that was about the same length as an actual episode.
"Hyung." Kiyeon turned his head towards Iwol.
"Hm?"
"This is the show I used to watch a lot. It's called Pororo the Little Penguin, although most just call it Pororo."
"Oh! I like that show too!" Joowoo pointed at one of the characters on the screen. "My favourite one is Harry, the bird right there."
"Hey, Kang Kiyeon." Cheonghyeon smiled, but you could see the mischeviousness in his face. "You know, you remind me of Crong."
"Huh? Why?"
"You're a walking disaster-" Cheonghyeon's words were quickly cut off by Kiyeon, who was actively fighting him by learning over Joowoo. Who then had his snacks knocked out of his hands. Which then spilled all over the table.
"...Oh sh-"
"Point proven!"
"Let's just watch the show," Seongbin sighed as he placed himself between Joowoo and Cheonghyeon, stopping them from fighting anymore and helped pick up the spilled snacks. Halfway through, Cheonghyeon begun to comment on how the characters reminded him of the everyone else.
"I think Iwol-hyung would be like Poby. And I would be Eddy," he said, as he looked at the TV, watching how the characters interacted with each other. Iwol stared at him from across the couch.
"Why would I be the polar bear?"
"Well, you know...cause polar bears are scary and all but he's nice. It's kind of like how I was scared of you at first, but truthfully you're really nice and take care of us..." Kiyeon's voice grew quiet at the end of his reply, him growing embarrassed after realising what he had said, but Iwol was just able to hear it. It reminded him of when he first became a trainee, and how he helped Kiyeon overcome his fear of performing infront of the judges. A small smile grew on his face at the memory.
After watching a few episodes of Pororo and discussing who would be who, the other members begun to suggest their own favourite cartoons from their childhood. From Pucca, to Popopo and Pokémon, the members watched a ton of cartoons together. Just sitting together in the living room, squashed beneath the blankets while talking with each other, Iwol felt his heart go warm. It had been years since he'd done something like this, since he'd experience such warmth. He hadn't felt this kind of warmth since the last time he saw his sister, when she was joking happily during their meet-up for his birthday.
Watching all of these cartoons, he begun considering which ones she'd like the most if she was here right now. However, he would reflect on it more in the morning, as before he knew it, his eyes closed and he drifted asleep against Cheonghyeon's shoulder. He must've been a lot mord tired than he realised. When Cheonghyeon felt Iwol's head against his shoulder, his gaze softened. It wasn't everyday you saw Kim Iwol actually sleeping. He gently pulled the blanket over him and whispered:
"Good night, hyung."
The next morning, Jeong Seongbin woke up before everyone else. When he looked around, he saw everyone huddled together, reminding him of penguins who were cuddling to keep warm. The sight made him smile, and he chose to go back to sleep, letting them rest for just a little bit longer.
And ever since that day, the group has made sure to have weekly sessions of watching cartoons together.