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Han probably should’ve started worrying the moment he heard shouting somewhere near the kitchen. Then again, the dorm was never a quiet place, because Stray kids just can’t be quiet, someone is always yelling like it’s their basic need, so there was nothing unusual about raised voices coming from the shared kitchen. Jisung simply turned the volume on his phone up and kept watching the documentary about centipedes. It wasn’t like he was a big fan or anything, but the video was really interesting. Besides, you should always know your enemy, even if the enemy in question got nothing but many legs and terrifying antennae.
And then a door slammed loud enough to make Jisung jump.
He was so unprepared for that sound, that he nearly dropped the phone on his own face. A strange bruise on his forehead would be hard to explain to the stylists. The force of the slam could’ve crushed the plaster on the ceiling in the living room, but for now it only crushed Han’s nerves. His heart was pounding like he’d just run through intense choreography a few times in a row, his hands were shaking and it took him a couple of tries to pause the video. Then he got off the bed and walked to the door on shaky legs.
He cautiously peeked into the living room. The only door that was now firmly shut led to Jinnie’s room, and Jisung could hear Chan and Changbin talking in low voices in the kitchen.
Mentally sizing up the situation, Jisung frowned. It seemed that Jinnie had gotten into a fight with either Chan or Changbin (probably Changbin, judging by the loudness of the shouting) and had run off to his room. Now he was there alone, clearly not in the best state of mind. Jisung wouldn’t exactly call himself a master of comforting his members, but at least he could be there for one of his precious boyfriends.
He crept through the living room as if the hyungs arguing in the kitchen could stop him and prevent him from comforting Jinnie. Absolutely ridiculous, of course, but for some reason, Jisung stayed in stealth mode until he was right in front of the door. As soon as he lightly tapped his knuckles on the thick wood of the door, he heard the sound of something soft hitting the wall inside the room. Then came a muffled but perfectly audible shout:
“Get the fuck out!”
“Jinnie, it’s me, Jisung,” he said calmly. “Mind if I come in?”
He didn’t hear any yelling or any sounds of chaos from the room in response, so he carefully turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
Jinnie sat on the bed, angry, disheveled, and tear-stained. A decorative pillow lay lonely on the floor by the door. That was probably what had been thrown at the wall earlier. Jisung carefully closed the door and began cautiously approaching Hyunjin, as if he were a wild animal. Hyunjin pressed his lips tightly together and seemed to be trying his best to hold back tears.
“What happened?” Jisung asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Hyunjin bit his lip, and tears ran down his reddened cheeks once again.
“I saw some leftover soup in the fridge and decided to finish it. Who the fuck knew Changbin had saved that portion for dinner?!” He sobbed and angrily wiped his tears across his face. “He yelled at me. Said I don’t think about others, don’t think about anything at all, and I…”
He choked on a convulsive sigh and broke into full-blown sobs.
“Jinnie,” Jisung said gently. He placed his hand on Hyunjin’s knee, hoping it might calm him down and ground him a little. “Just breathe, okay? Do you need some tissues? Where do you keep them?”
Hyunjin shook his head and reached for the tissue box by the headboard. The box was placed just like Channie’s. Jisung allowed himself a brief smile at the thought, then returned his focus to comforting Jinnie. He stroked his knee and offered every word of praise he could think of, encouraging Hyunjin to breathe deeply.
After a while, Hyunjin’s sobs subsided. He dabbed at the corners of his red, swollen eyes with a tissue, blew his nose, and stared down at the crumpled pile of tissues in his hands with a sort of resigned expression on his still strikingly beautiful face.
“Let me throw these away!” Jisung immediately offered, grabbed all the tissues at once and tossed them into the small designer trash bin under the desk. The thought that he could’ve handed the bin to Hyunjin didn’t cross his mind until he was already back on the bed.
Hyunjin remained quiet, biting his lip.
“Hugs?” Jisung suggested hesitantly and opened his arms, but Jinnie shook his head.
“I’m red, puffy and gross,” he murmured.
“Baby…” Jisung shook his head. “You’ll always be my handsome and hot boyfriend. Or at least a cute little dumpling.”
Jinny chuckled, and Han counted that as a small victory.
“So… will you stay with me for a little longer?” he asked just as quietly. “I’ll talk to Changbin, but a bit later.”
"Of course I’ll stay!"
Delighted by Jinnie’s wish to spend time together, Jisung immediately tried to climb onto the bed, but Hyunjin suddenly stopped him with a gesture.
“Give me Yumyeongie, please,” he said, now more firmly.
Jisung looked around, confused. Yumyeongie? Yumyeongie, Yumyeongie… His gaze landed on the fuzzy purple star with sunglasses that Hyunjin had not-really-sneaked from a Versace boutique.
“You’d rather have him than me?” Han said with mock offense, picking up the toy. “This thing, and not me? And people say that I have weird tastes…”
Hyunjin chuckled softly.
"Idiot," he breathed out, reaching out with both hands for Yumyeongie. “I like hugging him and stroking him. It’s comforting.”
As if to prove his point, he hugged the strange little toy, pressed it to his chest, buried his fingers in its thick purple fur and slowly exhaled, relaxing.
"Then why do you need me?" Han asked, still with the same playful, mock-offended tone, finally climbing onto the bed next to Jinnie.
“To hug me, of course,” Hyunjin replied instantly. “And don’t get jealous of Yumyeongie. I’m not dating him, just hugging him.”
“And thank goodness for that,,” Han grumbled and hugged his Jinni tightly, pressing his chest against his boyfriend’s back.