Work Text:
"Oppa, you're sooo handsome~"
Kangmin giggles, "There you are, hyung. Thought you wouldn't show up today."
Kangmin waits for a few seconds before he gets a reply. "And miss a live from my favorite oppa? I could never."
He sighs dreamily. "Ah, what did I do to deserve such a loving fan? I think a few of you should be more like Hengyu, you guys."
There's thousand more comments flooding the screen, a good amount of people in chat saying hi to Hengyu. He's known by every Kangmin fan because one, they've been friends long before Kangmin's debut, and two, Hengyu refuses to miss a single livestream. He's there every time.
A specific comment catches Kangmin's eye.
"When will Hengyu join you for a live??"
"I tried convincing him, but he just won't listen..." Kangmin shakes his head. "The people yearn for you, hyung."
"nope. sorry. too shy."
"Classic Hengyu, everyone. It's okay, we'll get him one day." Kangmin nods. "Anyway, who wants to hear about today's TMI?"
"You were late today. Did something happen?"
"You're always so straight to the point," Hengyu says. "I'm fine, I was late by only an hour. You looked great today, did anyone tell you that while I was gone?"
Kangmin rolls his eyes and shifts the hold on his phone, throwing himself on his couch. "Have you watched the news recently? Seoul has felt so violent these last few days."
"That's exactly why I don't watch it. It's too negative."
"I get worried about you, hyung." Kangmin confesses. "You're always out at night because of college..."
"I'll be fine, pretty boy," Hengyu is probably dismissing him with his hand, Kangmin assumes. "Plus, I worry about you too. You know, since your fuckass company hasn't had the decency of hiring you a bodyguard yet."
"Yah, language!" he screeches, "I could've had you on speaker, you idiot! What if my manager heard you or something?"
"It's not like I'm wrong."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kangmin pouts. "So you're really okay?"
"Couldn't be better," Hengyu grunts, and it sounds like he's stretching his body. Eventually, Kangmin hears a faint pop. "On second thought..."
"Hyung!"
"I'll survive," he says. "focus your worries on your schedules. Good night, love ya."
Kangmin barely has time to react before the call is hung up. He curses loosely under his breath, focusing back on finding something to watch on the TV.
Hengyu would be fine.
Hengyu would survive. He knew how to defend himself. Kangmin knew that, too.
A small, little detail that Kangmin didn't know, however, were the methods Hengyu used to do so. It isn't exactly easy to explain that you don't need to worry about pickpockets or kidnappers because your neck tingles as soon as they think of approaching.
But to be fair, Kangmin also never asked.
Kangmin was right about one thing, though: Seoul was getting more dangerous. That was something he'd repeat almost daily, like a worried mother to her son, and every single time Hengyu would hold in his urge to say that Well, it would be a lot /more/ dangerous if I weren't here.
He wasn't as famous as Kangmin. Not even close. Kangmin was slowly becoming one of Korea's most beloved soloists, while Hengyu's fandom (if it is even appropriate to say he has one) is composed by a handful of very gentle grandmas he has helped throughout the last few months.
Also, it's not that he would mind if he was, in fact, famous, but Hengyu is a bit more on the shyer side, you know? It's why he wears a mask and a suit—lovingly made with the help of Suren. It's a bit easier to deal with the attention that comes with protecting people when they can't see your face directly.
Back in the beginning of his trainee days, Kangmin had tried very hard to get him to follow him on that path, their banter about it always following the same sequence of events.
"Wouldn't it be awesome if we were in a group together?" he would ask, an undeniable glisten in his eyes.
"Yeah," Hengyu would reply, always more focused on the beauty of Kangmin's expression rather than the question itself. "You have a lot more of that star factor than I do, though."
"Oh, shut up. Think about it," he'd shake Hengyu's shoulders, screaming like a fanchant. "Sun Hengyu, Sun Hengyu! Rolls right off the tongue."
"I don't know. I think I like the idea of being your fan better. Always sitting front row."
Kangmin would pout, thinking for a moment before staring Hengyu right in the eye.
"Always?"
"Always."
And so, the prophecy was fulfilled. Kangmin made his debut, and Hengyu supported his every move. Somewhere along the line, there was a radioactive bite and the whole superhero transformation thing, but life takes these weird turns sometimes. It never stopped Hengyu from attending a Kangmin concert, so it was alright.
Despite the whole shy thing, Hengyu managed to make himself well known among Kangmin's fans. He had to, because he was literally there before everyone else. Please put some respect on his name, thank you very much. Kangmin fanboy first, superhero second.
Speaking of the superhero part...
Hengyu stretches his hands over his head, muscles sore. His mask is almost falling off the edge of a chair in his room, slightly teared on the right cheek. Suren would have to help him take care of that eventually.
In the end, everything goes back to the fact that Seoul is getting very violent. It's the reason behind his tardiness for Kangmin's livestream earlier today. Some jerk had too much to drink and thought that it was a great idea to let out his life's frustrations on a poor taxi driver. It's not like he could just let that happen. He even tried being nice at first, too.
There was the chance he would, for the first time ever, miss a Kangmin live, if the taxi driver didn't heavily insist to take Hengyu home as a thank you for saving his life. Hengyu did try to tell him there was no need—because he didn't need any sort of payback, and because, well, traveling by webshooting would probably be a lot faster—, however he was feeling real exhausted. So, for the first time ever, Spiderman was seen taking a taxi.
(He did remember to not give the man his exact address, since, you know, secret identity and whatnot. He stops a few streets ahead, then webshoots the rest of the way home.)
Every once in a while, he thinks of telling Kangmin the truth. Of taking him out for lunch after his dance rehearsals and saying By the way, I'm kind of a local superhero. It's cool, or whatever.
He doubts Kangmin would agree that it is simply cool, or whatever. Matter of fact, Hengyu would bet that the entire restaurant would find out this shocking revelation at the same time as him: he'd get wide-eyed, eyes almost poking out of their sockets, and then at the top of his lungs (but not on purpose, obviously. Kangmin is an angel): "YOU'RE SPIDERMAN?"
So, yeah. Probably not happening anytime soon.
'SPIDERMAN SPOTTED IN TAXI RIDE AFTER HERO DUTIES!'
"Did you see this?" Kangmin inches the newspaper closer to Hengyu, pointing to the headline.
Hengyu blinks. There's a big picture of him sitting in the back of the taxi, staring out the half-open window. Jesus, he doesn't even remember seeing anyone holding a camera. Maybe reporters and paparazzi also had hidden superpowers.
"You're one of the only people in the world who still read printed newspaper." he says simply, studying Kangmin's reactions.
He notices they wrote down something said by the taxi driver, right below the picture. "I would've been dead if Spiderman wasn't there to save me."
Well, the assailant was indeed pretty coordinated for someone with so much alcohol in their system, but he's not sure if things would've escalated that far. Still, the recognition is always nice.
Kangmin glares at him before looking back at the picture. "This is like, amazing. This guy is out here saving everybody, but also doing normal human stuff. Isn't that crazy?"
Hengyu bites the inside of his cheek hard. He had never witnessed Kangmin acknowledge Spiderman before, and in all honesty, he is finding it pretty hard to not smile like a dumbass. Kangmin's recognition feels even nicer.
"Yeah, that's pretty wild." he clears his throat, hopefully sounding like a normal person instead of someone who is hiding the fact that he's just staring at a picture of himself. "You think he gets stopped by fans a lot?"
"Well, he should be," Kangmin replies. "He's a lifesaver. Hell, I'd start him an entire fanbase. Build a huge statue in his honor."
Hengyu leans back in his chair, once again fighting a smile. This is clearly doing something to his ego. "Really?"
"Of course," Kangmin shrugs. "Why? Are you jealous?"
"Wha— No..." Hengyu coughs. Of course he is not jealous. How can he be jealous of himself? That's quite literally impossible.
Well, Kangmin doesn't know that part, but whatever.
"Aw, hyung, that's adorable," Kangmin coos, pinching Hengyu's cheek. "don't worry, there's enough space in my heart for you and Spiderman to share. I'd build you a statue too."
Hengyu avoids his gaze, feeling his face start to heat up. "Hmph. You better."
About the whole ego thing, Hengyu should really start working on that.
Actually, no, scratch that. He's testing out a theory. Collecting information. Seeing how Kangmin truly feels about Spiderman.
How is he doing that, you may ask?
Well...
Hengyu shifts in his chair, suit carefully folded inside his backpack. He takes a few looks around every once in a while, new people entering the room all the time. Kangmin's fanbase was really growing by the second.
He hears a few screams behind him, and understands why when he spots Kangmin coming towards him, waving hello to his fans.
"You know I could just get my manager to let you in my fansigns, right? You don't have to keep buying my albums every time."
"I like supporting you," Hengyu answers, simple. "Now, don't talk to me before my turn is up, your other fans will get jealous."
"I think they know by now that you're more than a normal fan," Kangmin argues. "but fine, see you soon."
Hengyu exhales hard as soon as Kangmin turns his back, and goes back to looking around him. With that many people attending the fansign, would it be immediately noticeable if he left for just a few minutes? It probably wouldn't if he sat a little more towards the back, but that goes against his principles. If there is Kangmin, Hengyu is sitting front row.
Oh well, every decision has its consequences. Hengyu doesn't have much more time to ponder on the possible flaws of his (kinda dumb) plan before the fansign begins, and he is guided to a line for the usual album signing.
"You look so beautiful today, oppa. New make-up stylist?"
Kangmin doesn't even have to look up to know that it's Hengyu. "Hi, thank you! No, same one as always. What name do I sign?"
Kangmin bats his eyelashes at him, getting Hengyu to scoff. What happened to him being more than an ordinary Kkangdagu?
"Hengyu," he sounds out, slowly moving his mouth. "With a big heart in the end, please. I'll be the happiest person alive."
"Anything for such a sweet fan." Kangmin smiles. "And how was your day today, Hengyu?"
They spend the rest of Hengyu's turn chatting, still roleplaying the casual idol and fan interaction. Hengyu asks him some generic question he's known the answer of for years just to keep the bit going. Kangmin tries to slap the back of his head when he leaves.
That's the easy part done. Now, to the slightly harder part that Hengyu has no idea if he can even pull off.
He grabs his backpack and rushes to the venue's bathroom, hoping he's not drawing too much attention to himself. Just in case, he prepared the perfect excuse: seeing Kangmin in person so close was so surreal it gave him a stomachache. Happens to the best of us.
Thankfully, the bathroom is empty, so he can enter a stall without any worries—as Hengyu tries to put the mask on, he almost wears it backwards. Super smooth.
Hengyu makes his way back to the fansign area, awkwardly holding his backpack with one hand. He barely gets three steps in before someone gasps.
"Oh my God! Is that Spiderman?!"
That gets a few heads to turn. Almost every single head in the venue, actually. Maybe he underestimated his own popularity.
He smiles, full of teeth, before remembering that duh, he has a mask on, for God's sake. All people see is fucking Spiderman standing still like an idiot.
Let's try that again.
Hengyu clears his throat, waving hello. "Hey, everybody!"
Some people cheer and even try to take pictures with him. Hengyu appreciates it, of course, but this is a Kangmin fansign. Taking that spotlight away from him wasn't on his list of objectives. He makes his way out of the crowd that forms around him so he can get to where he actually wants to be.
In line so Kangmin can sign his album.
He gets a lot of looks, that's for sure. Hengyu is thankful for the mask now, as he tightens his grip on the album to try and ignore the increasing flush in his cheeks.
Once he's up the stage stairs (again, but no one else knows that), Kangmin is staring at him like he's a circus attraction.
"Spiderman."
"Hi," Hengyu says, and it's only now that he realizes there's a very real chance Kangmin will recognize his voice. Should he try a change in tone? "I'm... a real big fan."
Kangmin takes the album out of his hands, looking up at him from time to time.
"So you're the real Spiderman?"
Hengyu clicks his tongue. "The one and only." Kangmin narrows his eyes at him, playful, but Hengyu knows him well enough to know he's actually skeptical. "I had a feeling you might not believe me, so I got you a little something."
He bends down a little to grab something from his backpack, feeling Kangmin's gaze follow him curiously. After a bit of digging through his stuff, he finds the gift he spent a few hours working on: a small bouquet made entirely using his webshooter.
Kangmin's eyes sparkle in interest, as Hengyu brings the bouquet forward. A tiny loose petal ends up detaching from the rest of its flower, so before properly giving it to Kangmin, Hengyu holds the bouquet close to his wrist to shoot fluid in order to replace it.
"I think that'll dry quick enough. There you go, for you."
"What the..." Kangmin takes the bouquet, bringing it real close to his eyes to look at every detail. Hengyu silently feels very proud of himself. "It's you. It's really you."
Hengyu laughs. "Well, yes...?"
"This is so crazy," Kangmin says, all previous doubt now completely gone, and before Hengyu even realizes it, the younger is up from his chair and bowing. "Thank you for being my fan. Oh, my God, thank you so much—"
"Hey, hey, it's fine!" he nervously tries to get Kangmin to sit again, terribly embarrassed. "You're an all-rounder legend who makes really good music. Anyone with ears would be your fan, really."
Kangmin sits back down after what feels like an eternity for Hengyu, taking a deep breath. "Okay, wow. Sorry, this is a bit tough to process. I haven't even finished signing your album. Wow. You own my album. Holy shit."
He keeps mumbling similar statements to himself, and Hengyu cannot stop smiling behind the disguise. Kangmin's hands are slightly shaky when he hands Hengyu the album back.
"Thanks again," he says, "for taking the time to come. Even though you fight crime and all."
"I'm the one who should be thanking you, no? You're the idol."
"You're a superhero!"
Hengyu shrugs. "So are idols. Depends on who you ask."
Kangmin blinks. If he knew that it was Hengyu who he was arguing with, Kangmin would've already told him to fuck off. But he doesn't know that, and so he just stares in awe.
Hengyu remembers there's still a line behind him, and awkwardly scratches his neck. "Anyway, I think I'll get going. But I love your work, keep it up."
"Oh, yeah, right. Of course." Kangmin shakes his head, like he's waking up from a trance. "You too. And thanks again. For the millionth time."
"Don't mention it," Hengyu smiles, once again forgetting there's a mask covering his mouth. Looking at Kangmin makes him almost trip down the stairs. "Take care!"
Kangmin's attention is quickly grabbed by the next fan in line, and Hengyu rushes to the bathroom to get back into his normal clothes again. The suit is already starting to feel uncomfortable in his skin, though he could've sworn the venue had a real nice air conditioner.
Anyways. His theory has been tested and confirmed: Kangmin is a Spiderman fanboy. And Hengyu is Spiderman. And he needs to figure out why that strokes his ego so much.
"Dude. DUDE. Spiderman came to my fansign. The Spiderman! He said he's a fan!"
"A man of taste," Hengyu hums, attempting to get used to this whole talking about himself in the third person thing. "But I know. I was there."
"Were you, though?" Kangmin asks, and Hengyu's chest tightens. Did Kangmin figure him out that easily? "I didn't see you there when he showed up."
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He tries slightly changing the subject, trying to figure out which part of the plan made Kangmin figure it all out. "Spiderman in the flesh showed up to your fansign and you were focused on looking for me?"
"Duh," Kangmin scoffs. "I have my priorities straight."
Hengyu is, at the same time, flattered and terrified.
"He was very charming, though. So I may have, uhm, allowed my attention to linger on him for a little while." Kangmin coughs. "But you can't blame me, right?"
Hengyu blinks a few times, and Kangmin silently stares back at him. Hengyu analyses him hard, waiting for him to break, to finally admit he knows it all.
Instead, Kangmin gets tired of the silent eye contact. "Quit looking at me like that. You'd react the same if our roles were switched."
Slowly, a wave of relief washes over him. Kangmin has no idea.
"I guess I'll let it slide this time," he clicks his tongue, ignoring the slight red tint that appears on his ears then, "even if you fanboyed so hard you didn't notice I was also there."
Kangmin rolls his eyes, none the wiser. "Whatever."
"He said I was very charming. Like, not me me, but me! That's so weird. Am I really charming or do you think it's, like, a transformation thing?"
"Woof."
"Hm. You're right," Hengyu shifts in the grass, laying on his back. "It's just, 'cause, you know, we've complimented each other before. Obviously. We're friends. But it wasn't the same!"
The very friendly Shiba Inu he just met moves closer to lick his mask. As far as Hengyu knows, there isn't any other living soul around this city square right now, but he isn't taking any chances. Especially after the fansign episode.
That is exactly what brings him here, two in the morning on a Thursday, under the excuse of a late night city patrol. Hengyu is obviously worried about the citizens of Seoul—after all, crime never sleeps—, but his ultimate main goal is trying to make sense of the messy situation he thinks he is creating.
"I want to tell him," he whispers, "but I don't know. Something's stopping me."
He slowly runs his hand through the dog's fur, keeping most of his actual thoughts unsaid. He feared Kangmin would worry. Which sounds crazy, considering Hengyu is a superhuman. But if their roles were switched, like Kangmin himself said, Hengyu would get concerned too. Being more powerful than the average person didn't make him immortal.
"Woof."
"He's preparing for a comeback right now. Maybe I'll tell him after that. I can wait a little longer."
The dog barks excitedly, and Hengyu takes that a sign. He'll have to ask Suren for a second opinion later, though, just to be sure.
He closes his eyes, letting the cool air distract him briefly.
That is until he feels a tingle on the back of his neck.
Hengyu raises his head, enough to see a stumbling figure slowly coming towards him with the help of the streetlights.
They apparently help the figure see he's there, too. "You...! You little shit!"
"Why, sir, good night to you too!" Hengyu replies, because he believes in kindness. He stands up, offering a hand to the other man. "Didn't think we'd see each other again so soon. Destiny's crazy, am I right?"
The man bats his hand away, anger evident in his eyes. Hengyu scoffs. "I don't think I got your name last time. Drunk guy, right? Can I call you that? I'll call you that," he says. "Spiderman, by the way."
Drunk guy mumbles something that's barely audible. "Hm? What was that? Oh, well, I'm not doing much. I was just telling my new friend over here about this other friend of mine. He's wonderful. You want to hear about him too?"
Hengyu doesn't wait for a reply, already reaching for the tiny little pocket he has on his suit—included after many, many days of convincing Suren—and pulling out his most prized possession: a Kangmin photocard, straight out of his first album. Kangmin had told him that one was actually like a prototype before they started mass production, so Hengyu has a unique one all for himself.
"Look at him, isn't he beautiful?" Once again, Hengyu is thankful for the mask, currently covering his ear to ear grin. "He gave me that as a gift. You know, this is actually like a prototype photocard before they started mass produ—"
There's a buzz in the back of his neck again, and he moves quick enough to avoid the fist that comes swinging in his direction. The Shiba Inu barks and seemingly runs away.
"What the—?" Hengyu ducks to avoid another punch, yet Drunk guy keeps swinging. "I was talking, dude! If you weren't interested, you could've said so!"
That man sure had some nerve. Hengyu was willing to look past his previous bad acts and guide him towards the light—turn him into a Kkangdagu—, but alas, his soul was far beyond salvation. It was really a shame.
"Fuck off," the man spat, still determined to hit at least one punch. "as if I'd care about your shitty little friend. After you humiliated me."
"Whoa, buddy, I think you got the wrong man," Hengyu laughs, managing to grab one of the man's wrists. "As far as I know, you humiliated yourself all on your own. Have you tried quitting your addiction?"
Perhaps Hengyu underestimates just how much Drunk guy is actually mad at him, because he's caught entirely off guard when he's hit full force with a knee kick directly on the stomach, causing him to stumble back. A second kick causes Hengyu to let go of the man's wrist, and unbeknownst to him, the photocard also falls from his hand.
"Someone learned a thing or two since our last meetup," Hengyu coughs, trying to recover his balance. "I remembered your moves being a lot more wobbly."
"God, don't you ever shut up?"
With slightly uncoordinated steps, the man comes toward him again, attempting to grab Hengyu's throat. Hengyu moves first, running at the man and grabbing his arms, holding them behind his back.
Drunk guy shakes and protests and tries to break free, so Hengyu webs his wrists together.
"You know, man, I wanted to give you a chance. I really did. I'm so disappointed." He sighs. "Hey, a bit off topic, but can I borrow your phone? I kinda need to call the police on you, but there's call tracking and also all that anonymity thing so I can't really use mine."
"I'm not letting you take my phone, what the fuck—"
Hengyu shoots another web at his mouth before he can say anything else. "Thanks, buddy. You're soooo kind."
Hengyu fishes Drunk guy's phone out of his pocket and has a lovely chat with a police officer who definitely did not want to be working at such late hours.
"Okay, we're going to play the waiting game now," Hengyu says, throwing himself onto the grass beside the other man. "Are you going to just stand there?"
Right at that moment, the Shiba Inu comes running back towards Hengyu, holding something in its mouth.
The Kangmin photocard.
"Aw, since when do you have that? Thank you so much," he pats the dog's head before turning to Drunk guy. "Let's try again, hm? So, about my dear Kangmin..."
The following day, Hengyu wakes up terribly late and with a horrible back pain.
Who knew that measly alcoholic had so much fight in him?
Hengyu shakes his head. The guy had already been dealt with. He needed rest so that he'd be ready once real danger struck. That's what a responsible superhero would do.
But Hengyu is not exactly there yet, so he starts mindlessly scrolling on his phone. What could Twitter be talking about Spiderman today?
Pop Base @PopBase • 4h
Spiderman looks dazzling while spotted helping the police catch criminals. After capturing the man, he was seen talking to him about Yoo Kangmin.
KANGMIN OFFICIAL @YouKangmin_twt • 3h
Hello. This is an official statement regarding our artist's health. […]
"I don't talk to you for a few hours and all of a sudden your arm is broken?! What the hell, Kangmin?"
There's a heavy sigh on the other side of the line. "Hi to you too, Sun-ge."
"Do not ge me right now." Hengyu pinches the bridge of his nose. "How did that even happen?"
"During practice. Did you not read the official company note?"
"Yeah, but it still makes no goddamn sense. Did your choreographer put fucking acrobatics into the dance routine?"
Hengyu notices he is raising his voice. He sighs. "Sorry. I'm just worried about you."
"I know, hyung. You always are."
"You just broke your arm a week before your comeback!"
"The fans will understand if it's postponed a bit," Kangmin says, clicking his tongue. "But since you're so worried, do you want to come over? I'll even let you sign my cast."
"Cool," Hengyu replies, obviously smiling like an idiot. "can I draw Spiderman there, too?"
"Yeah, sure. I'd want one from the real deal, but I guess you'll do just fine."
Hengyu's smile doubles in size, and he shoots up from bed so fast he nearly forgets about his back pain.
A loud popping noise reminds him of it, though.
"You let me draw on your cast, and yet you won't stay still. Honestly, you amaze me."
Kangmin mumbles an insult, but eventually does stay kinda still. He can't exactly do much with his broken arm, so all movement is concentrated on his other hand, scrolling away on his phone.
Hengyu is in the middle of switching sharpies to color his drawing in when Kangmin suddenly jolts, eyes wide. Without a word, he brings his phone closer to Hengyu so he can read what's on the screen: it's the Pop Base tweet he had seen earlier. He first tries to make his best 'I have never seen this before, how shocking!' face, before taking a look at how viral the tweet had gotten. Why are 100k people (and counting!) so interested in Spiderman's business?
"Seriously, this guy..." Hengyu shakes his head. "Can't believe he's coming for my title as your biggest fan."
Kangmin is too focused on the screen to see how Hengyu immediately cringes after the words leave his mouth.
"He sure is dedicated," Kangmin says, sounding starstruck. Hengyu thinks that's insane, because as far as he knows, Spiderman isn't the one constantly on Melon's Top100, but sure, whatever. "What photocard even is that? I look so young in that."
It's in that moment Hengyu freezes. The prototype photocard. The one Kangmin gifted him personally. The one that probably has like five copies in total.
The one that is about to blow his cover and reveal his identity to Kangmin.
He tries not to choke on his own saliva as Kangmin zooms in on the picture attached to the tweet, struggling to identify the card. "That looks like one of the rare ones. I don't think we ever even included those in albums. How did he get his hands on that?"
Hengyu prepares to apologize profusely for the secret he's been hiding, terrified of the possibility of Kangmin getting upset at him. "How many of those were even printed?"
"Very few. I'd be surprised if there are more than ten."
Awesome.
He clears his throat, painfully aware he has dug his own grave. "Maybe... Maybe he got it online? Some fan needed some extra money and sold their card because they knew it was rare."
Internally, Hengyu is repeatedly hitting his head against the wall. Idiot, idiot, idiot. Maybe if he fessed up already, Kangmin would take the news somewhat well. Maybe Hengyu'd get the cold shoulder for only a week.
Kangmin is silent by his side for a bit, a pout on his lips while he thinks. "Yeah, maybe. I think we gave away like, three of these during my first showcase."
Hengyu blinks. He stays almost perfectly still beside Kangmin, hoping that will somehow decrease the chances of Kangmin putting two and two together.
"Hm. Yeah. It could be."
"Yeah," Kangmin says. "Well, at least the card is in safe hands. That's what matters, right?"
Hengyu has to remind himself to breathe, unable to believe he managed to get out of this situation scot-free (for the second time!). All that luck felt like a bad sign for things to come in the future. Maybe Hengyu is growing too paranoid.
He's startled once Kangmin slaps his shoulder. "Yah, ge, I'm talking to you!"
"Right, right. Sorry." Hengyu shakes his head, going back to coloring his—he now realizes, kinda lame—Spiderman drawing.
Kangmin has this look on his face while he watches Hengyu at work, though the oldest doesn't notice.
Hengyu falls into a sort of new habit without even noticing it. Whenever he's out on patrol or rushing to save someone without much time to prepare (because, you know, spider sense), his mind eventually always wonders to Kangmin. It gets him punched a few more times than he'd like to admit, too deep in thought to see the obviously incoming danger.
It doesn't help that it's now a known fact that Spiderman is a Kangmin fanboy. People stop him on the street to gift him freebies, from cute fanmade stickers to official limited merch. #Spidermin was trending on Twitter for the past three days. Even the bad guys he's meant to catch are teasing him about it.
("So? You got a crush on him or what?"
"I'm sorry?" Hengyu stares at the man kneeled next to him.
"Come on, you can be honest. You do all this hero shit to impress the idol guy you like."
"I…" Hengyu mentally thanks Suren for making his mask for the millionth time, as his cheeks slowly turn almost the same color as the fabric. "Partially. But I don't have a crush on him, are you crazy?"
"Sounds like you're in denial, man."
"I'm not!"
"Whatever you say, spiderboy." The man cackles. "It's cute, though. Kinda how I got with my wife."
"Wait, really?" Hengyu kneels beside him. "You won her heart by fighting crime?"
"Oh, no. I gave her stolen jewelry. Worked like a charm."
"Man." Hengyu facepalms. "Old habits die hard, huh?"
"You bet. Hey, can you loosen these webs at all? My wrists hurt.")
He's essentially just being himself, but with a mask on. It's quite impressive no one made that connection yet, not even Kangmin himself.
Actually, forget that last part. It isn't impressive. Kangmin being so close to the truth, and yet still so unaware made Hengyu want to jump off a building.
(...With webs as a parachute, duh! Spiderman would never promote such harmful ideas. He's a public figure loved by many. That includes the children).
Regardless, Hengyu manages to keep the act up. He stops robberies here and there, and calls Kangmin daily to make sure he's eating properly and taking care of his arm. Just because his best friend is the reason behind his potential existential crisis doesn't mean Hengyu will stop caring about him.
"And how is my favorite oppa doing today?"
"A lot better now, Sun-ge. I was starting to think you wouldn't call today."
Hengyu throws his mask somewhere he most likely will struggle to find later on, as he plops down onto the bed. He has yet to take care of the slowly increasing tear the mask has—and he's certainly not doing it now, Kangmin is far more important.
"I have news," Kangmin says. "I don't think you'll like them, but they're news anyway."
Hengyu immediately gets a bad feeling about whatever this is about, taking a deep breath. "Sure. Hit me with it."
"We got a new date for the comeback. A week and a half from now," he announces, and Hengyu can tell Kangmin is smiling in the particular way he does when he's excited about something. "And before you get all concerned, we're adapting the choreo so I don't collapse in pain in the middle of a song. Things are working out."
"Okay. That feels a bit too early, but sure."
"It's fineeeee. I'll get the cast removed like three days later, anyway," he says. "but that's not all."
The line goes quiet for a moment, but Hengyu can hear Kangmin breathing softly on the other side. "Yeah?"
"This comeback actually feels really important to me," Kangmin says, not quite a whisper, but it sounds like he's revealing a secret that comes from deep inside his heart. "Everyone at the company has high expectations, but more than any of that, I really love it. The whole thing. Probably my favorite album out of all of them yet."
"Wait, Min, that's awesome. Why wouldn't I like that?"
Kangmin takes an audible deep breath.
"I want you to join me on stage during the showcase."
Hengyu briefly chokes on air. "Sorry?"
"Since it's so important to me, I thought it's only fair for someone that's also important to me to be there too. It's not anything too crazy, just say hi to the fans, maybe answer a question or two," Kangmin explains. "But you can always say no."
Hengyu stares at his ceiling in silence for what could've been five seconds, but also five hours. There's a weird feeling at the pit of his stomach. Kangmin wants someone important for him to be there. Hengyu.
"Okay," he almost doesn't manage to get it out. "I can do that. I'll be there."
"Really?" Kangmin asks, and Hengyu notices how his voice cracks slightly in the end. "Ge, this means so much, I— Thank you."
Hengyu can't control the smile that creeps up his face. "Anything for my favorite oppa~"
Sometimes, Hengyu misses the beginning of his superhero career (can he even call it that?). The early days of rescuing cats out of trees were far simpler and a lot more forgiving than the weird situations he keeps finding himself in nowadays.
He picks himself off the floor just in time to avoid getting his back stomped.
"No thanks, buddy. Not really looking for a chiropractor right now."
At least this guy has some kindness left in his heart to laugh, which does help Hengyu's ego a little bit. He might lowkey be getting his ass kicked right now, but hey, someone thinks his jokes are funny! Even if that someone waited in a barely noticeable and dark alley to jump him out of nowhere.
This stranger's kindness apparently doesn't extend very far, as he doesn't even wait for Hengyu to be fully back on his feet before going back to throwing punches. He is a lot faster and stronger than the majority of people Hengyu's fought before, which makes him wonder why this gentleman didn't try to be a wrestler instead of whatever he is right now—a superhero hitman, perhaps?
Before Hengyu can voice his suggestion, the man pulls out a pocket knife that manages to graze his arm.
"Hey, that's unfair! I thought this was a fist fight!"
He avoids it as the alleged hitman swings the knife at him, trying to find a good opportunity to strike and unarm him. But maybe he waits for a bit too long, as he takes a step back to dodge another swing and ends up hitting his back against a brick wall.
With impressive speed—even to himself; Hengyu doesn't get to show off most of his superpowers as often as you'd imagine—, Hengyu fires a web at the nearest lamppost, using the momentum to reposition himself. He thanks the heavens for not being afraid of heights as he goes up and then falls on top of the hitman, the impact getting him to drop the knife.
It lands not too far away from both of them, so Hengyu rushes to grab it before the hitman can recover it. The other man quickly reacts and grabs his ankle, tripping him. Hengyu rolls so he's on his back and fires another web, but misses completely.
The hitman jumps on top of him before he has a chance to shoot again, one hand on Hengyu's throat while the other scrambles for the knife. Hengyu tries kicking him though it barely does anything as he slowly starts getting dizzy.
Why didn't this guy choose to be a wrestler?!
Hengyu thinks he hears police sirens in the distance, though it could very well be the start of the lack of oxygen in his brain right now. Or not, as the other man looks up just as they seem to be getting closer.
Still, he presses the knife closer to Hengyu's throat. "I honestly thought you were a tad bit smarter than this, Spiderman. Who fights crime wearing their heart on their sleeve?"
Hengyu frowns.
He gets no sort of explanation as the guy runs away as soon as the street gets covered in red and blue lights. He informs the police of what happened and points to the direction the guy went, feeling too exhausted to help in the chase.
One police officer helps him up and checks if he has any major injuries. He's alright, now that he's able to breathe properly. The only thing is that he is very confused.
The answer comes when the same officer suddenly moves his hands towards Hengyu's chest.
"There you go, Spiderman. Your brooch was almost falling off."
"My... what?"
He repeats the same motion with his own hand and, to Hengyu's surprise, he is actually wearing a brooch. His confusion doubles before he remembers.
("There you go, little buddy. Back to safety where you belong."
He carefully settles the orange cat he's just rescued in his owner's—a little girl's—arms. The little thing had jumped out of an open window in a moment of distraction and almost ran into oncoming traffic. Good thing Hengyu's spidey-sense brought him to the right place at the right time.
"Thanks, Spiderman!" the girl smiles wide at him. "Wait, don't go yet! I have a thing for you!"
She runs somewhere deep inside her home, struggling a bit to keep the cat in her arms. Hengyu hears faint rustling before she's back.
"Here, give me your hand," she sounds slightly out of breath, as she places something on Hengyu's palm.
Hengyu brings it closer to his face so he can see it better—it's a brooch with a photo of Kangmin on it.
"Aw," he coos, "can I really have it?"
"Of course. You're like his super big number one fan!"
Hengyu laughs, crouching so he can look her directly in the eyes. "Well, thank you. I'll make sure to cherish this forever."
He carefully pins the brooch on his suit before waving goodbye to the girl and her cat. He keeps an eye on it as he swings away, afraid it might suddenly fall.)
"I'm not so sure about this showcase thing. You think Kangmin will be too mad at me if I don't go?"
"Are you kidding me? When have you ever missed a Kangmin event?"
Hengyu sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I just have this weird feeling about it, Suren. I don't know. I even tried asking this one guy in the gas station for advice, but he was kinda useless."
Suren furrows his eyebrows on the other side of the phone call. "Who, the cashier?"
"No, some other guy who was trying to steal from the cash register. It was like he didn't even care about what I had to say!"
The line remains silent for a bit.
"Huh. That must've been tough," Suren eventually deadpans.
"I know, right!" Hengyu groans, throwing his head back. He almost hits the bed's headboard. "So, yeah, I'd really appreciate your help right now."
"I think you should go, Sun-ge. Especially after Kangmin said all that about wanting someone special for him there," Suren says. Hengyu's stomach feels funny as he remembers it. "Worst case scenario, you ask him to stay backstage throughout the whole thing instead of going up stage with him."
"Wouldn't he get upset?"
"Probably. But it'd be a lot less compared to if you decided to stay home."
Hengyu hums. "Okay. That seems like a good plan. Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Hengyu stares at his suit, folded on the chair beside him. His eyes unconsciously drift to the Kangmin brooch.
"You know, there's something I wanted to ask you, but now I can't remember what it was."
Suren clicks his tongue. "You'll remember eventually. That probably means it isn't that important right now."
"Hm. You're probably right."
"Everything okay back here?"
Hengyu stops his back and forth pacing and stares at Kangmin, standing at the top of the stairs that lead to the stage.
"Yeah. Everything's awesome," Hengyu replies. It's partially a lie, because he's sweating a lot wearing his Spiderman suit under his normal clothes.
"Great," Kangmin smiles. "We're opening the doors to the public in like an hour and a half. Just letting you know. I'll be in my dressing room if you need anything."
"Cool. Can't wait."
Kangmin nods at him before disappearing back onto the stage, and Hengyu exhales hard, not even aware he was holding his breath.
He's awfully nervous.
Hengyu bumps into a few staff members as he turns around and starts searching for the back door. He did spend some time in Kangmin's dressing room when he first arrived at the venue, but being there made him even more tense, somehow. He guesses that some fresh air would do him good.
After greeting the security guard watching over that exit, Hengyu looks for a nearby wall to lean against. He closes his eyes and starts mentally counting up, until he feels that his brain gears are willing to work normally again. He had imagined this whole showcase thing would make him nervous, but he didn't expect being on the verge of a straight up panic attack.
Hengyu bites his tongue, feeling like the world is currently too noisy. There's no way to back out now, because this is important to Kangmin and he'd hate himself forever if he ever let Kangmin down. And also because it's a little too late for giving up.
As he gets ready to go back inside, he feels it.
A sharp tingle on the back of his neck.
He turns the corner just in time to see a hooded figure rush inside the venue through the now wide open back door. The security guard he had just greeted was now lying unconscious on the floor.
"Ah, fuck." So the noises he heard weren't just his mind being harsh on him.
Hengyu rushes to the man, soon finding out he luckily doesn't have any major injuries. He doesn't like the idea of leaving him alone in such a fragile state, but he has a very bad feeling about the hooded figure that just went inside.
Where Kangmin is.
Once he gets rid of his normal outfit (hoping he'll remember where exactly he left it later), it's like a switch flips inside Hengyu's brain, speeding inside the venue. His eyes dart just about everywhere, trying to locate the mysterious individual. A few steps forward and he finds not one, but three of them standing near the stairs leading up the stage—like he was just moments ago—, as if waiting for their moment to strike.
"Hey, you guys!" he calls, and all three immediately whip their heads. "I know we're all huge Kangmin fans, but I kinda got here before you, soooo... You mind going back in line?"
As expected, they aren't very happy with Spiderman's surprise appearance. Hengyu is prepared once they lunge at him, dodging a few kicks and punches and using his foot to trip one of the criminals once he comes close enough. He shoots a web to keep him stuck to the floor, and another to stop the second one, and its speed sends him flying—Hengyu winces at the sound of his back loudly hitting the stairs.
Can Spiderman get in trouble for breaking a few bones? Surely not, right? That's just an unfortunate result of his never-ending quest of fighting evil. He's innocent!
The fight gets the attention of some staff members, curious about what is going on. Hengyu wonders if it was really that easy for those hooded losers to just get in without anyone even batting an eye. Things could've gone real sour real bad if he wasn't there.
He gives the crew a quick rundown of the situation, not forgetting to mention the security guard that was still outside. He nods at the multiple Thank yous they all tell him and lets out a relieved sigh as he stares at the webbed criminals. The authorities would be there soon, and everything would be fine.
...Except, Hengyu is now realizing he is looking at two guys in front of him. They were three total.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
In what couldn't possibly be worse timing, he hears a familiar tune start playing on stage. Kangmin is probably out of his dressing room for soundcheck. While there's a missing hooded man around that is a hundred percent looking to harm him.
Adrenaline is what sends Hengyu fully sprinting, heart pounding faster and faster as he swears on his life he will never forgive himself if anything happens to Kangmin tonight.
His lungs feel like they're on fire when he reaches the stage. Kangmin is there, facing forward, very much alive and breathing. Hengyu starts to think that maybe the third guy ran away to avoid getting the same fate as his partners in crime.
That is, until he hears a step that's not Kangmin's, and it's certainly not his.
It comes from behind a curtain almost at the back end of the stage. Kangmin had shown it all to him earlier—hidden over there were the base of the ropes holding up some props. Some very heavy looking ones, at that.
Hengyu goes over there as quick as he can while also being quiet, arriving right as the hooded man brings a pocket knife closer to one of the ropes.
"Is that all you criminals know how to carry around? Knives? Start getting more creative, man."
Maybe he speaks too soon, as the man dodges his punches and pulls a gun out of his back pocket with his free hand.
"Well, well." Hengyu claps, as the gun is raised. "My bad, friend. I'll keep my mouth shut next time."
Hopefully there won't be a next time. The hooded guy shoots, and Hengyu ducks just in time. The bullet goes right through the curtain, and Hengyu freezes for a second.
"Hello? What's going on back there?"
"Kangmin!" Hengyu yells. "Get out of here!"
Kangmin pulls the curtain, being met with Spiderman and the hooded figure with a gun. His eyes practically triple in size. He tries to pull the curtain back, but the guy fires another shot—this one nearly hits Hengyu, who quickly grabs Kangmin's arm.
"Run," he says, staring directly in his eyes. Seeing the fear in them makes Hengyu want to hold him close and never let go, to promise he will never let anything bad happen to him. That's a wish that will have to be left for later. "Help is already coming. Just hide."
Kangmin nods, before his eyes go wide again. "Behind you!"
Hengyu turns around, a knife blade coming into direct contact with the ripped part of his mask. The pain causes him to stumble back.
It hurts like hell, but he's at least thankful that it happens to him instead of Kangmin.
Hengyu looks up at the props. They're not really anything special, just some stars and sparks to decorate the stage a little bit more. Hengyu prays that they are at least high-quality, as he webshoots up.
He doesn't really have a thought-out plan. Maybe he should've had, because the rope holding this thing up is making some very scary noises.
Hengyu hears more gunshots, and eventually realizes that the guy is trying his hardest to shoot him. It's a good thing his aim is so terrible.
"Your aim sucks!" He yells, unable to control himself.
Almost as if on cue, he shoots again, and this time it hits the rope that's holding the star prop Hengyu is standing on top of. The rope that was already making noise.
There's silence, then a loud cracking sound. The rope breaks.
Hengyu manages to shoot a web towards the floor and uses it as a grappling hook of sorts at the very last moment. Too bad Mr. Hooded Man didn't have one of those, because Hengyu is pretty sure that prop just fell on top of that guy's legs.
Oh, well, more broken bones to the tally.
Hengyu rushes to find Kangmin, who ended up not going too far, hiding in a tiny space underneath the stairs.
"Hey," Hengyu says. "It's all over now. Are you okay?"
Kangmin looks up, at first startled, but his features visibly relax once he realizes it's Spiderman. He slowly goes out of his hiding spot, taking the hand Hengyu offers as support.
"Yeah. A bit traumatized, but okay," he laughs. "Thank you, Spi—"
He stops. Hengyu suddenly feels very tense.
Kangmin's eyebrows furrow. He lets go of Spiderman's hand to touch the left side of his face. His other hand moves too, this one to the right side. Hengyu's breath hitches. He's about to open his mouth when Kangmin inches closer, and then he is pulling the torn part of the fabric, completely tearing it. The bottom half of the mask is essentially gone now.
Kangmin takes a step closer. "Hengyu."
Hengyu feels his heart pound. There's no evidence of anger in Kangmin's voice nor on his face, just staring at him, waiting for an answer.
Which kind of sucks, because Hengyu doesn't really know what to say.
"Hi," he says, a smile unconsciously ending up on his face.
Now that the cat is already out of the bag, the mask feels pointless. Especially since Hengyu has only half of it now. He decides to take it off, all while Kangmin keeps staring, mouth in a small 'O' shape.
"You saved me."
"Uhm, well," Hengyu's eyes dart around, now too shy for eye contact. "Isn't that what friends do—?"
He almost doesn't finish speaking, as Kangmin's hands move to his face again, this time to pull him closer and crash their lips together. Hengyu's heart beats faster than it has in the multiple times he's risked his life while fighting crime.
They're both red like tomatoes by the time they pull apart.
"Is that your way of saying thank you?"
"Shut up."
"No, no, I just want to know." Hengyu grins. "You know, just in case you're ever in danger again. I'd hate it if, like, Superman decided to come in and steal this from me."
Kangmin groans, but then Hengyu is laughing and pulling him into a hug and kissing him just about everywhere he can see and reach. Hengyu thinks of using his webs to keep them both stuck together forever for the rest of eternity.
"Yah, is your brain filled with webs, too? What's wrong with you?"
"Careful," Hengyu says. "There's a lot of people who'd take up on that offer. Spiderman is awfully popular nowadays."
Kangmin instantly pouts, and Hengyu can't resist his urge to kiss it. "Too bad for them I got here first."
They will eventually need to talk things through and figure out the right details of their relationship. For now, that can wait, as Hengyu picks up a protesting Kangmin in his arms and webshoots his way to Kangmin's place.
KANGMIN OFFICIAL @YouKangmin_twt • 1h
Hello. This is an official statement regarding our artist.
Today's showcase has been cancelled due to an attempt to harm our artist. A new date will be decided and tickets will be refunded accordingly.
We would like to thank Spiderman for ensuring our artist's and all of our staff's safety.