Chapter Text
Today's practice was really good. Tiring, but in a good way. Taehyun felt his muscles burn, as he always did after several hours of dancing. But it was satisfying because they finally nailed down the choreography for their upcoming comeback.
He got back to the dorm and before he even took off his shoes, he shouted:
“Kai! Are you home yet?”
“Not anymore,” Yeonjun answered from the living room.
“Oh, hi, hyung.” Taehyun walked down the corridor towards him. “But he was?” he asked, confused.
Yeonjun looked up from his phone and sent him a smile.
“Hi, Taehyunie. Yeah, he came, changed and went out again. He said something about meeting a friend.”
“Oh. We were supposed to eat and play together,” he said, then shrugged. “He probably forgot. Want to grab something with me, hyung?”
“Nice to know I'm your second choice,” Yeonjun joked, pouting. But before Taehyun could say it wasn't like that, the older boy waved his hand. “No worries, I know you're besties. And I'd love to eat with you, but I'm actually going out soon too,” he added, standing up from the couch. “So maybe some other time?”
Taehyun nodded.
“Sure. Have fun, hyung.”
Yeonjun ruffled his hair on the way out and a few minutes later Taehyun was alone in the dorm.
Quiet.
He changed into more comfortable clothes and added food for two to the cart out of habit, before realizing it.
For a second he stared at the order screen, then he simply removed one portion.
Kai could meet up with his other friends too. Lately, Kai had been trying to be more outgoing, and apparently it was working. Taehyun saw that Kai was less insecure and he was happy for him.
It was just that the dorm felt strangely empty lately. It wasn't weird that Yeonjun wasn’t there, he mostly just slept there anyway. But with Kai it was different.
He sent him a short message asking if he forgot about their plans, then put on some random show.
Taehyun was in the middle of the second episode - and almost done eating - when he got a reply.
Kai: SHIT HYUNIE SORRYYYYYY ☹️☹️☹️
Kai: I forgot 😭😭😭😭😭
Kai: Jooyeon invited me out with some of his friends and we're at a restaurant rn
Kai: want me to bring you something good to make it up to you? 🥺🍽😋🥰😚😚
One thing about Kai was that he overused the hell out of emojis, but over the years Taehyun got used to it. He was just naturally cute like that and couldn’t stop himself.
Taehyun rolled his eyes.
Taehyun: it's okay, have fun
Taehyun: and I'm good, I already ate too
Kai: okiiiii ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
Kai: [image]
And then he sent him a photo. Kai was sitting at a table full of delicious food, laughing and sticking out his tongue, and several people sat around him, none of whom he recognized besides Jooyeon.
Taehyun stared at the photo quietly.
Kai was glowing in it. He was clearly having fun.
His brows furrowed slightly for a second. Then he put his phone face down on the couch and focused back on the show.
***
As always before the comeback, the closer it got, the more work and less sleep they had. Some days Taehyun ran purely on adrenaline and coffee, barely remembering whether he had eaten or showered that day.
That was idol life for you.
In the middle of that chaos, he kept missing Kai lately. Their schedules didn’t really align outside of group practices, so the only time he saw him was at home. Which still wasn’t much, because it was mostly a few moments before going out or going to sleep.
Also, Kai was spending a lot of time on his phone. Like, a lot.
Texting constantly. Giggling at his phone here and there… And going out a lot more than even a year ago.
Yeonjun was always the busiest one, so with Kai spending more time outside the dorm, Taehyun was mostly alone. Which was fine too, in those rare free moments he was resting or playing with lyrics and composing, but…
It was just weird. Without Kai. A little empty.
But Taehyun didn't have much time to think about it, because before he knew it, comeback day had arrived. They had a media showcase and a million other things to do and film.
Ironically, it was when they performed on music shows that they had the most free time. They often had to arrive at dawn, but after their makeup and hair were done, they were left waiting for hours. They never knew exactly when their performance would be. But Taehyun didn't mind. While most members slept - minus Beomgyu who as usual bothered Soobin - he played games, repeated choreography, or just scrolled through his phone.
It was also time to shoot challenges with other idols that were promoting at the same time, although no one had asked Taehyun to do one yet. Kai, however, had already done two with other male idols, which also turned out to be his friends.
“Yo, Huening-yah, when did you befriend half of the industry?” Beomgyu joked on the second day of music shows.
Taehyun looked up from his phone and saw that Kai had just entered their waiting room, with Jooyeon from Xdinary Heroes trailing behind him.
He looked down when his phone vibrated and saw that he had lost.
Kai snorted.
“It’s not half, just a few of them.” He shrugged.
“You have more friends than me and Soobin combined,” said Beomgyu.
“Hey! Not true!” Soobin called and nudged him with his elbow. “I have a lot of friends.”
“Name someone besides Jihoon.”
“It’s Jihoon and…”
“See?” Beomgyu cut in. “That’s all.”
While Soobin and Beomgyu started bickering as usual, Kai and Jooyeon sat down on the couch next to Taehyun. They immediately pulled out their phones and started playing.
Taehyun played some music in the background and continued playing, though alone and playing a different game.
“Move, Kai, you’re stealing all the loot,” Jooyeon complained at some point, nudging him.
“I literally won this for us,” Kai argued, laughing again.
Taehyun frowned and tried to focus on his own game. But every few seconds a loud laugh or screams came from beside him.
“Kai-ah, revive me!”
“No, suffer.”
“Wow, what a fake friend,” Kai said dramatically and nearly dropped his phone.
Taehyun’s jaw tightened slightly and he looked up. Why were they so loud? Was no one bothered by it?
But he saw Yeonjun taking a nap on the other side of the room, Beomgyu holding a sleeping Soobin by his chin so the stylist could style his hair, and none of the staff was paying attention to them.
He sighed quietly and adjusted his earbuds before turning the volume up a little.
A second later Kai leaned back against the couch, his shoulder bumping Taehyun’s arm accidentally. His fingers wobbled and he lost another round.
“Sorry, Hyunie,” Kai said, already turning back toward Jooyeon.
Taehyun stared at his phone for a moment, then pressed a little too hard on screen, completely turning off the game.
“No worries,” he mumbled, though he was a little pissed.
But soon after someone came for them, calling for their performance, so he tried to forget about the situation. He was sleep deprived like everyone else, so he blamed his irritation on the lack of sleep instead.
***
On the third day of music shows, Taehyun was standing in front of the mirror as stylists were finishing up his outfit, listening to Kai talking to the camera. He was giggling happily.
“It says My princess Kai. I got it from Jooyeon from Xdinary Heroes,” he said, showing the signed album to the camera, and Taehyun froze.
Princess?
Something flipped unpleasantly in his stomach at the sound of that.
Since when did anyone other than members call him by cute nicknames? How close exactly were they?
“We’re super close! Besties! He does call me a princess sometimes,” Kai continued and this time Taehyun couldn't help but turn around to look at his happy face. “But honestly, he’s even more of a princess…”
Kai was still looking at that album and laughing. Taehyun turned, but his gaze immediately went to the mirror. He looked at Kai's reflection.
“Why is this so funny,” Kai giggled. “So adorable.”
Something twisted strangely in Taehyun’s chest again.
It wasn’t a big deal. It was just a nickname, right?
So why did hearing that someone else was calling him that made him feel this irritated?
His jaw tightened slightly before he forced himself to relax.
A few seconds later the camera suddenly turned toward him.
“MOAs got us another win yesterday, so thank you so much,” Taehyun said automatically, his expression perfectly calm despite the noise in his head. “I mean, winning is a good thing, right?”
The cameraman laughed awkwardly and quickly moved on to film someone else.
Taehyun was still a bit lost in thought when Kai approached him a few minutes later.
“Hyunie, look.” He held the album in front of Taehyun’s face, smiling broadly. “Cute, right?”
He glanced at the signature.
My princess Kai.
His stomach tightened again.
“...yeah,” he mumbled.
“Jealous?” Kai joked and Taehyun froze.
“What?” Of you?” he asked without thinking.
Kai laughed.
“Of the album, dummy. You’re weird today.” He nudged him a little and suddenly he jumped on his feet. “Yeonjunnie, look!” He called the oldest boy, who had just returned from the bathroom, and ran to him with the album.
Without even realizing what he had just done.
Taehyun forgot how to breathe for a few seconds.
His heart was beating strangely fast all of a sudden.
What the hell was that? Why did that question hit him so hard?
He stared blankly at the back of Kai’s head while he excitedly shoved the album into Yeonjun’s hands.
Something felt horribly wrong.
Was he somehow…? Jealous?
Of Kai?
Taehyun scoffed quietly, and suddenly he felt someone looking at him. He glanced to his right and met Beomgyu's gaze.
This menace was smirking. He raised an eyebrow at Taehyun.
“What’s up, hyung?” Taehyun asked suspiciously.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” he replied in a singsong tone. “How about you? Everything’s fine?”
Taehyun’s stomach dropped slightly.
There was something strange in Beomgyu’s expression, and suddenly Taehyun felt far too perceived.
“…yeah,” he answered a little too quickly.
Beomgyu hummed quietly, still looking at him with that same barely-there smirk, like he noticed something Taehyun himself hadn’t fully figured out yet.
That somehow made everything worse.
Before Taehyun could say anything else, a staff member entered the waiting room and called them backstage.
The moment broke immediately.
But the uncomfortable feeling in Taehyun’s chest stayed with him for the rest of the day.