Chapter Text
Short, cute, adorable, squishy he’d been called every possible adjective form of the word “cute” and he honestly wasn’t bothered by it. In fact he’d taken advantage of the fact that everyone wanted to help him and give him the easiest tasks because somehow him being short equated to near helplessness in a sea of ridiculously tall children he could never get away from.
He didn’t ever complain because it was sweet to see how fond the kids had grown of him in such a short amount of time. And now to be honest he was living their fan’s ultimate fantasies, because there were always someone’s hands on him or around him.
Even to himself he wouldn’t complain mentally if every time it happens Hongseok would’nt make those faces..those faces that Jinho didn’t know if he should classify as jealousy or confusion but either way it left them both flustered and feeling some weird things no one ever bothered to verbally point out till as of recently.
Even just trying to grab a few packs of ramen from the top shelf had earned him a few heart fluttering moments he’d so often do his best to avoid.
On this day late at night Jinho figured some food would be necessary cause they hadn’t eaten dinner and course Shinwon being the brat he is decided to push the packs of ramen all the way to the back of the counter when they’d first bought them a few weeks ago.
Jinho could hear him and YanAn somewhere in the background bickering back and forth as they played Fifa on their new PlayStation 4.
He let out a sigh, nibbling on his bottom lip in concentration as he leans forwards on the tips of his toes, fingers barely scraping the inside of the cabinet, the muscles in his back and arms straining to get up as high as he needed.
With a grunt he recoils, dropping back down onto the soles of his feet.
“Why do I even try..?” He mumbles to himself, huffing out in annoyance as he tries shifts his hoodie away from the tips of his finger, still wondering why he thought it was a good idea to borrow Hongseok’s old hoodie because it was basically swallowing him whole.
It was a thought he’d never admit aloud; how much he likes the feel of too big clothes that smell like cologne and a bit of musk, the feel of cotton stretched over his fingers like a safety net….nah..that’d be his own little secret.
He glances to the side looking for a chair, almost shrieking when he’s crowded against the countertops, someone heavy pressing against his back.
“Wha-“
He sees long arms reach over his head and out of the corner of his eyes he see’s Hongseok staring over at him, arms braced between the entry of the kitchen looking pensively between whoever was standing over Jinho and said man looking tiny between a pair of lanky arms.
It shouldn’t bother Jinho so much that Hongseok is watching but it does and his face is too hot his skin feels too tight.
There’s the sound of plastic hitting the counter tops and suddenly the body is stepping back, Jinho finally able to turn around and meet eyes with whoever had decided to be helpful today. A deep concerned voice resonating in Jinho’s ears as a hand cups his cheek lightly.
Wooseok
“Hyung..you okay..why is your face so red..?Are you sick..?”
His hair was wet from his shower, body still emanating crazy amounts of heat through his cotton shirt smelling like cucumbers; fresh and clean.
Instinctively it makes Jinho want to cling to him and nuzzle into his hand. Now that it was winter he had trouble trying to keep himself warm and Wooseok wasn’t making it easy to pull away, his eyes just as warm as the large palm cupping Jinho’s cheek.
But he’s just a kid and Jinho is feeling too much, shaking the weird feelings snaking up his spine away quickly stepping the other direction towards the refrigerator avoiding Woosek’s gaze for a few seconds before realizing he should say something.
Hongseok is still watching quietly in the background arms crossed over his chest as he keeps his expression neutral, an obvious sign that he was feeling some sort of way that no one else besides Jinho himself could see. Knowing what sort of feelings he kept bottled up the entire time made Jinho feel anxious in a way he couldn’t control.
“Ah…no I’m good Wooseokie, thanks for getting the ramen down for me..” He pats Wooseok’s stomach lightly hoping the light tremble in his voice wouldn’t give reason for worry.
Wooseok steps a bit closer to look at the ramen packets and small package of meat on the counter, Jinho’s hands clutching the inside of his jacket nervously as his head hit Wooseok’s chest before he took a step back and nodded.
Wooseok’s hands tighten around the towel on his neck as he let out a causal low hum, turning around to walk out of the kitchen and raising an eyebrow at the way his hyung was just standing there tensely staring at him.
“Hongseok- Hyung you look…..stressed…you okay…?” He stops in front of Hongseok, grabbing Jinho’s attention as he spins on his feet to see the two them facing each other, pure confusion written across Wooseok’s face.
What is this weird feeling…?
Jinho clears his throat and Hongseok snaps out of it whatever “it” was. He reaches up to pat Wooseok’s cheek, a small nervous smile tipping the sides of his lips upwards as he shakes his head and the other even weirder thoughts away.
“Ani Ani you’re just imagining things kid, go finish drying off, you’re dripping water onto the ground.” It sounds just about as normal as could be for someone as OCD about cleaning as Hongseok.
Wooseok shrugs; moving to walk away muttering something about “Weird ass Hyung’s” under his breath.
“YAH!!!” Both Hongseok and Jinho yell unconsciously, not surprised when Wooseok quickly scurries out of the kitchen like a naughty child who’d just gotten caught.
Jinho’s eyebrows unfurrow and he laughs at how comically stupid Wooseok looks, nearly tripping over the game controllers on the ground in the living room as he round the corner towards the bed rooms.
Both YanAn and Shinwon stare after him in confusion before shrugging their shoulders and going back to playing their game.
Jinho lets the laughter die down in his chest, glancing over at Hongseok with a small smile, his brain shooting off tiny happy electric shocks to his heart at the cute smirk Hongseok throws over at him.
Turning around he takes the ramen packets of the plastic bag and lights the fire under the pan on the stove, heavily aware of Hongseok’s presence coming closer and closer till he’s standing next to Jinho.
The package of meat is already open and Jinho reaches for it with a pair of chopstick getting ready to fry it in the pan till a heavy hand grasps his wrist and he glances up at Hongseok in quiet questioning, nearly dropping the chop sticks in his right hand.
“Oh-“
“Let me help.” Hongseok’s voice is soft and assuring, not taking no for an answer as he pulls the chopsticks away from him, quickly placing each piece of meat into the pan as Jinho nods and gives Hongseok some room to come and stand beside him, their arms touching as they work quietly.
Jinho is finely aware of how close they are and it makes him pray that Hongseok dose’nt realize that he’s wearing his jacket.
Hongseok never lets anyone wear his clothes, his consistency for keeping things neat and in place boiling over to anything that ever touches his skin.
Jinho raises the sleeves, his fingers now tearing apart ramen packages to put them in a pot. The action causes Hongseok to look up once all the meat was in the pan, the smell waffing through the kitchen and sure to draw some sort of attention from the other members.
He sets the chop sticks down and watches Jinho slip five packs of ramen in a pot knowing how strange it must look for him to be looming over Jinho eyes intense once again because he looks up at him with wide eyes, hand stilling on the knob for the stove.
“What..why are you looking at me like that..?”
It was another thing Jinho would never admit he likes; when Hongseok’s eyes went all dark and intense like he was about to seduce some cameras or kill some fan girls.
But Hongseok merely shakes his head, picking the chop sticks back up to flip a few pieces of meat voice rising above the popping sounds jumping from the pan.
“It looks good on you…” He trails off almost like he has something else to say and Jinho looks down at himself. His face warms in the tiniest amount possible and he glances away when Hongseok look down at him expectantly.
They’ve always been straight forward and honest with each other and this time is no exception.
“Thanks..its the only thing that keeps me warm and it smells nice too…” Jinho’s voice is soft and dose’nt hide the small smile on his face.
He’s so cute Hongseok thinks his heart may explode and he’s trying soo hard to keep his composure but Jinho doesn’t miss the way his hand trembles as he unnecessarily scratches the back of his head.
A strange scent fills the room and Hongseok’s nose scrunches thoughtfully before he curses, his eyes going wide as his hands latch around Jinho’s sides to tug him away from the stove.
“THE MEAT IS BURING!!!!!!”
They save the meat but that doesn’t keep the youngest members from wrinkling their noses at the dark edges around pieces of pork that stand stark against their white plates.
Hongseok doesn’t make any excuses that night because the sight of Jinho nuzzling into his jacket as he sleeps makes up for the flaky black pieces of burnt meat lurking around the table.
He really should do something about that..