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They finally arrived to the villa.
The kids immediately rushed inside after giving a once-over to the courtyard and the pool, the hot weather heating up too much against the concrete. It honestly felt like being blasted by an oven, and it was a miracle the plastic chairs hadn't already melted yet.
Minho stepped out of the car with a yelp, his sweat soaked back hitting the air in seconds. The weather was so hot and humid that it was hard to even blink without having sweat droplets constantly stinging his eyes. The one good thing that came out of capitalism was Air conditioning and he wants to give a big fat smooch to whoever created it in the first place.
He also wants to give a big fat smooch to the boy sleeping next to him but that'll disturb Jisung out of sleep, so he doesn't.
The villa was nice, a bit barren for his taste, but nice nonetheless. It looked like it came out of those videos of rich people flaunting their horrid taste in decorating and interior design in general, with the comment section flaming them over every breath they take, and yeah he might agree with them at some points, but he can't necessarily complain about it right now. Especially with the way the AC and fan were blasting on him, keeping him together from melting like a popsicle.
He was hanging upside down on the sofa, the other members chatting and eating from the direction where his feet where hanging.
His brain was practically empty right now. Maybe a few flys buzzing around, but mostly empty. He was recharging his energy from belting out to the songs that all the young kids were doing TikTok dances on, and he's fucking drained. A pretty harsh reality that he's not nineteen anymore. Nineteen.
Nineteen. It feels like a lifetime ago.
And in a literal sense, it is. He's 27 now, his bones aren't the same, he needs proper sleep unless he wants headaches that last days, and his life has significantly changed.
At nineteen, he thought everything was over when he was eliminated and he had nothing to lose. Now, he has so much to lose.
His family. His cats. His Jisung.
It's all too overwhelming sometimes, the reality of being an idol. Of having to sing, pretend, love, and repeat the whole process for god knows how many years.
Don't get him wrong, he loves it all, of course. But the reality of having so much weigh on him, that one slight mistake could mess up the trajectory of the entire group, it frankly scares him to the moon and back.
Yeah it's wrong to think that all the burden falls on his shoulder, but it doesn't fully quell his fears regardless, acting moreso like a bandage on a broken bone. He knows that most of the other members do more than he does, Chan, Felix, Hyunjin, and all of the rest of them. But it still doesn't quell his fears.
He doesn't want anything to happen to his family.
He loves them so dearly that, after all these years, he doesn't know what to do without them.
He's terrified of something happening to them. Like really terrified.
And in this day and age, it seems like all the risks are one step away from knocking at his door.
Oh and there's the military part as well, because of course there is. But he's deliberately ignoring that part for now..for his own sanities sake.
Besides him, Jisung stirs. The younger let's out a snort, fully enjoying his nap, and scratching his thighs from the feeling of a fly grazing on it. A pillow was tucked in between his legs and he was curled up in a ball in such a way that Minho had to look away to not let the cuteness aggression get to him. He gets up with a huff.
Since they arrived and settled in, he was honestly zoned out to the max, only now realizing that the other members were done eating and were clearing up. He lazily strides to help them, sneaking in a few bites from Changbin who was still munching on some sushi rolls.
"Should we go swimming?" He mumbles out between his chewing, mindlessly pondering out loud without any real thought.
Changbin looks at him expectantly, a mix of skepticism and amusement, "You? In the swimming pool? Hyunjin-ah!" He calls out, smacking the sauce off of his lips, "Look what this idiot is saying."
Changbin ducks from the half hearted fist Minho threw in the air at him. "But seriously. Why do you want to go swimming? Lino-hyung, what can you even do in water?"
Minho rolls his eyes at the familiar jab and ignores the way Felix and Chan start howling. "I mastered waterboarding, Changbin-ah. You're talking to a world-class master right here." He takes a few more bites of the sushi and skips away, ignoring whatever Changbin said back.
He makes his way to the sofa where Jisung was still napping and where a certain Hyunjin was buzzing around him, taking selfies at angles that were definitely forbidden in their media training. Minho still thinks there are no pictures of Jisung where he doesn't look cute to him.
"Hyunjinnie, what are you doing," he leans on his shoulder.
"Look at this hamster hyung," he says in awe, scrolling through the photos, "It's really crazy how Han-ah looks good even in sleep. Look at his teeth." He points at them.
Minho hums in agreement. After all, he wakes up to this sight almost daily, so he isn't really fazed by it. "Hannie did a good job in driving. He needs the sleep."
"I guess so." As the conversation ended, Hyunjin lost interest and moved along after placing back the phone, leaving Minho staring at a cute bug. Or a hamster. Or a Jisung. It's kinda hard to differentiate between all these persona's sometimes. A second or two passes with him just staring, contemplating on what to do next. Of course, he does next what's best for content, mainly thinking about what Stay might enjoy and post tweets about, gushing over every frame of the video. After giving it much thought,
Minho jumps on the sofa for absolutely no reason.
He relishes in the way Jisung startles and let's out a cute groan, relaxing when he realizes it's Minho and his antics. "Good morning," he exclaims softly at the sleepy cuddle bug.
Jisungs face was smushed into the sofa arm, a cushion tucked underneath his chin. Minho cards his finger through the messy bed hair, patting it down slightly, "You gonna get up bug?"
"No," Jisung slurs out, eyes fluttering shut again and his voice deep. He was still in the hazy border of dreamland and reality, that much was clear. The sun shining down and coating everything in a warm, nostalgic glow was apparently not helping either. He nuzzles into Minho's touch.
Minho hums. "Want me to change your clothes for you?" He caresses the younger, hand trailing and massaging his hip with years of familiarity.
"No," Jisung whines again, rubbing his nose with the back of his fingers, "I don' wanna. Are all the kids dressed up?" He questions, eyes still shut.
"No. Let hyung change your clothes, Jisungie."
"Aish Minho-yah," he let's out a small chuckle, rubbing the sleepiness out of his face as he finally wills himself awake. Jisungs tired eyes peer up at him in full honesty and Minho flusters under the gaze, regardless of how many times he's seen it throughout the years. "You pervert. You just wanna see me naked."
"Me? A pervert? That doesn't sound like me at all." He smirks. Of course, his hand slipping underneath his shirt, caressing his back, was something that they weren't going to point out. Obviously. Minho leans in and steals a kiss from the other who clearly wasn't expecting it.
Jisung rolls his eyes at him, "Yeah yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night, Jagi." His lips twitch with the constraint of not letting a smile slip through him.
Distantly, Minho can hear the other members shuffling around, some going into their rooms and sorting their bags out, some already in the pool. But his mind tunes all of it out on instinct, focusing only on the here and now and Jisung.
He pokes a finger into Jisungs belly button. The younger yelps, holding his wrist and complaining underneath him between laughter. Minho smiles.
There's no point in overthinking the future nor the present. He just wants to live and love- that's what matters the most to him. And he wants to cherish as much as he can.
He can't guarantee what the future will hold for all of them, but he can guarantee the present with his members.
He doesn't know when there will be a next time for all of them to be together again, but he prays that the love he has for all of them right now stays the same in years from now on.