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a lack of context

Summary:

as time passes jungsu notices how close he and gunil have gotten.

Notes:

my second work! i’m sorry if the ending is a little unsatisfactory, i did try my best :p

Work Text:

1. The Keyboard

Jungsu was going to explode. He glared at the keyboard in front of him and held back the urge to kick the expensive instrument. See, the problem was that Jungsu’s keyboard had dropped to his knees in the middle of a live performance, and now he was just kind of staring at it. He was never trained for this situation! He was learning how to dance several months ago; he didn’t know how to deal with sudden falling keyboards!

What should he do? Should he crouch down? Should he signal for the stage to stop so he could reposition the whole keyboard? The instrumental for Test Me was still going on behind him, so maybe he could just play it off. He took a deep breath and nodded his head. He's got this.

Jungsu crouched down awkwardly to meet the keys when a sudden, out of place twang stopped the performance a second later, startling everyone on the stage. What was that? Was everyone okay?

Jungsu whirled around, quickly scanning over each of his band mates to make sure that no one was hurt. Seungmin and Jooyeon looked okay, if not a little confused, and Jiseok was— staring at Jungsu? No. Not at Jungsu. He was staring at the one person behind Jungsu!

Jungsu shifted his attention to Hyeongjun, and found the cause of the sound and of his worries. Hyeongjun was rubbing the back of his head and glaring at a very familiar piece of wood on the ground that had presumably, somehow, been flung his way.

“Hyeongjun!” Seungmin yelled, rushing to his boyfriend’s side once he noticed how the boy was acting. He moved Hyeongjun’s hand away from his head and started inspecting the younger boy’s scalp. “Are you okay? It must’ve hurt.”

Jooyeon and Jiseok stood awkwardly to the side, one adjusting the strap on his guitar while the other whispered quietly into his ear. Jungsu rolled his eyes, watching the two for a moment to calm himself. Jooyeon and Jiseok tried their best to stay away from Gunil's drums just in case these situations happened— and they did a good job of it— but Hyeongjun couldn’t avoid the flying drumsticks even if he wanted to. Being placed behind the front line left him wide open for drumstick attacks from behind.

Jungsu sighed and stood straight. Watching Jiseok and Jooyeon had done nothing to quell his grudge against sudden flying drumsticks. He stomped his way to the very back of the stage, picking up the drumstick from the floor on his way. Judging by the sounds of mild panic behind him, Hyeongjun had tried to intercept him, but Seungmin and his worried antics made it impossible for him to leave his delegated spot on stage. Good. More time for Jungsu to confront Gunil about his bad habits.

“Gunil hyung, is this yours?” Jungsu frowned, pointing the drumstick at Gunil’s face. It was a rhetorical question, of course. No one else played the drums and threw their sticks in the air in the same way Gunil did.

It wasn't often that the older boy lost his drumsticks, but when it did happen it usually led to dramatic scenes like the one unfolding. Who knew that Gunil’s secret talent would be accidentally hitting people in the head with flying drumsticks? Jungsu hadn’t believed it himself until he had gotten hit twice during the same practice session!

The older boy laughed apprehensively, skillfully avoiding eye contact with a clearly irate Jungsu. “Whoops? I’m really sorry Hyeongjun! Please forgive me!” He shouted, completely ignoring Jungsu standing in front of him.

“It’s okay!” Hyeongjun yelled back, fighting off Seungmin’s worried hands like a professional Seungmin tamer.

“Gunil hyung. Please stop throwing your drumsticks in the air when you know you can’t catch them in time for your next entrance.” Jungsu sighed, placing the wooden stick on top of Gunil’s drums and proceeding to turn back to his place on the stage.

“I bought you time though. Now you can fix…“ He heard Gunil’s voice fade as he walked away.

What was Gunil saying? He had thrown his drumstick on purpose so Jungsu could fix his keyboard? Jungsu gasped and covered his ears. How could accidentally throwing a drumstick at one of their youngest members be of any help to Jungsu?

Before he could turn back and question him; however, the stage manager signaled for them to start from the top.

“Wait! Manager-nim can we break for a bit? My keyboard has lost some height since the last time I stood by it!” Jungsu yelled, rushing to his keyboard to readjust it to the correct height. Using the manager’s burst of laughter as a distraction while he fiddled with the screws.

Luckily, Jungsu got back up just in time for Jooyeon to start the song. On the other hand, any chance to talk to Gunil and question his drumstick catching abilities were lost to the sounds of bass strings and drums.

(Gunil made sure to properly apologize to Hyeongjun after the performance ended. He also was guilted into buying everyone ice cream in exchange for Hyeongjun keeping his intentions secret, but no one needed to know about that.)

 

 

 

2. The Jacket

Jungsu’s teeth were chattering loudly. He was trying his best to shiver quietly, but he couldn’t help it. It was way too cold to be walking around outside! Yet here he was, being the best hyung ever, and making a trip to the convenience store for Jiseok and Jooyeon.

The pair had been pestering Jungsu to go with them since the morning, but when the group had arrived back at the dorms after work, Jooyeon and Jiseok were the first ones to fall asleep, leaving Jungsu to make the trip on his own.

Traitors.

Jungsu shivered again and picked up his pace. While the night sky was pretty and the stars were peaceful, it was also a little too cold for Jungsu’s light sweater and jeans. He rubbed his arms for warmth and looked around. if he ran to the store, he could probably make it there and back within five minutes or so, but was it really worth the energy?

He weighed the pros and cons. Then sighed and quickly checked his pockets to make sure everything was secure. If he was going to run, he had to make sure he wasn’t going to leave anything behind! He was about to take off when he heard it: a set of footsteps quickly approaching him from behind.

Jungsu froze as the footsteps got even closer. Was it a jogger? At this time of night? Impossible! Surely it couldn’t be a stalker right? They had just debuted, there was no was they had saesangs already-

“Jungsu!” A hand landed on his shoulder, causing Jungsu to spin around screaming. “Don’t run off yet!”

“What are you doing, oh my god hyung!” Jungsu yelled, lightly slapping Gunil’s arm when the man stopped beside him. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“I had a good reason to scare you!” Gunil retorted, shoving a black mass of fabric into Jungsu’s arms. “Put it on. It’s cold outside and you’re only wearing the sweater from earlier.”

Jungsu glanced down and quickly made sense of what was in his arms. It was a hoodie. Specifically it was the one that Gunil had been wearing in the morning before they had gotten dressed up to go to work. Gunil liked to wear his sleep clothes a little oversized, but that usually meant that anyone else who tried to wear his clothes— excluding Hyeongjun who was slowly getting taller than all of them— would be swimming in fabric.

“Are you sure you want me to wear this hyung?” Jungsu asked, holding the hoodie out in front of him so Gunil could see it too. “It may be a little too big on me.”

“It’s okay,” Gunil shrugged, taking the hoodie from Jungsu’s hands and slipping it over Jungsu’s head for him. “It’s better for it to be big anyways. It’s warmer that way.”

“Oh- okay.”

Jungsu shimmed himself into the hoodie and stuck his arms through the sleeves, immensely grateful for the warmth that it gave him. It was as if a fire had started in his body and warmed Jungsu from the inside out. Gunil had always had that effect on him.

He covered his ears with the sleeves— he had sweater paws. sweater paws!—of Gunil’s jacket, hoping they weren’t too red. He glanced at Gunil who was just standing next to him, smiling at who knows what. His eyes were shining, even in the dark, and his newly dyed hair was a little messy, but it wasn’t like he was planning to go anywhere so Jungsu wouldn’t hold it against him. It was just part of the older’s charm.

“Come on,” Jungsu prompted, grabbing Gunil by the wrist and dragging him forwards towards the corner store, “Jiseok and Jooyeon will be upset if we don’t get them their snacks, hyung.”

Gunil laughed quietly, using his free hand to pull the hood of the jacket up so it covered Jungsu’s ears and head neatly. “I guess they will be.”

(Jungsu’s ears were still red when they returned to the dorm. Jiseok and Jooyeon, now awake, asked what had happened, but put two and two together when they saw Jungsu’s jacket. He was teased without Gunil's knowledge for a week. Traitors!)

 

 

 

3. The Phone

“Has anyone seen my phone?!” Jungsu cried out, hands running through his hair as he checked the couch cushions for the 30th time in the last five minutes. Where could it have gone? He had literally set it down for a second to help Jooyeon with the food, and when he came back it was gone!

Jungsu scowled and kicked the couch. “Stupid couch, eating my phone and making it disappear.”

“Did you find it?” Gunil asked, having stepped into his room for a second to change out of his work clothes for a bit while Jooyeon and Jungsu prepped the table with drinks and snacks.

“No!” Jungsu exclaimed, crossing his arms and sitting grumpily on the cursed couch. “It disappeared, hyung!”

Gunil laughed at Jungsu’s antics before pulling out his own phone from his pocket. He waved it in the air. “Do you want me to call it? Is your sound on?”

Jungsu jumped up from the couch and grabbed Gunil by the shoulders. “Yes please. I beg you, please call the damn rectangle.” He begged as he shook Gunil harshly.

Gunil laughed, and Jungsu had to frown. How dare he laugh at his predicament! Everything from his music files to important documents were on his phone! Losing it was basically losing his life!

“Woah, make some room lovebirds!” Jiseok exclaimed, pushing himself between Gunil and Jungsu and sitting on the couch. Jungsu glared at him with a glare he hoped conveyed his anger. Jiseok giggled. Damn.

“I’ll call it, hold on.” Gunil said, searching for Jungsu’s contact and sitting next to Jiseok. He put his phone on his leg and held his finger to his lips while Jungsu stood completely still, listening for his ringtone.

TRRRING TRRRING

There it was!

TRRRING TRRRING

Gunil had to pull back his feet as Jungsu darted for the couch arms, pulling at them to reveal the space between the arm and the cushion.

TRRRING TRRRING

He was sure Jiseok and Gunil were staring at him like he was a madman, but he knew his phone was there. He dug a bit further, and finally, finally his fingers brushed by a piece of hard plastic. That had to be his phone case!

“I found it!” Jungsu yelled, running up to Jiseok and Gunil to celebrate not permanently losing his phone. He grabbed their hands and started jumping up and down out of excitement, letting their laughter fill the room as he shook their hands up and down. “Gunil hyung! You’re a lifesaver!”

“O-oh, don’t worry about it Jungsu.” Gunil stuttered between his laughs, watching as Jungsu dropped their hands and grabbed Gunil’s shoulders in a tight grip.

“You’re the best!” Jungsu exclaimed, trapping the older boy in a bear hug and making sure to never let go of his phone. He couldn’t lose it again after Gunil had helped him to find it after all! It was an odd observation to make at the time, but he could feel Gunil's heartbeat through his chest. It was calming in a way, but Jungsu was too hyped to really listen and calm down.

He felt Gunil pat his back a few times before Jungsu let go, still smiling and leaning over the older. “You seriously saved my life, hyung. I've got everything on my phone!”

“You’re welcome?”

“Okay hyungs!” Jiseok interjected, shoving his hand directly in Jungsu’s face. “I’m glad you found your phone, Jungsu hyung, but I’d really like to start watching movies now.”

“Oh, right.” Jungsu muttered, moving to the side and throwing himself on to the empty space beside Gunil. Jooyeon and Jiseok took up the rest of the couch, so it was only appropriate for Jungsu to take up the remaining space. Even if there was a whole other seat available to his right that would eventually be taken by Seungmin and Hyeongjun. The two were small enough to fit comfortably in the small seat, so they could lay claim to it.

The movie started once everyone was seated and the lights were switched off. It was an animation— one that Jungsu had been meaning to watch but never had the time to. He snuggled into the couch, feeling his phone stabbing his side from his hoodie pocket. It was okay. The animation would distract him.

(If Gunil wrapped his arm around Jungsu’s shoulder as the animation continued to play, no one was the wiser. Even better, no one should even be aware of how warm Jungsu was feeling. Was it normal to feel this warmth in your chest when someone close to you wrapped their arm around your shoulder?)

 

 

 

4. The Nap

Jungsu was tired. Tired enough to start nodding off in his chair as the makeup artists gently put some lip tint on his lips and pulled his hair out the way. They had to keep shaking him awake, which was annoying, but he knew he couldn’t complain since it was their job to make them ready for any and every schedule they had for the day ahead.

He sighed when he was finally ushered out of the chair and placed on the white couch at the back of the waiting room. In his humble opinion, it was much too early to be energetic or sociable. Waking up at 4 in the morning had been one thing, but having to wake up their resident late riser Jooyeon while wrestling with their bags in his hands was a task Jungsu never wanted to repeat. Ever.

He leaned back into the couch and shut his eyes. The fatigue from earlier was hitting him full force, and dear god was he tired. Successive waves of schedules and fanmeets were slowly chipping at his already low energy levels, and he was getting alarmingly close to zero.

Maybe a quick nap wouldn’t hurt. He cracked his eyes open and glanced around. There was no one on the couch from what he could see, so he quickly readjusted himself to be sprawled on his back. Sleep came quickly, and soon Jungsu was out like a light, dreaming of hoodies on cold nights and flying drumsticks.

The shifting of the couch woke him some time later, and when Jungsu stirred to better drown out the noise around him, he was surprised to find that his head was cushioned on something that wasn’t cheap plastic couch cushions.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to look around. Hyeongjun and Jooyeon were getting their final makeup done, so he wasn’t out for too long. The staff weren’t rushing either, so they weren’t late. He yawned and stretched out his arms with the limited space he had.

“Oh, you’re awake?” Gunil’s voice came from somewhere above him, and he shifted his head to find Gunil extremely close to his face. Oh, his head must be on Gunil’s leg then if he’s so close. No wonder it felt so much nicer than the couch.

He nodded, feeling his hair stick to the fabric of Gunil’s jeans. “Yeah. How long was I out?” He rubbed the base of his neck, scratching at the itch that had been developing for the past few seconds.

Gunil shrugged. “Just around ten minutes or so? Jiseok and Seungmin just had their makeup done, so you weren’t asleep for too long.”

“Good,” Jungsu lifted his head and blinked a few times to clear up his vision. “It was a good nap while it lasted.”

Gunil laughed. “You sure looked comfortable.” He joked, lightly pushing Jungsu’s shoulder. “I hope you didn’t mind sleeping on my leg, it looked a lot more comfortable than you trying to cushion your head with your arms.”

Jungsu felt his ears grow warm again. He hoped he hadn’t said anything in his sleep. Sleep talking, while rare, was one of his habits he hadn’t been able to tame before moving into the dorms.

He tried to will his ears back to their original color. “Well, I was also really tired. don’t think your leg was the thing that put me to sleep, Mr. Gunil.”

Gunil raised his eyebrows. “I never said anything about my leg putting you to sleep, Mr. Jungsu.” His eyes shifted to Jungsu’s ears, “Your ears are really red.”

Jungsu’s eyes grew wide and he turned away. Why did gunil have to look at his ears? He took one final glance at the time on his phone screen before covering his ears and running out of the dressing room.

“I’m going to the washroom!”

(Jungsu came back with half of his makeup washed off and red ears. The makeup artists had to redo his face in record time. When asked what had happened, he just responded with “It was necessary.”)

 

 

 

5. The Language

Jungsu scanned over the English script in his hand one more time before they began filming. The vocabulary didn’t seem too hard when written out on paper, but when Jungsu tried to form the words with his mouth they never seemed to come out right.

He whispered the few sentences he had to himself. “’We tha- thank you for your suppo- support-‘ Oh come on!”

Everyone else in the room was doing the same thing as him, scratching their heads and reading their scripts in a frenzy, except for Gunil, who had the extremely convenient ability to speak fluent english. The eldest was sprawled over one of the chairs in the middle of the room, playing games on his phone amidst the chaos around him. Somehow, he hadn’t gotten annoyed at the steady stream of noise around him, and was just sitting there like a statue.

Jungsu shook his head. He had to focus. The video they were filming was a short one, but it was still important to know their lines so they didn’t have to read off of a prompter. He tried to say his lines again, fumbling over the flipped r’s and stumbling over the th sounds like a child who was first learning how to walk.

A shadow appeared over his shoulder. “Do you need help?” Gunil whispered amongst the noise, resting his chin on Jungsu’s shoulder as if it was the easiest action in the world.

Jungsu shivered at how close Gunil was, but quickly regained his composure. “A little.” He admitted with a smile. He wasn’t the best at admitting he needed help, but for some reason things always came easier to him when it was Gunil asking. “How do you say this part here?”

Gunil looked at the words Jungsu was pointing at and read them out to himself while Jungsu waited patiently. He took the chance to observe Gunil’s focused face, his eyes mainly focused on the small pout his mouth formed whenever he was thinking hard. Not to mention Gunil’s absolutely stunning beauty. Jungsu sometimes just daydreamed about how pretty Gunil was for hours on end.

“Okay so,” Gunil interrupted Jungsu’s daydream, “this bit here is only hard because you have the L sound in the middle of the word.” Jungsu nodded, eyes following Gunil’s finger as it made its way across the paper and pointed out small things that would help Jungsu fix his pronunciation. He was listening too, but the sound of Gunil’s voice was much more interesting than the English nonsense he was spouting in Jungsu’s ear.

“Do you understand?” Gunil asked, eyeing Jungsu who just nodded. He was listening, and did hear the way Gunil pronounced certain words, but it was all up to his mouth to see if he could pronounce it when they filmed. Nonetheless, he waved Gunil away when the older man asked him if he was okay and started to fret over him. Gunil was always too caring for the others around him and never cared for himself enough. Jungsu pretended to not notice the eyebags under Gunil’s eyes and how long it took the older to climb out of bed in the mornings.

A loud voice echoed through the waiting room. “We’re ready to film! Please get into order!” Their manager yelled over the chaos of muddled English, making a face at the groans that echoed from the member’s mouths. “Come on, it’s only a two minute video! You’ve got this! Fighting!”

Jungsu sighed and followed his members through the door. It was time to show how Gunil had helped him!

(After filming the quick video, the members went out to eat together. Gunil sat himself right next to Jungsu and slung an arm over his shoulder while he ate. Maybe he still thought Jungsu felt bad? Either way, Jungsu wouldn’t mind if it lasted longer than this moment.)

 

 

 

+1. The Bad Day

The door slammed behind him as he walked into the dorm. He took his shoes off, using the wall behind him to balance as he wrestled with the cursed set of tennis shoes. He was thankful that the stylists had let them wear their own shoes today. Gunil wouldn’t have survived if he had to wear those cursed heeled boots for another day. The lights flickered above him, and Gunil glared at the lightbulb. He should probably fix that while he remembered it.

He dropped off his bags in his shared room, waving at a sleepy eyed Hyeongjun as he passed by the younger’s bed. The younger waved back, sticking his head out from the confines of his blanket. “Where are you going hyung?” He asked, switching off his phone and dropping it on the sheets in front of him. “It’s nearly two in the morning?”

Gunil gave him a tired smile. “The light in the entryway is flickering. I’m gonna fix it and then come back, okay?” He reassured, patting Hyeongjun on the head as he walked back out of the room. The lightbulbs were somewhere in the kitchen, hidden in one of the high cabinets out of view. He had no idea what possessed him to put the lights there, but even he had to reach high to find them from time to time.

He flipped on the light and reached into the cabinet, standing on the tips of his toes to reach into the far back where he couldn’t see. He felt around the cabinet, trying his best to reach to the very back. The light bulbs had to be somewhere in there. He moved his hand quickly, making a giant sweeping motion in the hopes of sweeping the light bulbs towards him.

•••••

Jungsu woke up to the sound of something crashing loudly in the kitchen. He shot out of his bed and ran around the screen that divided the living room and his sleeping area, being careful to not wake up Hyeongjun sleeping next to him. The lights to the kitchen were on, and Jungsu gasped when he stumbled into the room.

Gunil was sitting on the floor, surrounded by shattered pieces of what looked to be glass or extremely sharp plastic. The eldest was slowly picking up the pieces with his hands, moving slowly to hide the sounds of glass hitting glass. His eyes were calm, but his hands were shaking and his breaths were uneven. The eyebags under his eyes had grown, and he moved as if he hadn’t slept in days.

“Hyung?” Jungsu asked, drawing Gunil’s attention. The man looked at Jungsu with wide eyes, like a child who had been caught defying the rules. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Jungsu moved to grab the kitchen town that rested on the handle of the oven before kneeling down next to Gunil and taking his hand. “Here, let’s put the glass shards in the rag, okay?” He said, physically turning Gunil’s hand so the glass fell neatly into the towel. “Why don’t you go sit on the couch while I pick up the rest?”

Gunil shook his head rather violently, his blonde hair flying in every direction. “Wait, no,” Gunil whispered, grabbing Jungsu’s wrist to hold him in place, “I can clean it up. You can go back to sleep. I have it covered.” He moved to stand up, using the countertops to shakily pull himself to his feet. Jungsu stood up behind him, holding his arms out behind Gunil just in case the older toppled over.

“Hyung, you really should go lie down.” Jungsu insisted, lightly pushing Gunil towards the living room couch while they were both standing. He supported Gunil as they walked to the couch and carefully sat him down, making sure to not jostle him too much just in case he really did fall over.

“I told you that I had it covered though.” Gunil complained while closing his eyes.

Jungsu frowned, “And I said that you had to sit down. Do you know how unsteady you were while we walked over here, hyung? You would have fallen over if I wasn’t there to catch you when you swayed too far in one direction.”

“But I could at least pick up glass.”

“No you could not.”

Gunil pouted, “Then who will pick it up? Are you telling me that you’re going to leave that mess there until morning?” He asked sleepily, his voice fading out near the ends.

Jungsu laughed, “No, that’s ridiculous.” He patted Gunil’s head and stood up, stretching his arms. “While you lay down and rest, I’m going to pick up the rest of the glass with the kitchen towel.”

Gunil’s eyes cracked open, “You’re not staying?” He asked, his voice small and defeated.

Jungsu’s heart cracked. Since when had Gunil, his overconfident and loud Gunil, sounded so small? He grabbed Gunil’s hand again, letting Gunil’s eyes follow the movement. “I’m just going to clean the kitchen, okay? I’ll be back before you even know it, I swear.”

Gunil closed his eyes and nodded, letting Jungsu run to the kitchen and clean up the glass in record time. The glass was swept up in the kitchen towel and disposed of in the trash, and Jungsu himself washed his hands to make sure that no small glass shards escaped his vision before returning to Gunil’s side, silently dashing around obstacles in the dark of the dorm.

Jungsu sat down next to Gunil on the couch and glanced over Gunil. His eyes were shut and his breathing was even. He must have fallen asleep while Jungsu cleaned. Good. He looked as if he needed the rest. Jungsu swept Gunil’s hair away from his eyes, making sure to not bother the older boy too much.

Jungsu sighed and sat up, stretching his arms above his head. It was rather late at night, and he hadn’t gotten much sleep before Gunil woke him up. He glanced back at the screen that separated his sleeping area from the rest of the living room, and then glanced at Gunil sleeping right next to him. Would it be too much of a bother to move there and lay back down with Hyeongjun?

He shook his head. No, Gunil needed him right now even if he was asleep, and Jungsu was not going to leave him here alone. He leaned back into the couch and faced Gunil, wincing at the angle of the boy’s neck. That wouldn’t be nice to wake up to. So, he scooted closer to the boy and snuggled up to his side, leaning the boy’s head on Jungsu’s shoulder while the rest of his body was pressed into Jungsu’s side. He didn’t really mind. It was warm, and Gunil could wake up to someone by his side. That was enough for Jungsu.

Soon enough, Jungsu drifted off to sleep with the older boy draped over him, one arm around his waist and Gunil’s head on his shoulder.

(In the morning they were awoken by Hyeongjun shaking them awake, concern showing on his face. Jungsu was still half asleep, but Gunil held his hand and dragged him into the bathroom to wash up. When they walked to the van together, hand in hand, no one questioned anything. And when they sat in the very back seats, no space between them, no one even gave them a second glance. This was how it was meant to be. Gunil and Jungsu, hand in hand, dozing off in the back seats. It was perfect.)