Minghao

Minghao finds Jihoon in his studio. It's too dark to see anything, but as he makes his way inside, he catches the outline of a person in the chair. It's still a few hours before they need to head to the airport, so he's not surprised to find Jihoon here.

He's been in here enough to guide himself around in the dark. What he doesn't expect is to bump into one of the couches. A yelp escapes him and Minghao lowers himself to hold where he knocked himself. He's so focused on it that he doesn't hear the wheels of the chair move across the floor. He doesn't sense the presence until he hears a snort and looks up to find Jihoon staring down at him. His eyes are whirlpools in the dark, the corners of his lips hinting at a smile.

He doesn't miss the concern in Jihoon's eyes.

"Are you hurt?" Amusement decorates his tone. It's dark, but Minghao can tell he's got his arms crossed and is holding back laughter. He won't laugh until he's certain Minghao's okay.

Minghao scoffs. "Did you move things around again?" He asks, getting to his feet. It doesn't hurt. He'd only been surprised to bump into something. Jihoon, even when stressed, barely moves things around unless he's redecorating.

"Vocal unit met up for a practice and Seungkwan moved something so there'd be more space." He says this with disdain, but he must be happy to meet up with his unit. Minghao feels ecstatic when the performance team meets up. "You can turn the light on if you want."

Minghao chooses to put the LED light on instead. He prefers it to the big light. It sets the mood and gives off a good vibe that pulls him to visit the studio more often. He likes sitting here and sometimes Jihoon lets him chill alone if he's busy.

The room fills purple in time for Minghao to see Jihoon wheeling his chair back to the desk. The cap covers his eyes and he's wearing one of Minghao's bomber jackets. In his hand is a pencil, his other hand near his face, fingers pressing into his temple as he stares down at a page. Minghao takes a seat on the stool beside Jihoon and peeks over.

It's a lyric page. Jihoon looks like he's making edits, but there's scribbles and writing all over the place that he doesn't know what is what.

"Is this the song you were working on?"

"Am working on," Jihoon corrects quietly. He doesn't falter in movements and appears unaffected by Minghao's presence. He hasn't looked up at all. "I thought you weren't going to come here."

"You're here," Minghao reminds. He pulls his phone out of his pocket, swiping through his apps until he finds the messaging app. "We need to leave in the next twenty minutes."

It's quiet for a moment and Minghao thinks Jihoon is acknowledging what has been said. Jihoon of all people likes to be early at the airport. They decided yesterday the time they would leave and what they would do before that. Minghao wanted to prepare himself and Jihoon said he'd grab snacks at the store. Clearly they were wrong.

When Jihoon sighs, it catches Minghao by surprise. He's packing up his things.

"Hyung."

"I'm fine," Jihoon stresses, standing. His hands press flat against the table, tips of his fingers whitening. Minghao notes his hands are shaking. He starts to reach out for Jihoon's hand, but the latter pulls away and stuffs everything into his bag. "We should go," he mutters before Minghao can get another word in.

Him and Jihoon have been dating the second longest in the group. Up until now, Jihoon has always been standoffish when something is bothering him. He's not the type to call Minghao and tell him exactly what's wrong. Jihoon has always been the type to go through something and only when it looks like it's no longer bothering him will he bring it up. It makes Minghao feel like a bad boyfriend sometimes, but once when he told Jihoon that, he was scolded.

However, Jihoon has never pulled away from him. Not when they're alone. It's understandable when they're around other people, but now it's like Minghao is part of the thing that's bothering him.

"Minghao." Jihoon is in the doorway, looking his way. "Are you coming?"

With a heavy chest, Minghao gets to his feet and follows Jihoon out of the studio.

*

"You've joined one of Jeonghan's dares."

It's the first thing Jihoon says when they're on the plane. They got separated on their way in, Minghao having just reached their seat. He hasn't even sat down yet. Looking over at Jihoon, he stares wordlessly. He doesn't know how to respond because he never anticipated this.

"Excuse me?"

Jihoon snorts, turning his head to look out the window. Minghao takes a seat, but Jihoon doesn't look back.

"You heard me," he says.

Minghao sits staring and Jihoon stays looking away. Thinking he's not going to be getting a response out of Jihoon any time soon, Minghao shifts forward, hands searching for the seatbelt. He sets down his bag and pulls out his phone.

There's a message from Chan. He doesn't get to check it.

"What kind of dare is it?" Jihoon's voice breaks the silence. He speaks quieter than he usually does, his voice careful in keeping a steady tone. The way he says it, like he's being careful, tips Minghao off.

"Is this why you're mad at me?" Minghao looks at him, eyebrows raised. He didn't think Jihoon would get upset about something like this. He usually didn't mind. Maybe it's because he wasn't told about it and it was being done secretively.

"I wasn't mad," Jihoon mutters. "Just... You don't usually join in on his stuff. Why'd you do it this time?"

Minghao considers his answer. It's an automatic answer, no hesitation, but having it come across without it sounding terrible is tricky. As Jihoon looks up at him expectantly, he knows he has to tell him. He just hopes his delivery of the words are taken the way it should be.

"To get a cute picture with you."

It's clear this isn't the response Jihoon was expecting. He looks genuinely surprised. His whole angry demeanour has evaporated into thin air, the shock taking over.

"You want a cute picture with me?"

"You're my boyfriend, Hoon. Of course I want a cute picture with you."

Their conversation ends there. Mostly just Minghao giving Jihoon the time he needs to respond. When they first started dating, he explained it to Jihoon who had been appreciative of the action. Usually people are expected to answer immediately, but Minghao knows it can be hard. The first time he did it, Jihoon thought he was mad, but when Minghao explained, Jihoon simmered down and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Minghao pulls out a book right as the plane starts. He rests his arm on the armrest, hand dangling for Jihoon to take. Whether it was fear or habit, Jihoon always grabs his hand before the plane ascends. Says he doesn't like the feeling it gives him.

When they're airborne, Jihoon says his name. Minghao starts to turn right as Jihoon places a kiss on his cheek. Minghao's eyes are wide in surprise.

"You're always welcome to take pictures with me," Jihoon says. He flips his phone to show the picture he's taken. "I don't know the rules, but I'll send it to you when we land."

"Thanks, hyung."

When Jihoon smiles, the butterflies go wild in Minghao's stomach.