Just a Little Kindness || JiLix slow burn

9.

They were all sitting at the table with a single laptop in front of them. They were all equally excited to watch the music video. When the video started to play, they felt the tension between them in the air disappear. Jisung smiled as he watched, the whole thing exciting him genuinely. He didn't feel as sad anymore and the energy in the room wasn't negative. No one could deny that Jisung looked and sounded amazing in this music video. Jisung made comments throughout the video, giving small praises to his members and cheering when the others cheered. When the video ended, he stayed relatively silent. He listened respectfully as the others gave their comments and thoughts on the video. They all seemed to enjoy it a lot, and he really did as well. He just thought it would be best to keep his thoughts to himself now that they were sharing their final impressions. The video soon ended and the eight were left to talk genuinely for an hour before they had their performance.

After that hour was up, they all went on to get ready for the comeback stage. They started the performance half an hour later. Jisung had been really happy with how the comeback had turned out. He liked all of the tracks: the title and the b-sides. They were all nice to him. He enjoyed the song he had recorded with Jeongin and Seungmin a lot as well. It was nice to have a calm time with the two of them just recording. They had even made a few jokes every now and then in the recording room. They all seemed to forget for a moment that Jisung was hated. Performing their songs together was an escape for him. He loved dancing, singing and rapping. He just loved music. It made him happy to be able to perform with his members. For once, he felt like he was a part of the group.

When the show ended, they all went backstage to cool down. Bangchan went around, giving everyone water and a towel. He even gave one to Jisung, but he kept his head turned away from the younger as he did. Jisung was still appreciative of it. Small things like that meant a lot to him.

"You all did well today. I'm proud of you," Bangchan praised the group with a kind smile.

"I'm in love with how low your voice went, Lix," Hyunjin said with a bright smile.

"Thank you!" The younger responded.

Jisung smiled a little at the compliments going around. He didn't have the courage to say anything and he knew no one would say anything to him. But just hearing the members complement each other made him a bit happier. He kept thinking back on moments of the performance. His mind went to the small part where Felix held the mic for him. It was small, but just Felix being that close to him and seeming happy made his heart flutter.

"You ok over there, Jisung?" Changbin asked, snapping his fingers in front of him.

Jisung looked up at the older and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry, hyung, I was just thinking."

"About?" Changbin asked.

"About the performance. I was thinking about what I could've done better," He half lied.

"Everything. You've been slacking on practice, remember?" Minho pointed out.

"Yeah, I know...I'm sorry. I promise I'll start going to practice again," Jisung said quietly.

"Well, you kinda have to. We're filming the Domino dance practice soon," Jeongin said, his voice quieter and timider than everyone else's.

"Oh, right. I'll be there, don't worry," Jisung assured the group.

They all continued to talk backstage and cool themselves down before they were all taken out and brought back to the dorms. There were a few things to do now that they were home. Jisung needed to get back to work, as he had been slacking a lot for the past week. Of course, things were a little easier recording-wise now that the comeback was dropping, but they had to do a lot more shows and performances now as well. This meant he couldn't be slacking off and he had to put his depression to the side and ignore it for now. He would be ok. He knew he would be ok.