stunning ° hyunho ✓

seungmin

hyunjin could not remember when he had last been so nervous before comeback stage. when he thought about it, he was not even sure that the comeback was the reason for his anxiety. he was standing next to minho, who looked uncharacteristically serious as he stretched his arms. they had not interacted much since the day of felix's ill-fated confession, and now that they were trying to keep a casual conversation, the tension between them was nerve-wracking for hyunjin. 

as much as hyunjin did not want to acknowledge it, the awkwardness was his fault. he had been the one avoiding minho – and felix. felix. hyunjin shuddered at the thought. things between his former best friend and him had not smoothed in the slightest – also hyunjin's fault. 

he sensed someone's gaze on himself. seungmin was looking at him with his large, wise puppy eyes. hyunjin had no doubt that seungmin understood what was going on. he was smart and perceptive, although not always merciful. he did not miss a chance to tease hyunjin about the minho and brownie accident from last week, for instance. hyunjin decided to try his luck anyways and sent him a pleading look. save me. 

to his surprise and delight, seungmin walked up to them. 

"wah," he said, looking hyunjin up and down. "i'm not a simp, but you look... good."

hyunjin threw minho a sideway glance and saw the older already glaring daggers at seungmin. hyunjin widened his eyes. 

"you are not helping," he mouthed to seungmin, hoping that minho would not notice. 

seungmin's eyes were full of mischief as he went on, "no, seriously, whoever chose this outfit for you deserves a raise. you look stunning."

hyunjin could do nothing but smile awkwardly. he should have known better than to expect actual help from kim seungmin. 

seungmin, meanwhile, engulfed him in a tight hug. "calm down. i'm trying to help," he whispered in hyunjin's ear.

hyunjin looked at minho, who, although he was not looking at them anymore, looked visibly tense. there was a menacing aura around him. hyunjin did not have a clue why minho disliked to see the other members touch him, but this was not important now. the important thing was that minho looked ready to murder.

"you are not helping," hyunjin whispered back.

"i definitely am," seungmin insisted and said loudly, "i've forgotten how good hugging the most beautiful person in the world feels..."

hyunjin closed his eyes, bracing himself for minho's reaction. however, minho only inhaled and exhaled sharply and continued to stretch. the reaction that hyunjin feared came from felix.

focusing on minho, hyunjin had forgotten to pay attention to felix, who was now approaching them, an uncharacteristically grim expression on his face. 

"hyunjin doesn't like physical contact," he said to seungmin quietly. he did not spare hyunjin a glance. 

seungmin looked him up and down, his head slightly tilted to the side, but did not let go of hyunjin. "he likes it when it's me. right, hyunjinie?"

"let go of him, please."

seungmin scoffed. "you aren't scary."

felix's calm, deep voice was scarier than any screaming. "have you forgotten i have a third-degree black belt in taekwondo?"

hyunjin's eyes widened. this was going south quickly.

he freed himself from seungmin's hug, but it did not help. felix kept staring at seungmin, a betrayed look on his face. "i asked you not to do something, but you're doing it in front of me." 

seungmin folded his arms on his chest. "the last time i checked you didn't own him." he waited for a second before adding, "wake up to reality. having an one-sided crush on someone doesn't mean he is yours."

"yah," felix raised his voice slightly. seeing him mad was such a rare sight. to hyunjin he seemed intimidating. 

seungmin did not look afraid in the slightest, though. "what? am i wrong?" challenged he back. 

felix clenched his fists and stepped closer to him. "he's my best friend, not yours." 

seungmin cocked an eyebrow. "friends don't like each other romantically."

"guys..." hyunjin tried to interfere, but he was so nervous that his voice came out barely audible. the last thing he wanted is for them to fight. he could feel his legs go wobbly and all strength leave his body – just what he needed before a comeback stage. "guys," he repeated weakly.

someone wrapped a warm, protective arm around his shoulders just before he would have collapsed on the floor. 

"come," minho said gently, "let's find you a place to sit."

as he cleared the way for hyunjin to get through the horde of staff members, he turned and threw seungmin and felix his most intimidating glare. "get your shit together." if you asked hyunjin, this was minho at his absolute sexiest.

minho led hyunjin to the couch furthest away from seungmin and felix.

"are you uncomfortable because of the comeback or these two?" he asked, sitting down next to hyunjin. his arm was still wrapped around the younger.

"both," hyunjin confessed. minho noticed that his leg was shaking. 

"don't mind the dumbasses. focus your pretty head on the comeback," he said, keeping his voice as gentle as possible. "breathe."

hyunjin nodded. he tried to steady his breathing, but his legs just would not stop shaking. 

minho watched hyunjin with concern for a minute, as if contemplating what to do. then he reached out and took hyunjin's hand in his. hyunjin froze.

minho's hand was warm and holding it should have been comforting, but instead it felt like mini electric shocks that filled hyunjin with nervous excitement. it felt good in an unexplainable way.

he tentatively raised his other hand and put it on top of minho's. minho smiled.

"better?"

hyunjin met his gaze and smiled back.

"definitely better."

talking to minho again felt like coming home after having been lost outside during a storm.

a/n: i wanted to update daily, but had to skip two days :((