turning point | jay x heeseung | complete

i. honey lemon tea

Heeseung, factually - objectively, even - is a very attractive person.

It's not strange at all to admire that, Jay thinks.

He sees it now as Heeseung freestyles. Even in front of a camera, he's effortless, movements fluid and exuberant, moving in a way Jay knows he has honed and perfected for the past 4 years.

4 years that Jay has been fighting by his side; that he's sweat, cried and cackled right there next to him.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with admiring an old friend, he thinks.

But there is something different in the way he sees him now. A resilient, beautiful person - with a chiseled jaw, bright eyes, strong arms, and a fluffy mop of brown curls.

God, Jay wants to kiss him.

-

"Jay-hyung! Jay-hyung?"

Sunoo chirrups at him and raps rhythmically at the bathroom door. Jay loves his dongsaeng, of course he does, but Sunoo honestly has no sense of privacy around him.

"Yeah?" Jay calls from the other side, slinging his damp towel around his shoulders. Practice was brutal today. He feels the burn in his calves from their new choreography, and winces as he bends to pick up his shirt from the floor.

"Niki, Jake-hyung and I are gonna watch a movie or something! Do you wanna watch with us?"

He unlocks and opens the door, letting the steam from his shower flood out in clouds. Sunoo is flicking through the Netflix directory, clad in a big baggy hoodie. He's a cutie, shuffling back and forth in his slippers.

"Is it scary?" Jay shuts off the light and brushes past Sunoo to enter their joint dorm.

"No! I mean, no, not if you wanna watch? We haven't actually decided on anything yet."

Sunoo follows him like a little puppy trailing at his heels.

"Cool, then why isn't Sunghoon.." Jay trails off as he finds Sunghoon curled up on his bunk, soft hair falling into his face as he snoozes. "Ah. I see."

Sunghoon is elegant, angular and just overall pretty in a way Jay quietly thinks he could never pull off. He has unseen mental strength (and enviable core strength, but 10 years of ice skating will do that to you). His side-profile is to die for. Jay also thinks he's one of his best friends, but honestly, it feels like he's gained 6 new best friends in the past month.

"He's super tired. We did a V-Live today, too, with Heeseung-hyung. And the dance jam." Sunoo hums, "I'm tired too, but he wears himself out too much."

The whole dieting thing is a given when it comes to being an artist, but especially an idol. It's part and parcel of the whole deal - it's signing away your autonomy for your dreams. Jay wouldn't trade it for anything, obviously not, but there are the 'necessary' unpleasantries that come with it.

"At least we can all do it together," Jay murmurs. He leans over and brushes Sunghoon's bangs off his forehead. He feels cold. "We just have to get through it."

Jay pulls Sunghoon's blanket from around his ankles and tucks him in at the shoulders.

Sunghoon and Jay, Jay and Sunghoon - fighting tooth and nail for their dual I-LAND audition spots, to stay each week, for Jay to come back from the Ground as fiery as ever. The highs and lows, the quiet embraces between just the pair of them. The letter he'd pressed into Sunghoon's hands.

He tucks a strand of Sunghoon's hair behind his ear and leaves to the living room, Sunoo in tow.

-