❝ 𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘... 𓏴 ♢
ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁 . . . 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 those who fall for you ❜ ⸝⸝
⊹ . ◌ ༚ ˳ 🕳️⠀﹒⠀ ꙳ .
⌗ ; 𝗜-𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 ▬ ★ ??
WITH THE WIND HOWLING OUTSIDE THE WINDOW, MIDORI AND NAITO STOOD IN THE KITCHEN, GLASSES OF WATER IN THEIR HANDS, UNABLE TO FALL ASLEEP. They were no strangers to the late night, mother moon welcoming them with open arms each night.
'He cried himself to sleep,' Midori said, a look of pity swelling behind her eyes.
'Who?'
'Ni-ki.'
'In your bed?'
Midori nodded. 'He said he couldn't sleep, so I told him to lie down with me and talk to me.'
Clicking his tongue, Naito leaned against the counter, placing his empty glass beside him. 'Poor boy. I think he finds comfort in you because you've been through the same; leaving your parents at a young age to pursue your dream.'
'But we still have our grandparents here,' Midori said.
'And how often do we see them?'
'It's been half a year now, no?'
'Exactly, half a year.'
Sighing, Midori let out a small chuckle. Don't get her wrong, she adored Ni-ki and found his mental strength to be admirable but knowing that he relied a lot on her, made her unsure of herself. Having someone look up to her meant pure pressure, pressure to be perfect and even better than the version of herself he was looking up to.
'It's odd how he's not as attached to you as me. . .' she trailed off.
Naito's shoulders lifted into a small shrug. 'We're different.'
'You're making it sound like it's a bad thing,' she said.
'It is,' Naito joked, lips cracking into a smile. 'Who doesn't want to be like me?'
'I do!' Midori exclaimed, sending a playful slap to his arms. 'I've been compared to you my whole life, no wonder I don't want to be like you.'
'And I've been compared to you,' Naito retorted.
Chuckling, Midori put her glass of water in the dishwasher, closing it before turning her head towards the clock.
1 AM
'We're going to be sleep deprived,' Naito commented, eyes also trained on the clock.
'We always are,' Midori responded.
'Want to get more sleep deprived?' Naito asked, to which Midori only chuckled and waved him off.
'Daniel's in that practice room,' she said, nodding her head to the left. 'You can practise with him.'
'What are you going to do?' he asked.
'Sunghoon wanted to talk to me,' she answered.
Naito raised his eyebrows in surprise. 'Talk?'
Smiling, she gently shoved him to the side. 'Yes, Naito, talk.'
Naito snorted and shook his head, not believing a word she said. 'Why's Daniel in that room then, by himself?'
Midori's shoulders lifted into a small shrug. 'I don't know. Shouldn't you know that? You're on the same team.'
'Well. . .' Naito trailed off, 'yeah but I don't pay attention to people who's not me.'
'Naito―'
A small cough left Naito's lips. 'Well, you won't be able to talk to Sunghoon-hyung, since he's asleep.'
'Oh. . .'
'Yeah, his head hit the pillow and then he was out,' Naito nodded.
'I guess that happens when you're tired. . .'
'Yeah no shi―'
'Naito!'
'Midori!'
'We're on camera. . .'
Naito rolled his eyes at her. 'You're acting like I haven't said worse things.'
'Naito. . .'
'If you're going to threaten to disown me again ― don't, it's getting old.'
'Naito! I swear―'
'To god?' he interrupted her, lips twisting into a teasing smile.
Inhaling a sharp breath, Midori only glared at him, lips having morphed into an unamused smile at his teasing.
'Ni-ki is waiting for me,' Midori suddenly said, giving him a sickly sweet smile, quickly turning around, ready to leave her brother alone.
'But he's asleep!'
'Bye! Love you!'
WALKING INTO THE EMPTY PRACTICE ROOM, Naito saw Daniel lean against the wall, breath harsh and chest rising.
'Daniel?' he asked, leaning against the doorframe, watching Daniel with slight amusement. 'Are you committing murder on yourself?'
Daniel looked at him, confusion stretching across his face. 'Why would I?'
'Well, why else would you be working so hard? You look like you're ready to faint,' Naito commented, cocking an eyebrow at the younger boy.
A sigh left Daniel's lips, a heavy one, one that let Naito know that there was some deeper beneath those brown eyes.
'Is it because of today?' Naito asked, quick to catch onto Daniel's feelings.
'Yeah,' Daniel nodded.
'Tell me,' Naito said.
Shaking his head, Daniel slid down the wall until his body met the floor. 'I feel like we're going to lose, and I'm the reason why.'
And then Naito smiled, not one out of amusement, but one out of familiarity. For he too, had been through the exact same thing, feeling like the sole reason for someone's problem.
'You may feel that way, but I don't,' Naito said. 'And I'm sure you won't believe my words right away, because you're stubborn and I'm happy you are.'
'How so?'
'Because you being stubborn is making you motivated to improve,' Naito noted, nodding his head towards him to remind Daniel about his current state.
'Right. . .' Daniel trailed off.
'But that doesn't mean you should overwork yourself―' peeling himself off the doorframe, Naito strode over to Daniel with big steps, slinging an arm around the younger boy's shoulders.
'You already know this, but overworking yourself isn't good,' Naito said, pulling Daniel along with him.
'But I have to―'
Naito coughed to interrupt Daniel. 'No you don't, go to sleep and we'll fix it together tomorrow. . . with Geonu-hyung and Jungwon-ie.'
'But―'
'Yeah, yeah, "But" on you too. Go to sleep now.' Naito dismissed him, leading him to his room.
'Hyung―'
'Goodnight, sleep well, momma Naito loves you,' Naito quickly uttered out, blowing Daniel a kiss before shutting the door close.