An awkward silence fills the bright, hospital room in the morning.
The two males sit across each other, with one crossing his legs with his arms crossed, and the other one sitting politely with his legs closed and hands neatly resting on top of his thighs. On the other hand, the patient looks at them with an amused expression, sitting on his bed right in between the boys.
"Why does this look like a timeout?"
"Hyunjin..." Han heaves a sigh and tries to readjust his position to look more relaxed. He does notice how timid and nervous Felix acts, but he can tell that Felix's eyes have some sort of determination in them.
"The atmosphere does feel like that, no?" Hyunjin shrugs nonchalantly, making Han wonder why this man still has the audacity to treat the situation lightly. But Han recalls the time when he talked to Eugene at the park.
If he could talk to her calmly, and sort things out in his mind to understand other people's perspectives, he should be able to do the same with Felix.
Hyunjin and Eugene are right. I need to calm down. Han takes a deep breath, relaxing his facial muscles to face the person opposite of him with a tiny smile. "Felix. I heard that you revised our routine and added some pieces to it. Can I see it as well?"
The blonde-haired male is surprised to see Han speaking to him in a normal tone. His hostile behavior is slightly gone, and that gives him a sense of relief.
"Right. I can send you a video of that if you'd like." Felix responds in a polite tone, then his face turns serious right after. "Han. I'm actually here to ask if we can find a way to practice together again and perform our recital with flying colors."
Hyunjin nods at Felix with satisfaction at his direct speech. "I have asked for an extension, and we were given 2 weeks due to the severity of my injury. So, I believe we have enough time to put everything together. I should be able to recover on time."
Hearing Hyunjin's optimism makes Felix smile softly—he admires that aspect of his friend. And just like what people always say; a good mind speeds up the body's recovery.
"... okay," Han mutters in a quiet tone, still feeling a little left out with the two planning things ahead of him. He reluctantly takes out his phone to turn on his airdrop, and this action alone makes the other 2 teammates smile at each other.
Felix sends the video to Han through his phone, waiting in his seat politely still. His expression hardens as he watches Han inspect the video of his choreography, unsure if he will be satisfied by his efforts.
Just a little later, Han's face turns into that of a grimace.
"Why is this part..." Han plays back to the choreography that he finds a little empty. "Looking incomplete? Why are we using 1 hand to create the illusion? It would've been better if we used 2."
"It's because... I made this while thinking of Hyunjin's injury." Felix looks at the patient, who gives him a faint smile. "Though, Hyunjin is confident that he'll recover. B-But I made the choreography this way just in case." The male increasingly gets nervous, not knowing if Han will understand his choice.
"Well if that's the case then, we should change this part if Hyunjin is so confident about recovering before the recital." Han closes his phone and crosses his arms out of habit, intimidating the leader.
"But it's still not 100% guaranteed." Despite feeling slightly intimidated, Felix stood his ground and didn't break eye contact with him. The moment Felix doesn't approve of Han's opinion, the air suddenly gets tense again, just like how it was before.
Although neither of the two people has said anything offensive, there is a clear tension in the air.
It's as if an argument could break out at any moment, yet nobody wants to be the first one to say anything that will spark a dispute.
Hyunjin on the other hand, silently observes the two of them and then sighs.
His eyes land on his friend, Han, who has come so far together with him all the way from Korea.
A few snippets of memories start coming into his mind, those of Han when he was hailed as a prodigy back in their home country. These memories remind Hyunjin just how well-respected and talented Han had once been.
Han Jisung is used to being called a genius. Hyunjin scoffs lightly, staring at his friend in amusement.
There's nothing he cannot do; dancing, singing, rapping, composing, writing—he basically carried in group projects back in Korea like an ace. His teammates always entrusted every single thing to him since Han is such a capable individual.
And it is true that Han, as a leader back then, always succeeded in lots of projects. He knows where his skills and capabilities are, and what needs to be done.
Hyunjin finds this situation ironic, and can't help but internally chuckle to himself.
He's actually a bit relieved that Felix has taken over as the leader, as it gives Han a chance to take a break and stop carrying so much burden as the leader all the time. But at the same time, he feels concern and worry for Han, as he realizes the difficulties of adjusting to being second-in-command.
"Why are you smiling to yourself like that?" Han finally breaks the tense and awkward silence, commenting on Hyunjin's pensive expression.
Hyunjin looks over at Han with a small smile and relaxes his shoulders to break the tension.
"You know, Han. I know you're still trying to get used to Felix being the leader all this time, considering how things were back then." He starts off his sentence with a gentle and understanding tone, but then the emphasis on the last few words makes the said teammate feel a bit awkward.
Han clearly knows what his friend is talking about, but chooses to stay quiet for the time being.
"And it's Felix's first time leading a group." Hyunjin's eyes turn to the freckled boy, "It's definitely not an easy thing to do and you cannot expect him to go on the same pace as yours. You have had so much experience accumulated throughout the years."
"Then?" Han finally speaks, and his tone sounds frustrated as he is unable to accept Hyunjin's explanation. "Why did you support Felix to become our leader? There have been enough inconveniences."
Hyunjin gets up from his bed and slowly walks to stand in the middle of them both, leaning his body against the frame of his bed.
"Well, everyone needs to start somewhere, don't they?"
The words that Hyunjin says make Felix's heart swell with emotion.
Felix closes his lips tightly, trying his best to not break down in tears after Hyunjin showed him some much-needed support and understanding. He unconsciously starts fidgeting with his fingers, trying to sort out the many emotions that are flowing through his body right now.
He feels a mix of relief and gratitude at having someone stand up for him, despite feeling overwhelmed by the whole situation.
"Give others the chance to grow." Hyunjin shrugs his shoulders casually, grinning at his friend. "Besides, aren't you tired of being the leader sometimes due to the extra responsibilities and pressure? Don't forget that some of our teammates used to be freeloaders."
"I... guess so." Han looks away.
"Han Jisung." The prince-like individual calls him out, and his face softens. "What about we try and trust in Felix a bit more? As his followers, we should support him better and really focus on working as a team."
Then, he turns to face Felix with a caring expression, "You too, Felix. Don't feel the need to always carry your burden alone as a leader. Speak out when you have concerns. There's a reason why we're teammates."
Silence fills the room, as the members of the group try to process what was just said. Han slowly turns his body back towards his teammates, and is taken aback when he notices that Felix is visibly emotional--his eyes getting watery, almost as if he is on the brink of crying.
"What a crybaby..." Han mutters under his breath, blinking rapidly to try to quickly hide any potential tear in his own eyes. But that action doesn't go unnoticed by the taller male, who notices that Han is clearly just as emotional.
"You don't have the right to say that," Hyunjin teases Han in a playful and caring tone as he reaches over and wraps a free arm around Felix, hugging him gently to comfort him.
Felix's voice is a little muffled and broken as he leans against Hyunjin's shoulders.
"I'll try my best." He says softly, and it's clear from the tone of his voice how thankful he is for the support. He feels like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders.
"Hmn, let's work together." The taller one grins, glancing at Han who is also, finally wearing a genuine smile on his face.
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Author's Note: YDFSSDFAF My apologies for the late update, I was having my period and I literally died so--TT THE CRAMPS
Anyway WAAA I'm glad that the team has finally reconciled! :3 Sorry y'all I'm HANJISUNG BIASED SO OFC I HAD TO HIGHLIGHT HIM A BIT HERE ANAHAHAH THE KPOP ACE YAAAAS!!
Have a wonderful day everyone! <3
- Howley.