minhee doesn't think too much about it.
he doesn't think of the way hyeongjun leaps into serim's arms when they discover they're going to be roommates. he doesn't think of the nearly instinctual, too-natural way serim instantly hooks hyeongjun's legs around his waist when the latter pounces on him in his excitement. or the way they just stare at each other in that lovey dovey manner when hyeongjun's in serim's arms.
they look good together, minhee especially, desperately tries not to think too much in that direction. the thought of serim's cool, boyfriend-like charisma versus hyeongjun's cute, innocent, and sometimes even feisty persona.
minhee also doesn't fail to notice the way they're paired up together in almost every shoot, show appearance, and even social media post. and why wouldn't they be? their chemistry was so natural, even the fans saw it almost instantly.
it's the same off-stage too. in fact, their chemistry and friendship on-stage and off barely held any difference aside from the fact that they had to be asked to hold back their touchiness when on camera. minhee has to constantly keep himself distracted every time the duo does something together, be it a cute selca for their fancafe or a tik-tok video. and lord does woobin give him so much shit for it.
it also doesn't help that serim liked hyeongjun's bed better than his own, and was very vocal about his admittance to that fact. minhee tries to sleep away that thought every single night without fail, willing himself not to think about serim back-hugging hyeongjun, hyeongjun whining sleepily at serim to go back to his own bed, before the two slowly fall asleep cuddling together to the lull of taeyoung's gentle snoring.
did he hate his leader for that? no, not at all. he loves serim as much as anyone else in their group does. he's selfless, he's good-natured, and he's such a fool for his dongsaengs that it isn't even funny (actually no, it kinda is). everyone knows how affectionate serim is, especially to the maknae line, and that's just part of his personality. and minhee was cool with that!
but...did it really have to be with hyeongjun? all the time?
it's unchecked jealousy, minhee's aware of that. hyeongjun's not called a hyung attractor by his fanbase for nothing. minhee's lost count of the amount of times where all hyeongjun has to do is the bare minimum (eg. breathe) and he has senior idols falling for his charms left and right. he remembers one instance where they were on a show with daewhi and the senior literally had to physically restrain himself from going over to coddle the younger boy while the program was still airing.
it was hilarious, that minhee has to admit. it was hilarious, and it was also extremely frustrating to watch.
and yet, despite it all.
deep inside his mind, minhee knows he'll always be the one in hyeongjun's heart. the one hyeongjun allows in his space when he's scared and anxious about their second debut, wallowing in the fear of not living up to fans' expectations. the one hyeongjun goes to when he wants to be alone with his thoughts but doesn't want to be alone physically. because to hyeongjun, minhee was his quiet place, his safe space where nobody could judge him. and minhee never questions it when hyeongjun comes to his room, lays down beside the taller boy while he's watching videos and doesn't do anything else.
he knows he's in hyeongjun's heart by the way hyeongjun calls his name out in his sleep. and his heart tries not to ache at the low, almost apologetic way hyeongjun whines out his name, his "miniyah, i'm sorry" being both endearing yet painful to hear every morning when he's assigned to wake the smaller boy up from his sleep. an ironic reversal of how hyeongjun used to wake him up back in x1.
he thinks, thinks about the way hyeongjun's distressed expression immediately relaxes whenever minhee kneels down next to his bed and gently, delicately runs his long fingers along the scalp of his no longer iconic curly poodle hair. the way hyeongjun's scrunched expression just melts to give way to a peaceful, sleepy smile as he gradually blinks his large, curious puppy dog eyes open, eyelashes fluttering prettily while staring at minhee like he's the only person in the entire world he ever wants to dream about.
"morning, hyeongjunnie," minhee whispers, knuckles caressing lovingly against hyeongjun's squishy, puffy cheek - no doubt due to the two bowls of ramyeon he consumed last night.
"miniyah," hyeongjun whines, and he shuffles groggily in his bed, trying to register his bearings, before yanking his blanket off of him and lying flat against his back, arms reaching out towards minhee.
"carry me."
minhee quirks an eyebrow at the request. he rests his forearms on top of the bed and stares at hyeongjun with an amused expression.
"i'm not serim hyung, i can't carry you without breaking my back while i'm at it."
hyeongjun pouts.
"you make it sound like i'm fat."
"well, you did gain 1kg last week -"
"minheeeeee!" hyeongjun whines, and loudly , "you're not supposed to call me out like that!"
"why not? you're still as adorable as ever either way." the compliment slips out easily, and hyeongjun blinks in surprise before shyly hiding his face into the crook of his arm.
"miniyah...you can't say that stuff to me so early in the morning. i don't know how to process it!"
"process what? the fact that i find you cute?"
minhee's grin widens as hyeongjun squeaks and burrows his face deeper into the sheets, hands covering his face so minhee can't catch the beautiful pink shade he's come to love to see on the dancer's cheeks every day.
"n-not cute, am manly," hyeongjun murmurs indignantly.
minhee snorts, "if you're manly, i'm short."
"rude." minhee can't see it, but he knows hyeongjun is pouting, removing his hands so minhee can bask at the fact that he made hyeongjun blush like that. him . not serim, or wonjin, or anyone else. him .
they stare at each other for awhile, enjoying the rare moment of peace and silence in the room. minhee knows the moment isn't going to last, already hearing the sizzle of the pan from the kitchen and the aroma of sausages wafting the air. woobin would be nagging at them to come out to eat their breakfast soon, so minhee takes this opportunity to bask in the presence of the metaphorical sun that was hyeongjun.
hyeongun truly was his vitamin, in more ways than one.
"minhee," hyeongjun's voice is soft, wanting, "come here."
minhee doesn't even hesitate, the thought of rejecting hyeongjun not even an option as he climbs onto the bed and melts straight into hyeongjun's embrace, wrapping his arms around hyeongjun's torso and pressing him closely against his own, and he can already feel the smaller boy relaxing in his arms, the ticklish feeling of his eyelashes fluttering against minhee's neck. minhee smiles. it's a warm, familiar feeling.
"are you falling asleep?"
hyeongjun hums.
"maybe."
minhee chuckles lowly against hyeongjun's ear, and the younger boy snuggles his face deeper into minhee's neck.
"shh, let's just stay like this for awhile," hyeongjun drawls sleepily.
minhee smiles against hyeongjun's hair, and pulls his body a little bit closer to him, gently inhaling the all too familiar scent of hyeongjun as he tucks his chin on top of the smaller boy's head. hyeongjun may unintentionally mask his natural scent up with every hair care product in the world, but to minhee, hyeongjun will always smell like home.
"okay."
"i don't even know why we make minhee hyung wake hyeongjun hyung up every morning, they always end up like that," seongmin deadpans, leaning slightly against the open doorway of serim, hyeongjun and taeyoung's shared bedroom, surrounded by the rest of his hyungs who were all looking onto the scene in varying degrees of fondness, "like seriously, why even bother."
"we didn't make him, he volunteered," woobin interjects in amusement.
"shut up, both of you, this is adorable ," wonjin fanboys, phone out and spamming photos like photo storage isn't even a thing. he might upload those pics to fancafe one day, who knows, "ahh hyeongjunnie~ your wonjin hyung wants you to cuddle him like that too!"
"and face the wrath of mini mini?" serim chuckles fondly, phone also out and spamming pictures, "i swear, me and jjunie were doing a tik tok video yesterday and minhee kept looking back at us and glaring."
"ah, i remember that. no wonder he was so distracted during our conversation," jungmo chuckles at the memory, "we'd be talking and then minhee would suddenly turn around and return with an annoyed expression on his face. he was so pouty yesterday, it's very refreshing."
"hyung doesn't know how to keep his jealousy in check at all~" taeyoung singsongs.
"should we wake them up?" allen inquires, walking over to adjust hyeongjun's blanket so that it fully covered their intertwined bodies. he didn't want them catching a cold after all.
"lets give them a couple more minutes," serim sighs sweet-naturedly, enjoying the wholesomeness of the scene like a proud father.
"we say that every time," seongmin shakes his head, "every single time, hyung."
"well, you know what they say," wonjin muses cheerfully while ushering everyone out of the room, "morning time is minisong time."
"what the hell is a mini - please get off twitter, hyung."
"hmph. rude."