thank you so much to all the people who have favourited, followed, read and commented on this! thank you every5years for actually bothering to review and tell me that you loved this, you really touched my heart! and yas omg, i love woojin's voice and he's so cute, people should show him more love!
Chan couldn't scream or shout for joy onstage. He had to be gracious to the other team and he couldn't very well show his emotions to JYP. But he squeezed Jisung's hand tightly and clapped Changbin on the shoulder.
"We made it!" he mouthed to Changbin, who nodded and smiled.
"We made it!" he hissed at Jisung, who squeezed his hand back.
Once they were in their dressing room, Chan let out a whoop of joy.
The others stared at him in startled silence before they started cheering as well.
"I finally got selected!" Chan crowed, "After seven years!"
"We need to go for a celebration!" Jisung clapped his hands happily.
"We should all give Chan a little treat because he's been waiting for the longest time." Woojin smiled at how excited Chan was.
"Guys, guys!" Chan protested, but everyone was agreeing.
"Yeah, Chan, go on!"
"Come on, Chan!"
"Well," Chan hesitated. "Okay, then. Jeongin, you're always saying you're grown-up, so how about you treat us to dinner?"
The rest cheered while Jeongin sighed.
"Woojin and Minho, how about you two plan an outing for us tomorrow?"
"That goes without saying." Woojin laughed, "We were already planning it."
"Hyunjin, Seungmin, for once I'd like both of you to sleep in a dorm. Our dorm. How about all of you come over to sleep?"
"Sure thing!" Hyunjin agreed.
"Changbin, after all your complaints about your mom, I think I want to meet her."
Changbin balked at this. "Wha-what? I- all right then, fine."
"Felix, Jisung, right now I'm too happy for you two to be mad at each other. Hug each other. That's all I ask."
Felix's eyes could have burned a hole in Chan, but for once, Chan didn't care. "Look, we did this for you. I just want something to know that you're grateful."
"Go head, Felix." Minho encouraged him, while Woojin gently shoved Jisung in Felix's direction. "Hug it out."
They glared at each other, then very quickly, stepped forward and hugged, letting go of each other almost immediately.
"Fantastic!" Hyunjin rubbed his hands. "Now, how about we go meet Changbin's mom?"
All the while, Changbin and Jeongin had been discussing things together, and now Changbin was talking on his phone as Jeongin came over, grinning.
"Changbin said he can ask his mom to prepare dinner for us. All I have to do is charm his mom."
"Did his mom say yes?"
"He's asking."
"Yeah, my mom said yes." Changbin hung up the phone with a glum expression. "Said it's time I finally made some friends."
"Well then, that's settled then!" Seungmin grinned.
Chan was still worried. "Are you sure your mom's okay with this?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, it'll be fine."
"All right then." Chan smiled mischievously, "I'm ready to meet the person you always complain about."
"Thank you," Chan thanked the taxi driver politely as he nodded and drove off.
Hyunjin exhaled, squinting up in the fading light. "This the right place, Changbin-hyung?"
"Yeah."
Chan understood why Hyunjin had a hard time believing Changbin lived here. They had stopped outside a dingy row of buildings, mainly shops. Changbin led them down a twisting alleyway and down another sidestreet to a plain wooden building.
He knocked and almost immediately, a large, plump woman opened the door, positively beaming. "Hello, hello, oh! It's Changbin home! How are you, dear? Oh, and you brought friends!"
"Hello, it's very nice to meet you." Chan stepped up and shook her hand. "I've always wanted to meet the person who brought Changbin up." He didn't understand the funny face Changbin gave him.
The woman blushed and then laughed, putting her hand to her mouth. "Goodness, I- well, that's very kind of you…"
"That's not my mom." Changbin cut in. "She's the landlady, Ms Park. Come on, guys, my flat's on the top floor."
Now it was Chan's turn to blush. He mumbled something incoherent and went in after Changbin, ignoring the muffled giggles and the smothered shrieks of laughter from behind him.
Changbin led them up a twisting staircase, up and up until they felt quite out of breath.
"Are you. Trying to. Give us. A workout?" Hyunjin panted as they dragged themselves up using the railing.
"Where's the elevator?" Jeongin panted.
"It's so exhausting to climb up. Your house better be like a penthouse or something, Changbin." Woojin puffed, out of breath.
"Hah. I wish." Changbin grumbled, hauling himself up one more flight of stairs. "We're here already, don't worry."
He knocked. After the third knock, the door swung open to reveal a short, irritable-looking lady with narrow eyes. "Changbin. You're late."
"Sorry, ma." Changbin waved vaguely in the direction of his friends. "That's Chan, our leader."
"Hello," Chan bowed politely.
Changbin's mom just grunted.
"That's Jeongin." As he said it, he bugged his eyes at Jeongin.
Jeongin stepped forward, smiling sweetly. "Hello, miss." As he smiled, he blinked innocently at her.
Changbin's mom nodded, still frowning.
"That's Hyunjin, Seungmin, Woojin, Minho, Jisung-" As he said each name, his mom just grunted or nodded. But at Jisung's name she interrupted. "He came here before, didn't he?"
"Yes, yes, I did." Jisung bowed and smiled. Sometimes, when he was nervous, he didn't smile a full smile, but instead an uneasy one that showed his teeth without the corners of his mouth going up that much. He was doing that now.
"That's Felix." Changbin said quickly.
When he said his name, Felix stepped forward and said, in his deep voice. "Hello, miss."
Changbin's mom's eyes widened slightly. After a pause, she said, "All right then, come on in. I'll get dinner."
They entered into a dingy little apartment. There was a table already set and a sofa off to the side. Changbin's mom went through a side door and started carrying plates in. "Let me help," Jeongin chirped, skipping after her.
Changbin motioned to the couch and they all sat down. "My mom likes sexy, deep-voiced guys. And she really looks at the eyes and the smile."
"TMI, Changbin." Chan rolled his eyes.
"Hey, just saying. Jeongin wanted to pay for dinner, but he's too cute. My mom doesn't like cute. She having hot guys over because she said it's compensation for not having a son like that."
"Dinner's ready." Changbin's mom called. She had set up a variety of delicious korean foods and there was even a small pizza!
"Changbin said there were friends who were Australian." she said, by way of explanation. "Felix, is it?"
"Uh, yes." Felix said in his most attractive voice, rough and rugged around the edges. Chan looked at him in admiration. He had a very seductive voice colour and when he spoke, his voice was nothing short of gorgeous.
Changbin's mom seemed to like it. She actually smiled and said, "Well, I hope you like it, dear. It's my own special recipe."
Felix took a bite. "Oh, this tastes amazing! Changbin, why didn't you tell us what a good cook your mother was?!"
Changbin grunted something unintelligible and shoveled a helping of beans and rice into his mouth.
His mom shot him a nasty look. "Thank you, Felix. You know, I wish Changbin were more like you. He's hardly ever grateful. Explains why he was kicked out of his dorm. I expect he didn't show the proper respect to his CEO."
"Oh no, Mrs Seo." Seungmin said politely, reaching for more potatoes. "There were two boys who got him kicked out because he dared to stand up for someone."
"That so?" Changbin's mom eyed her son. "I told you boy, you keep making trouble in that company, you ain't gonna last long there. Fact, I'm surprised you haven't been kicked out yet."
"Changbin's going to debut, ma'am." Hyunjin told her brightly. "We just got selected in the trainee showcase."
"Humph." But Hyunjin seemed to have shut her up, at least for the moment.
The rest of the meal passed in silence.
Just as they were finishing up their food, Changbin's mom spoke again. "So how much is your monthly income, boy?"
Changbin nearly choked on his food. "Uh, I don't have one?"
"What?!" His mom's fork fell from her hand with a clatter.
"Yeah. I uh, owe the company money in fact."
"What?!"
"I have to pay them after I debut."
Changbin's mom opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. She looked barely restrained, her lips pressed tightly together as if to stop herself from losing control.
"Um, thank you for the dinner, Mrs Seo," Chan motioned for the others to finish their food quickly.
"It was delicious." Felix complimented her, helping to stack their plates up.
"Yes, thank you!" Jisung tried for another smile, but it still looked slightly nervous and out of place.
"You're welcome." Changbin's mom gestured for Changbin to come closer and said something to him in a low tone.
Changbin muttered something back and she went in to the kitchen, coming out with a chocolate cheesecake. "Changbin told me there was a friend who loves cheesecake and chocolate cake."
"Chocolate cheesecake!" Jisung gasped, his eyes lighting up with delight.
"That's right, Jisungie," Changbin handed him a fork, "Dig in."
Jisung needed no further prompting, cutting a slice and stuffing a piece in his mouth. His cheeks bulging, he looked even more like a squirrel than usual.
"Thank you!" he beamed at Changbin's mom, and there at last, was the Jisung smile. The Jisung smile, delivered at full force, even with bulging cheeks, lit up the whole room and it was like a huge blast to those seeing it for the first time. It was an explosion of brightness and his lips stretched from ear to ear, his face seeming too small to contain that ray of sunshine.
Changbin's mom smiled too, and her face softened. "You're very welcome, dear." She seemed to love Jisung's smile, her own stretching wider by the second, even as Jisung turned back to his food.
Changbin grinned with something like triumph, and he joined the others in tucking in to the dessert. He whispered something to Felix, who cleared his throat and said in his deepest, throatiest voice, "Thank you very much for going to all this t-trouble for us. We appreciate-it."
Even though he stumbled over his words- his not being too proficient at Korean- his voice still sounded incredibly sexy and Chan didn't even think Changbin's mom paid attention to what he said, putting a hand over her heart at Felix's gorgeous voice.
"Well, son, you've made yourself some pretty charming friends." she said to him out of the corner of her mouth.
"Uh." Changbin spooned a mouthful of cheesecake into his mouth. "They're not the only ones, mom."
"Yes, I know." she waved him away, "But they appeal to me the most. It's all a matter of preference, son. Smile and eyes, as I've always told you."
"Yes, mom, I know."
Chan overheard all this and he gave Changbin a side smile.
Changbin rolled his eyes at him and he laughed a little as he turned back to his food.
"I want to sleep there!"
"No I do!"
"Don't fight, guys," Chan ordered, hitting the culprits with a pillow. "Find a place and settle down quickly."
There was a knock on the door and Chan went to go answer it. He opened the door and came face to face with Dongjin.
"Well, well, well." Dongmin smirked at him. "Look who went and got selected even after we told you what would happen."
Chan crossed his arms. "We didn't 'go and get selected'."
"That's right." Minho said, coming up behind him, "We were chosen because we were good enough to debut. Something I can't speak for the both of you."
There was a flash of anger in Dongmin's eyes but he laughed. "Oh Minho, but would you have even formed that group if not for us? You wouldn't even be here if we weren't around."
"You mean if you weren't such jerks." Minho corrected. "But I would have debuted before you anyway."
"What makes you so sure you'll debut, Minho?" Jaejin asked menacingly. "Do you understand what a survival show means? It means you fight to survive. I have a sneaking suspicion that you won't."
Minho gasped. "How dare-"
"Minho." Chan put his hand across his chest to calm him. To Dongjin, he said, "Thank you very much. And if you're quite finished, it's been a long day and we want to go to sleep. Good night."
Before they could speak, he closed the door. "Ah, Minho…"
"Bleh." Minho made a face at him. "What was that about a survival show?"
"No idea-"
"Who was that?" Felix asked, plumping his pillows.
"No one." Chan said firmly. "Go to sleep,"
"Aww, so early? Can we play a little?" Hyunjin whined, "This is my first time in a dorm!"
"All right, all right. Um, what do you want to play?"
"Zombie!" Jeongin leaped up, clapping his hands with delight.
"Okay, does everyone know how to play?"
All of them nodded except Felix, who looked confused.
"Zombie." Chan said to him in English. "You know, you wear a blindfold and you try to catch people. Everyone else is stuck in one place and can't move-"
"Oooh, yeah I know! What did you guys call it again?"
"Zombie."
"Zombie, got it!" Felix clapped his hands. Jisung snorted but didn't say anything.
"I'll be the catcher first." Seungmin offered.
Jeongin ran into his room and came out with an eye mask which Seungmin put on.
They all quickly found their hiding places. Minho and Jisung were at opposite ends of the sofa as Chan and Woojin squished themselves as small as possible against the opposite wall.
Jeongin huddled near the sofa and Changbin stood boldly just behind Seungmin. Hyunjin and Felix hopped up onto the sofa and watched Seungmin eagerly.
"Okay, Seungmin, you can start now." Chan told him.
"Okay." Seungmin nearly bumped into Changbin, but Changbin ducked quickly, causing Jeongin to let out a spurt of laughter then quickly stuff his hand in his mouth.
Seungmin swiveled around at the sound of his voice and wandered towards him. Jeongin stretched as far away as possible, but Seungmin lunged forward and crashed into him, squashing him against the window.
Jeongin gave a shriek.
"Sorry! You okay?"
"No, I got caught." Jeongin huffed, getting up and going to stand in the far corner of the room.
Seungmin walked towards Woojin and Chan. Woojin tried to stretch away, leaving one leg behind. He grabbed onto Chan as Seungmin walked nearer and nearer. As he walked closer, Seungmin suddenly tripped on Woojin's outstretched leg, which would have made Woojin fall if he hadn't been clinging onto Chan.
Laughing, he went to go stand with Jeongin, tapping Seungmin on the head as he passed.
Chan watched as Seungmin neared the couch. He, Woojin, Jeongin, Hyunjin and Minho had already been caught. Changbin, Jisung and Felix were still alive but Felix stretched as far away as possible from the ever-nearing Seungmin.
Felix scrabbled back, twisting his leg this way and that to avoid hitting Seungmin. However his hands reached back too far and ran out of couch. He flailed wildly. Chan was going to race and grab him when his hand found a grip. On Jisung.
"Let go of me," Jisung hissed.
Seungmin's ears twitched and he turned in their direction.
Felix let go of him and put one leg down from the couch. But in doing so, he stumbled and nearly fell, grabbing onto Jisung's hand to steady himself. He quickly let go.
Seungmin waved his arms, hoping to hit someone.
Just then, Chan had an idea. He was quite sure it was breaking the rules of the game, but he didn't care. He coughed and whispered in a voice as close to Jisung's voice as he could, "Hefl minn"
It sounded indistinct, just as he had hoped, and even as Jisung shot him a furious glance, Seungmin lunged and caught Felix's leg.
"Ah!" Felix stumbled against Jisung and Jisung let out a squeak. Instantly, Seungmin darted forwards and grabbed his jacket.
"I- Chan!" Jisung yelled.
"Yay, Changbin won!" Minho said quickly.
Both Felix and Jisung shot dirty looks at Chan. They both looked so mad they were practically steaming.
"Okay, guys," Woojin interrupted quickly, "I think we should sleep now. We've had a long day."
"I'm going to sleep." Seungmin declared, "I'm so tired."
"Me too." Jeongin yawned, "I want tomorrow to come faster when we can play."
"I want to stay up." Hyunjin said, stretching out comfortably, "This is my first time in a dorm so I want to enjoy it as long as possible."
"Okay, but we should be quiet so that the others can rest." Chan told them.
They stayed up late into the night, talking, laughing and joking, telling stories and sharing snacks.
One by one, they fell asleep, until only Chan, Woojin and Minho were still awake. Hyunjin had migrated to the sofa and Felix and Jisung were snoring on the mattresses.
"They're all asleep," Minho whispered, taking some chips.
"They've had a long day," Chan gently eased Jisung's head into a more comfortable position.
"Who was that at the door just now?" Woojin asked quietly, shifting Felix's head to the pillow.
"Dongjin." Chan sighed.
Woojin made a face. "What did they want?"
"Just threatened us because we got selected in the showcase."
"Well that's not our-" Woojin raised his voice, and then lowered it to an apologetic whisper as the other two made frantic shushing motions. "-fault."
"Exactly what I said!" Minho agreed. "They can't think they can boss us around like what they're doing with Felix and Jisung-"
"Speaking of which, what happened between Felix and Jisung?" Chan cut in.
Woojin and Minho exchanged dark looks.
"Guys, Changbin and I are literally the only ones who don't know. Don't you think you should tell us so that we can connect more as a team?" Chan pointed out softly.
Woojin let out a deep sigh. "It's not really up to us to say-"
"We don't really know much anyway." Minho added.
"Well, just tell me what you do know. Changbin and I formed this team without knowing the reason why, so the least you can do is tell us."
Woojin and Minho were silent for a long time. Chan could feel them having a wordless conversation. He waited patiently, sensing not to break the silence.
Finally, Minho said, "Jisung, Seungmin and I used to share a dorm by ourselves. Then Dongjin came and Jaejin, well, he took a liking to Jisung. Jisung is a very tough person, as you know, so he fought Jaejin constantly and nothing Jaejin did seemed to hurt him. Then a while later, Felix came."
"Felix and Hyunjin entered around the same time so they were quite close friends. When Felix went to live in Minho's dorm, Hyunjin met Jeongin and they always practiced together because after Dongmin met Felix, Felix didn't want Hyunjin to get involved or get hurt, so he maintained as minimal contact with him as possible." Woojin rubbed his forehead.
"Dongmin acted all nice nice to Felix and- I don't know, Felix started to look more stressed and more worried everyday and I guess Dongmin was telling him to do stuff, because he shouted at Dongmin one day that he wouldn't do anything anymore. That's when Dongjin started getting aggressive. They threatened Felix that they would- do something if they didn't do what he wanted. And they used Felix to control Jisung."
"Felix and Jisung became very close friends because of that and then one day- I don't know. All I know is that Dongjin wanted Felix and Jisung to be separated because they were stronger together and they were getting more defiant. Their plan was for Jaejin and Jisung to go to another dorm but I think they messed it up because the next thing we knew, Jisung was supposed to go to another dorm. Felix got really upset; he got it into his head that Jisung was abandoning him to save himself and they had a huge fight. Jisung packed his bags and left that day and they've been avoiding each other ever since." Minho finished with a deep sigh.
"But how could Dongjin control who slept where?" Chan asked.
"We don't know, but we suspect they're related to someone 'high up'." All three of them froze as Felix made a snuffling noise and turned over.
"Anyway, I used to practice with Changbin, but after he left to room with you, I joined Hyunjin and Jeongin and got to know Minho, Seungmin and Felix." Woojin paused, "That's all we know. Honestly." he added, seeing Chan's face.
"That's really sad." Chan whispered.
"I know," Minho pushed his hair off his face. "But at least we're going to debut and we'll be away from Dongjin."
"Mhm. But what did they mean about a survival show?" Chan worried. "Do they know something we don't?"
"I doubt it. They were probably just making it up to scare us." Minho shrugged it off.
Chan wasn't so sure.
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