Work Text:
It was another normal, peaceful-chaotic day at the dorm. Hongjoong was at the studio, working on a song while the others were at the dorm, resting, eating, and playing video games. As usual, Seonghwa is the first one to wake up and is at the kitchen, making breakfast for the members. He was going to make a breakfast package for the leader, but Hongjoong insisted that he'd buy food from 7-Eleven under their KQ building, to which Seonghwa agreed since that's what the leader wanted.
He's letting the kimchi stew boil in the pot while he checks on the rice, smiling as it's cooked perfectly. At the smell of food, they walk out of their room one by one and invade the kitchen, suffocating Seonghwa.
"Kids, what are you doing here in the kitchen? The food isn't done; go back to your room first," he said while motioning for the members to walk out of the kitchen with his hands, shooing them away while laughing upon the members' cute reaction.
Yeosang, Jongho and Yunho enter their bedroom; meanwhile, Wooyoung and San plop down on the couch while they're saying something that only the two of them can hear. The two were peeking over the couch, looking at the oldest member, who was busy grilling meat on the pan. Wooyoung squints his eyes as he watches Seonghwa's every move. Yeosang walks out of the room to grab his charger on the coffee table in the living room; he looks at the two of them with his eyebrows furrowed.
"What are you doing?" Yeosang asks before he's hushed by San immediately. The male raises his eyebrows and his hands as a sign of surrender before walking back in the room to tell Jongho that the two were being weird outside. Wooyoung looks at San. "Do you think Hyung heard Sangie's voice and found out that we're staring at him?"
San shrugs his shoulders before saying he doesn't know, which makes Wooyoung roll his eyes in frustration. "Don't get mad," San said while pursing his lips to form a pout and continues to look at Seonghwa. Wooyoung hums as he smiles, tilting his head to the side. San looks at the younger in confusion. "What?"
"Hwa hyung's butt looks good," Wooyoung said before San facepalmed at his friend's words.
Seonghwa turns off the stove as he's done with grilling the meat and places it neatly on a plate before turning around. He was about to place the plates of food on the dining table when he saw two pairs of eyes looking at him from the couch. He froze in his spot while holding the plates, blinking his eyes as he looked back at them from the kitchen.
"Do you guys need anything?" he asks and walks to the dining table, placing the plates on the table. Wooyoung and San laugh out upon looking at the elder's face, having fun teasing and playing around. Seonghwa rolls his eyes before calling out the others for breakfast. The members hurriedly walk out of their rooms and take a seat at the dining table, smiling happily at the sight and smell of the delicious food. "Eat well, babies," Seonghwa said as he smiled widely before the members said they will definitely eat well.
Seeing the members eat so much, whether it's food that he cooks or take-out food, makes him feel happy. He knows that everyone in the group goes on diets as well as working out, but whenever everyone eats a lot to the point where they forget their workout sessions, it somehow makes him feel even better. Eating a lot and eating well is definitely better than going on extreme, strict diets. He was too busy looking at his members that he wasn't eating yet, to which Yunho nudges the elder's arm gently, which receives attention from Seonghwa.
"Hyung, why are you not eating?" Yunho asks worriedly, and Seonghwa shakes his head before eating the food together with his members. While they were eating, sharing conversations, Wooyoung nudges San's foot with his and looks at the oldest member. San nods his head and picks up some grilled meat to feed Seonghwa. "Hyung~"
Seonghwa opens his mouth and is about to eat the meat when San pulls his chopsticks back only to feed Wooyoung. Both of them laugh at the elder's lost reaction, which made the other members look at Seonghwa worriedly. Jongho might be the maknae, but sometimes he feels like smacking the two hyungs for teasing the oldest member too much. Seonghwa may accept whatever tease is thrown at him, but the maknae worries that he may explode one day. And today, it seems like the older may explode anytime soon – judging from his ears that have turned red.
The oldest member placed his chopsticks on the table hard to make a loud smack sound, which shocked everyone at the table. He closes his eyes tightly as he breathes out heavily before looking at both Wooyoung and San; his face is showing that he's not amused at all. Wooyoung thought that the older was playing around, so he teased him again.
"Aye, hyung! Why are you so serious? We're just teasing you, but this doesn't mean that you can join WooSan~"
San nudges Wooyoung's arm and shakes his head quickly, giving his friend a look of disapproval. Yeosang and Yunho bite on their chopsticks nervously while looking at Seonghwa; the older is still staring at both of them. Wooyoung lifts some meat and offers it to Seonghwa before eating it, giggling playfully.
"Yah, Jung Wooyoung!" Seonghwa exclaims as he breathes out angrily, looking at the younger while he clenches his fists tightly on the table. The younger one, who was giggling after teasing Seonghwa, was shocked; their eyes widened at the oldest member's sudden outburst. Jongho bites his lower lip while looking at Wooyoung, feeling bad that Seonghwa is angry.
"Do you think this is funny? Do you think playing around with food, trying to feed me but eating it instead, is hilarious? I'm sick and tired of it. You guys have been teasing me about WooSan for so damn long; you push me away whenever I wanna play with you. I have feelings too; I'm the oldest member, but sometimes you treated me with no respect. I don't mind if you wanna joke around with me, but pushing me aside and calling me names like I'm younger than you – that hurts. Have you guys ever thought if what you did or said to me was too much? You never did, right? You never think of my feelings."
The members were all quiet at the elder's sudden confession. Yunho knew by himself that the oldest member is hurt by Wooyoung and San's actions and words towards him. It's impossible to not get hurt or sad by what the two members did. Yeosang covers his face with his hands after listening to the elder's words, heaving out a deep sigh. Seonghwa stood up, which made San hold his wrist.
"Hyung, w—where are you going? You have to eat…"
Seonghwa shakes his head as he sniffles, running his fingers through his hair. You guys eat. I don't feel like eating anymore," he said and pulled his wrist away from the younger's hold before making his way towards his room. After the door has been closed, Jongho looks at Wooyoung and San, annoyed that the breakfast moment has been ruined. Wooyoung placed his chopsticks down and bit his lower lip, feeling embarrassed at his own actions that had caused this trouble.
Yunho looks at both of them while massaging his temple. "Do you guys have to tease hyung in front of food? You know how cranky he gets when he's hungry or when we play around in front of food," the tall male said, shooting a questioned look at Wooyoung and San. "I didn't know Hwa hyung was gonna get mad… This is the first time he's mad at us," Wooyoung said, lips puckering to form a pout.
San rubs his nape in embarrassment as he glances at Wooyoung before looking down at his own hands. Jongho sighs out and continues to eat, telling the others to eat and clean up quickly as they don't want to mess up the elder's mood even more.
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
Seonghwa, who was in his room, is lying on his bed while looking up at the ceiling, hands placed on his chest as he tries to calm down. The oldest member always gives in whenever Wooyoung and San tease him or play around with him, even when it's too much sometimes. But this time, he just explodes because they're teasing him about food, especially when he's hungry, and... maybe he's had enough of them doing those things to him.
Seonghwa is the type to calm down and relax easily even during moments that make him want to smack some sense into the younger members' heads since his mom always told him to prioritise patience in every situation. Some part of him feels better for saying those to the members since they need to know how bad they've teased him, but some part feels bad for doing that because he knows that Wooyoung and San will probably feel sad and guilty for doing so to him.
His phone rang, and he looked at the screen to identify the caller ID, which showed Hongjoong's name. He heaves out a sigh and picks up the call before putting the call on speaker.
"Why?" Seonghwa asks lazily, rubbing his eyes.
He could hear Hongjoong's laugh over the phone. "Are you sulking over the kids right now?"
Seonghwa lets out a frustrated groan as a response, which made the leader laugh even more. "Hwa, the kids were just joking. You know that, right?"
"I know."
"And you know Wooyoungie and Sannie love you the most; that's why they tease you only. Your reaction makes them happy; you make them feel wanted when you insist on joining them. I'm sure they mean no harm to you, especially when they know that you get hurt easily. I know why you're like this; you've had enough of being teased, and you were hungry, weren't you?"
The fact that Hongjoong knows regarding these things without him telling the leader makes it more embarrassing for Seonghwa. It seems like everybody, even ATINYs, knows how badly he wants to join WooSan, which makes him feel even sadder. Other people know he wants to be with them all the time, but don't the two of them know? Why do they like to tease him so much?
"Yeah, I was hungry, and I guess I've been keeping it inside of how much it hurt me whenever they play me around, even though it's for fun. How did you even know about this?"
The leader hums over the phone upon the question. "Wooyoung called me, saying he messed up, and San explained what happened. They really sound remorseful, Hwa. They wanted to say sorry, but I told them to give you time. Are you okay?"
Seonghwa sat up on his bed, rubbing his nape, as he could feel his heart weaken at the thought of Wooyoung and San being sad. He bites his lower lip and sighs, thinking. "Was I wrong to get mad at them, Joong?"
"No, no. You have every right to be mad at them, but I think they at least deserve to know why you're mad. I think they know, but they're still clueless, so... enlighten them, okay?" Hongjoong said, and the oldest member hums in response. He ended the call with the leader before sending a text to Wooyoung. He lies back in bed while waiting, and in less than a minute, the door opens to reveal both Wooyoung and San. The two make their way to the older at the bed, and Seonghwa sits back up instantly, patting the bed to make the younger members lie down at his sides – Wooyoung on the right, San on the left.
"Hyung…" Wooyoung calls out softly, and Seonghwa hushes him. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you just now. I was just hungry, and... I've had enough of the teases that you guys always do to me. I know that you're just playing around; I just… felt hurt since I wanna feel like I belong with the two of you. I'm sorry for taking things seriously. I'm sorry if you're sad or hurt by my words, Wooyoungie, Sannie."
San and Wooyoung snuggle closer to Seonghwa, shaking their heads. Wooyoung looks up at the oldest member and smiles, pressing soft kisses on the elder's cheek down to his neck.
"It's okay, hyung. It's not your fault. We're sorry for taking things too far. We're so immersed in joking around that we didn't think of your feelings or of the consequences. We'll let you join us from now on, we promise," San said as he stroked the elder's tummy with his left hand while staring at Seonghwa's handsome features.
Seonghwa's cheeks heated up in embarrassment at the affections he's receiving from both of them. He pulls the younger members closer and hums in response. Wooyoung closes his eyes as his right hand is caressing the elder's cheek gently, stroking the soft skin with his fingers. San pecks Seonghwa's neck a few times, which makes the older laugh as he finds it ticklish.
"We love you, hyung. Whenever we teased you, it's because we love seeing your reaction, especially when you keep saying that you wanna join us – that makes us feel loved and wanted. The others aren't that keen to join WooSan like you."
"That sometimes makes me feel embarrassed. I feel like I don't have pride whenever I insist on wanting to join you guys," Seonghwa said while laughing, and the two shake their heads, not agreeing to his words.
"No, hyung. Don't feel like that. We love to have you with us; you're our favourite after all," Wooyoung said and laughed cheekily. San laughs out as he can imagine Hongjoong's reaction if they choose Seonghwa as their favourite hyung.
Seonghwa giggles and heaves out a contented sigh, feeling better than before, feeling loved and appreciated. Now that they have confessed and discussed the matter together, he feels relieved that they're getting along again. Looking at the younger members at each of his sides, his heart softened up at how cute they looked with him.
"I love you both so much," the older said and kissed their forehead before cuddling in bed. One by one they soon fall asleep with Yunho, Yeosang and Jongho peeking in to witness the scene before they pull out their phones to capture the sight.