Close To You
Title: Close To You (Part One)
Fandom: INFINITE
Pairing: Myungsoo/Sungjong
Rating: PG
Word Count:1500
Summary: Sungjong's always been there... so that must be why it hurts so much when it feels like he's slipping away.
Part One
Shaken Up
--
Sungjong was frowning when he walked through the door of their dorm.
It looked strange to Myungsoo, who was stretched out on the floor of their dorm, resting after getting of his flight from Japan. His dongsaeng rarely frowned; he only pouted, cutely.
The other five piled in with the same expression on their face, their managers trailing behind, but it wasn’t a shock to Myungsoo; if their sunny maknae was down, it was unsurprising to find the rest of them the same way. Their managers even disappeared wordlessly, with scowls and hard eyes, to some other part of the house.
So Myungsoo’s first words after his absence were,
“What’s wrong with all of you?”
All of them kept their gazes low, and it was Sunggyu who spoke up first.
“Well, we were practicing, and someone kept messing up. The choreographer kept scolding us, even hyungs kept stepping in, telling us to shape up. It was a disaster.”
Myungsoo’s eyebrows raised when all of their eyes focused on the youngest in the room.
“…Sungjong?”
He had spoken without thinking, and instantly regretted it when Sungjong’s eyebrows knitted together.
“I’m sorry… I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe next time-”
“Whatever,” Sunggyu cut in, walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge without looking back.
Sungjong stayed still while the rest of his hyungs passed by, following Gyu. Hoya was shaking his head and Sungyeol sighed loudly.
“Seriously though, wouldn’t it have been better if he had stayed behind and practiced alone for a little longer?”
The maknae bit his lip, and Myungsoo got up and patted him on the arm.
“Everyone has those days, right? It’s not that big of a deal as long as you worked hard.” Myungsoo ruffled his hair. “You’re right-next time will be better for sure. Don’t mind them, they’re only upset because you are; if you cheer up, they’ll feel good again, too.” He smiled coolly, and the corners of Sungjong’s lips pulled up as he was pushed playfully into the kitchen with the rest of them.
“So you guys missed me, right?”
They all murmured their confirmation while they sipped their drinks, Myungsoo’s arms slipping around Woohyun and Dongwoo’s shoulders as he pulled up a chair between them.
“Here, Sungjong. You want one?”
Sungyeol was grinning and holding out a can, which Sungjong took with the tiniest smile and a nod. He looked at Myungsoo, who gave him a wink.
There, you see, Sungjong? No one could possibly be mad at you for-
Fzzztch!
Sungjong stood there, dripping with his arms outstretched, still holding the drink in his hand that he had opened quickly with a snap. The strands of his hair had bunched together and were sticking to his forehead and falling over his eyelids.
Someone started snickering, and another joined in until a wave of laughter filled the kitchen.
But Myungsoo wasn’t laughing.
Instead he watched their maknae squeezing his eyes shut. It seemed like he was trying to keep the fizzy drink out of his eyes, but Myungsoo had an awful feeling that he wanted to keep something in them as well.
Sungjong gave his head a little jerk, droplets falling onto the floor, and the laughter became louder, someone commenting about how it hilariously resembled a dog drying himself. But all Myungsoo paid attention to was the small intake of breath that Sungjong had made, that small gasp that sounded-Myungsoo’s heart was in his throat-almost like a sob.
“Hey, Sungjong…”
But the boy in the striped shirt had turned away and was heading down the hallway, and the image of him wiping at his cheeks and eyes with the back of his hands was the last glimpse that Myungsoo saw of him before the boy turns the corner. A few seconds later he hears a small sniffling sound combined in a harsh juxtaposition with the slam of a door that follows it.
“Man, what’s up with him?” Sungyeol remarks, the laughter dying down.
“It really was just a joke,” Woohyun agrees, still giggling.
“Should we go see if he’s all right?” Hoya asks, but the inquiry is almost passive and Woohyun answers with a dismissive scoff.
“Nah, he’s a big kid, isn’t he? Just because he’s the youngest doesn’t mean he can’t handle himself. He’ll probably be punching his toys all night, but he’ll get over it.”
Myungsoo was surprised by how little attention his members could pay at times. He eyes Sunggyu, waiting for him to have his say in the situation, maybe scold his dongsaengs for their mean trick or at least for the mess they had caused on the floor. But their leader said nothing.
Myungsoo had faith in their leader. But watching him shrug this off when something was obviously wrong? No matter what he was feeling towards Sungjong, shouldn’t Sunggyu have felt compelled to say anything?
So Myungsoo decides to handle it himself, seeing as he was the only one with his head at the moment. Don’t you guys think he’s just been having a bad day? Myungsoo wants to say, with calm, L-like composure. It would be good if you apologized. He opens his mouth, but something else comes out instead, in a tone much angrier than he had anticipated.
“Why the hell can’t you guys ever cut him a break? Honestly, he was already close to tears when you guys had to push him over the edge!”
His members in the kitchen were almost as surprised at him as he was at himself, but Myungsoo decides he doesn’t care when he stands up and moves quickly down the same path to exit as Sungjong had a minute before. He rose so fast his chair nearly fell over before coming down again on its four legs with a bang and a loud scraping sound.
Myungsoo looks at none of them when he leaves, none besides their leader, who still has on a blank expression that makes Myungsoo’s blood boil, makes him clench his teeth and nearly bang on the bathroom door that Sungjong has locked behind him before he catches himself and raps his knuckles lightly on the wood.
He can hear the water in the sink running, and quietly, quietly… he can hear him crying.
“Sungjong?”
He can hear how startled he is, but he’s answered sweetly, though the voice trembles.
“Y-yes hyung? Sorry, did you need the bathroom?”
“Sungjong, are you okay?”
There’s a pause, and the faucet shuts off.
“Yeah, hyung, of course! I’m just getting washed up, my hair’s a mess, and the sugar’s not good for my skin, you know?” He’s relaxed his words, but his voice cracks on the last.
“Sungjong, come out here and talk to me.”
Another pause, and then he can hear the shower being turned on.
“Ah, later, okay? I was going to take a shower.”
“Sungjong, come on!” He knocks harder on the door, but stops when he hears another one of those soft gasps, another shaky breath that puts a knife through Myungsoo’s chest.
“Later, later!” Sungjong insists. Myungsoo shuts his eyes and places his forehead on the door, imagining the boy behind it putting on a smile to keep up this front, even though no one could see him. This close, he could hear Sungjong step into the shower, the sound of the water changing as it hit the boy’s soft, pale skin, streamed down the curve of his waist and hips and his long skinny legs before ending up on the floor of the bathtub.
After a while, Sungjong isn’t sure if his hyung is gone, but he can no longer hold it in.
He lets out a sigh, tries to release all of the pain in his head and beneath his skin and send it down the drain, and it feels like he’s pulling arrows out of his sides.
He wants it to end there, with that long exhale, but when he takes in air again his breath catches and he’s sobbing for what feels like hours underneath the steaming hot water that scalds his back red, his tears mixing with his shampoo. His shoulders are shaking violently but he can do nothing to stop them.
Sungjong is sure no one can hear him from where he is, but he’s still sure to be barely audible when he says what’s been ringing in his ears, what that he hears every time his heavy heart beats and sends blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy.
Though his members have moved on, chatting idly in their living room, Myungsoo is still standing next to the door with his feet frozen, and it feels like he and Sungjong are worlds, galaxies, universes away. Somehow he has no difficulty making out what has been said underneath the pounding of flowing water; it’s like the words were on a separate frequency, a completely different spectrum of sound entirely.
“It’s enough already… It’s enough…”
And Myungsoo quietly, quietly… agrees.
A/N: Oh, my. I've been slipping deeper and deeper into this fandom, oops. My first INFINITE fic, and my first fic that isn't a one-shot, heh. Thank you for reading thus far ^^
Fandom: INFINITE
Pairing: Myungsoo/Sungjong
Rating: PG
Word Count:1500
Summary: Sungjong's always been there... so that must be why it hurts so much when it feels like he's slipping away.
Part One
Shaken Up
--
Sungjong was frowning when he walked through the door of their dorm.
It looked strange to Myungsoo, who was stretched out on the floor of their dorm, resting after getting of his flight from Japan. His dongsaeng rarely frowned; he only pouted, cutely.
The other five piled in with the same expression on their face, their managers trailing behind, but it wasn’t a shock to Myungsoo; if their sunny maknae was down, it was unsurprising to find the rest of them the same way. Their managers even disappeared wordlessly, with scowls and hard eyes, to some other part of the house.
So Myungsoo’s first words after his absence were,
“What’s wrong with all of you?”
All of them kept their gazes low, and it was Sunggyu who spoke up first.
“Well, we were practicing, and someone kept messing up. The choreographer kept scolding us, even hyungs kept stepping in, telling us to shape up. It was a disaster.”
Myungsoo’s eyebrows raised when all of their eyes focused on the youngest in the room.
“…Sungjong?”
He had spoken without thinking, and instantly regretted it when Sungjong’s eyebrows knitted together.
“I’m sorry… I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe next time-”
“Whatever,” Sunggyu cut in, walking to the kitchen and opening the fridge without looking back.
Sungjong stayed still while the rest of his hyungs passed by, following Gyu. Hoya was shaking his head and Sungyeol sighed loudly.
“Seriously though, wouldn’t it have been better if he had stayed behind and practiced alone for a little longer?”
The maknae bit his lip, and Myungsoo got up and patted him on the arm.
“Everyone has those days, right? It’s not that big of a deal as long as you worked hard.” Myungsoo ruffled his hair. “You’re right-next time will be better for sure. Don’t mind them, they’re only upset because you are; if you cheer up, they’ll feel good again, too.” He smiled coolly, and the corners of Sungjong’s lips pulled up as he was pushed playfully into the kitchen with the rest of them.
“So you guys missed me, right?”
They all murmured their confirmation while they sipped their drinks, Myungsoo’s arms slipping around Woohyun and Dongwoo’s shoulders as he pulled up a chair between them.
“Here, Sungjong. You want one?”
Sungyeol was grinning and holding out a can, which Sungjong took with the tiniest smile and a nod. He looked at Myungsoo, who gave him a wink.
There, you see, Sungjong? No one could possibly be mad at you for-
Fzzztch!
Sungjong stood there, dripping with his arms outstretched, still holding the drink in his hand that he had opened quickly with a snap. The strands of his hair had bunched together and were sticking to his forehead and falling over his eyelids.
Someone started snickering, and another joined in until a wave of laughter filled the kitchen.
But Myungsoo wasn’t laughing.
Instead he watched their maknae squeezing his eyes shut. It seemed like he was trying to keep the fizzy drink out of his eyes, but Myungsoo had an awful feeling that he wanted to keep something in them as well.
Sungjong gave his head a little jerk, droplets falling onto the floor, and the laughter became louder, someone commenting about how it hilariously resembled a dog drying himself. But all Myungsoo paid attention to was the small intake of breath that Sungjong had made, that small gasp that sounded-Myungsoo’s heart was in his throat-almost like a sob.
“Hey, Sungjong…”
But the boy in the striped shirt had turned away and was heading down the hallway, and the image of him wiping at his cheeks and eyes with the back of his hands was the last glimpse that Myungsoo saw of him before the boy turns the corner. A few seconds later he hears a small sniffling sound combined in a harsh juxtaposition with the slam of a door that follows it.
“Man, what’s up with him?” Sungyeol remarks, the laughter dying down.
“It really was just a joke,” Woohyun agrees, still giggling.
“Should we go see if he’s all right?” Hoya asks, but the inquiry is almost passive and Woohyun answers with a dismissive scoff.
“Nah, he’s a big kid, isn’t he? Just because he’s the youngest doesn’t mean he can’t handle himself. He’ll probably be punching his toys all night, but he’ll get over it.”
Myungsoo was surprised by how little attention his members could pay at times. He eyes Sunggyu, waiting for him to have his say in the situation, maybe scold his dongsaengs for their mean trick or at least for the mess they had caused on the floor. But their leader said nothing.
Myungsoo had faith in their leader. But watching him shrug this off when something was obviously wrong? No matter what he was feeling towards Sungjong, shouldn’t Sunggyu have felt compelled to say anything?
So Myungsoo decides to handle it himself, seeing as he was the only one with his head at the moment. Don’t you guys think he’s just been having a bad day? Myungsoo wants to say, with calm, L-like composure. It would be good if you apologized. He opens his mouth, but something else comes out instead, in a tone much angrier than he had anticipated.
“Why the hell can’t you guys ever cut him a break? Honestly, he was already close to tears when you guys had to push him over the edge!”
His members in the kitchen were almost as surprised at him as he was at himself, but Myungsoo decides he doesn’t care when he stands up and moves quickly down the same path to exit as Sungjong had a minute before. He rose so fast his chair nearly fell over before coming down again on its four legs with a bang and a loud scraping sound.
Myungsoo looks at none of them when he leaves, none besides their leader, who still has on a blank expression that makes Myungsoo’s blood boil, makes him clench his teeth and nearly bang on the bathroom door that Sungjong has locked behind him before he catches himself and raps his knuckles lightly on the wood.
He can hear the water in the sink running, and quietly, quietly… he can hear him crying.
“Sungjong?”
He can hear how startled he is, but he’s answered sweetly, though the voice trembles.
“Y-yes hyung? Sorry, did you need the bathroom?”
“Sungjong, are you okay?”
There’s a pause, and the faucet shuts off.
“Yeah, hyung, of course! I’m just getting washed up, my hair’s a mess, and the sugar’s not good for my skin, you know?” He’s relaxed his words, but his voice cracks on the last.
“Sungjong, come out here and talk to me.”
Another pause, and then he can hear the shower being turned on.
“Ah, later, okay? I was going to take a shower.”
“Sungjong, come on!” He knocks harder on the door, but stops when he hears another one of those soft gasps, another shaky breath that puts a knife through Myungsoo’s chest.
“Later, later!” Sungjong insists. Myungsoo shuts his eyes and places his forehead on the door, imagining the boy behind it putting on a smile to keep up this front, even though no one could see him. This close, he could hear Sungjong step into the shower, the sound of the water changing as it hit the boy’s soft, pale skin, streamed down the curve of his waist and hips and his long skinny legs before ending up on the floor of the bathtub.
After a while, Sungjong isn’t sure if his hyung is gone, but he can no longer hold it in.
He lets out a sigh, tries to release all of the pain in his head and beneath his skin and send it down the drain, and it feels like he’s pulling arrows out of his sides.
He wants it to end there, with that long exhale, but when he takes in air again his breath catches and he’s sobbing for what feels like hours underneath the steaming hot water that scalds his back red, his tears mixing with his shampoo. His shoulders are shaking violently but he can do nothing to stop them.
Sungjong is sure no one can hear him from where he is, but he’s still sure to be barely audible when he says what’s been ringing in his ears, what that he hears every time his heavy heart beats and sends blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy.
Though his members have moved on, chatting idly in their living room, Myungsoo is still standing next to the door with his feet frozen, and it feels like he and Sungjong are worlds, galaxies, universes away. Somehow he has no difficulty making out what has been said underneath the pounding of flowing water; it’s like the words were on a separate frequency, a completely different spectrum of sound entirely.
“It’s enough already… It’s enough…”
And Myungsoo quietly, quietly… agrees.
A/N: Oh, my. I've been slipping deeper and deeper into this fandom, oops. My first INFINITE fic, and my first fic that isn't a one-shot, heh. Thank you for reading thus far ^^