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The biting wind that whips at Minhyuk's face the moment he steps outside the terminal bears with it the scent of snow. The ground is covered in a thin layer of frost which has turned into treacherous icy patches around the automatic doors, a result of warm air mixing with cold every time the doors slide open, melting and freezing, repeatedly. He steps around them with caution, not keen on breaking a leg the moment he is back from the wild, back to civilization.
The manager leads him to the car idling in the pick-up lane and he gratefully climbs inside the warm vehicle, the door slamming shut behind him and blocking out the frigid outside air. He leans his head on the window as the car takes off towards the dorm, driving down the roads which have become familiar from every time the group has taken them when returning from abroad. What is unfamiliar, is the absence of the rest of the members: snoring, chatting, listening to music too loud or just filling the air with the sounds of their breaths. The car is silent, the ride somewhat lonely although he doesn't feel like talking. The manager informs him of the next day's schedule but otherwise leaves him alone, seemingly sensing that he is not up for a chat. The bland scenery and the monotonous hum of the car take his thoughts back to the past days.
He is grateful for the chance he received to go to Chile and does not regret accepting it. It had been such a sudden offer he had barely had time to tell his members goodbye and explain where he was going. In fact, the reality of where he was going and what he was about to do only started sinking in when he was on the plane speeding across the blue skies. He did not worry, not until he stood in the middle of nowhere and he realized that, oh, this really is the wilderness. It might not have been a jungle like the show's name would suggest, but Patagonia was just as wild. Despite the trip turning out to be much tougher and exhausting than he could have ever imagined, it was a great experience, one that he would not hesitate to repeat if he ever got the chance to go again. Nevertheless, when the car turns up the street leading to their dorm and parks outside the building, he is glad to be back.
The dorm looks the way it always does — messy in a way that clearly indicates seven young men live there — and for a moment he wonders if he ever left. Laundry is drying on every available surface; suitcases are stacked precariously in a corner, atop of which is an even more unstable heap of assorted gifts from fans; a Japanese grammar book has found a new life as hot pad for Wonho's steaming pot of ramyun; the living room floor is hidden under 50 different skin care products as Kihyun finishes up his nighttime routine; Changkyun is tapping away at his tablet at the kitchen table while humming a mystery song under his breath, unbothered by the dirty dishes surrounding him. Nothing is out of the ordinary and it is everything Minhyuk has wished for since the shoot came to an end, but he feels disappointed somehow. He has been gone for more than a week, he is back from days of fighting hunger and cold on the other side of the world, has returned from spending some of the toughest days of his life, but the other members are calmly going about their daily lives as if they have barely noticed his absence, barely missed him while they have been on Minhyuk's mind almost constantly during the past ten days. He is happy to see them, but the guys only throw him automatic greetings like he is Shownu coming back from the gym, just another member coming home in the night from an individual schedule. Wonho at least has the decency to ask him halfheartedly how he has been.
He does not linger, pushes their lukewarm responses to the back of his mind and turns his attention to the closed door of his shared bedroom, beyond which he knows another member — someone he knows will be glad to see him — is waiting. With the thought of the member he has missed the most at the forefront of his mind, he hurries to wash up and get ready for bed, knowing that once he enters their room, he will not want to leave until morning.
When the bedroom door closes behind him with a soft click, something startlingly green flies up from one of the beds and it takes Minhyuk a moment to realize what it is. Jooheon looks like he has taken a highlighter to his short hair and at first he is shocked, but then again it is such a Jooheon thing to do he is halfway to cracking a smile when all air is pushed from his lungs as the rapper pulls him into a tight hug. All of his exhaustion from the trip wash over him at once as he slumps against the younger man's chest like a limp noodle, strong arms around his middle the only thing keeping him upright. He pushes his face into the smooth, warm skin of the younger man's neck and breathes in the familiar scent of him like it is oxygen and he is suffocating.
Jooheon is holding him so tightly it hurts, but the tears that prick at his closed eyelids are the result of his emotions bubbling over, the relief of finally being back. The pain reminds him that the rapper is real, that he is here and Minhyuk is safe and secure in his arms. The lump in his throat gives way to a pathetic sob and a hand pats his back in response while a low voice in his ear tells him how much he has been missed, how glad the younger man is that he is home. He feels the first tears escape his eyes and wet his cheeks before running down the other man's neck to soak into the collar of his sweater.
The rapper's voice is soothing in his ear as he lets him know how proud of him he is, murmurs in his ear that he worked hard, that he did well despite being cold and tired. Minhyuk fights to keep his tears under control but finally loses the war, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably as he sobs into the calming warmth of the younger's embrace, gasping out how hard it has been between every shaky breath. A hand comes up to thread through his hair, fingertips gently massaging his scalp as his face is held in place against Jooheon's neck, the younger man patient as he cries, waiting for him to let it all out, not caring about his sweater getting wet or Minhyuk getting snot all over him. He holds him tenderly in his arms until his tears dry up.
Later, with his head pillowed on Jooheon's chest and the latter's arm around his shoulders as they lie together under the blanket on the rapper's cramped single bed, the younger plays him heartwarming songs on his phone, which Minhyuk listens to with one ear while the other listens to the comforting beat of the other man's heart. Eventually the songs stop and are replaced by their lips singing their own symphony against each other, a tentative adagio soon overtaken by a surer allegro, feelings of longing and love made known by the caress of fingers on cheeks, by lips pressing a little bit harder, a little bit more desperately.
Enveloped in Jooheon's embrace, surrounded by his scent and kept warm by the heat of his body, Minhyuk is once more reminded of how much he has missed the younger man and how relieved he is to be back. He feels himself overcome with emotion, feels tears well up in his eyes again only to be resolutely blinked away. As if sensing the turmoil building inside him, the rapper pulls him closer, draws the built-up stress and exhaustion out of him and replaces it with tender affection until they are both reassured of the other's presence next to them, reassured this is not a dream and that they will both still be here the next morning.
Together on Jooheon's narrow bed, with the rhythmic and unfaltering beat of the rapper's heart against his back, his warm breath caressing the back of his neck and his strong arm heavy and protective around his waist, Minhyuk lets his eyes slide shut. Lulled to a sleep more relaxing than any he has gotten over the past week, he knows he is finally home.
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