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Sunghoon doesn’t remember the ride back to the dorms very clearly, and he comes back to himself in pieces.
First, there’s the weight: his head feels too heavy for his neck, like it’s been gently glued to the headrest. His cheeks feel like they were stuffed with cotton, and every time he swallowed, he made a small, confused sound. Then sound drifts in, muffled and distant, voices overlapping in a way that doesn’t quite make sense. The world feels slow, like someone turned the speed down but forgot to warn him.
“Careful— careful, don’t let him hit the door.”
“I am being careful.”
“He’s smiling. Why is he smiling?”
Sunghoon is smiling. He’s not sure why. Everything feels funny.
The car stops. The door opens. Cold air brushes his cheeks, and he shivers dramatically, clutching his jacket closer around himself.
“Ow,” he says, even though nothing actually hurts.
Jake appears in front of him, hands firm but gentle as he helps Sunghoon unbuckle. “Okay, Hoon. We’re back at the dorms.”
Sunghoon blinks up at him. “Home?”
“Yeah,” Jake says softly. “Home.”
That feels right. Comforting. He nods, then immediately leans forward too far, nearly tipping out of the seat.
“Whoa— okay, okay,” Jay mutters, grabbing his other arm. “He’s got no balance.”
Sunghoon frowns at his legs as if they’ve personally betrayed him. “They’re not listening.”
“That’s because you’re still under anesthesia,” Heeseung explains from somewhere behind him.
Sunghoon considers this. “I don’t like it.”
No one argues with that.
Getting him inside is an ordeal. Thankfully, their manager is there, steady and practiced, one hand firm on Sunghoon’s back, the other supporting his arm, handling what the others can’t quite manage.
Sunghoon walks like he’s on a moving ship, feet dragging, shoulders slumped, clinging to Jake’s sleeve with surprising strength. His cheeks are visibly swollen, skin stretched tight and warm, lips parted slightly like he’s forgotten how to hold his mouth properly.
They make it halfway down the hallway before Sunghoon abruptly stops.
“No,” Sunghoon says.
Jay sighs. “No… what?”
Sunghoon looks around slowly, eyes scanning the dorm like he’s searching for something incredibly important. His brows pull together, confusion creeping into his expression.
“Where’s Sunoo?”
Ah.
There it is.
“He’s not here right now,” Heeseung says carefully. “He is on schedule, remember? With Jungwon and Ni-ki.”
Sunghoon stares at him. His eyes widen. “He left me?”
“No, he didn’t leave you,” Jake says quickly. “He just—”
“I got my teeth stolen,” Sunghoon says, voice thick and offended. “And he’s not here.”
Jay presses his lips together, fighting a smile. “They didn’t steal them, man.”
Sunghoon doesn’t hear him. His face crumples just a little, not enough to cry but enough to make everyone tense.
“I wanted to show him,” he murmurs.
“Show him what?” Heeseung asks.
Sunghoon lifts a hand and pokes his swollen cheek, wincing immediately. “This.”
Oh no.
Their manager tries to steer him forward again. “You can show him later, okay? Right now you need to lie down.”
Sunghoon shakes his head slowly, stubborn even now. “No bed.”
“Hoon—”
“I need Sunoo,” he insists, voice small but firm. “He said… he said he’d take care of me.”
The hallway goes quiet.
Their manager looks at Jay. Jay looks at Heeseung. Heeseung looks at Jake. Jake looks down at Sunghoon, who is now blinking rapidly, clearly on the verge of emotional devastation.
“…I’m calling him,” Heeseung says.
Sunghoon brightens instantly. “Really?”
“Yes,” Heeseung replies, already pulling out his phone. “Before you sit down and refuse to move for the rest of the night.”
Sunghoon smiles, wide and gummy and utterly unguarded. “Thank you.”
They do manage to get him into his room eventually. Mostly by convincing him that Sunoo would want him to be comfortable. He’s guided onto the bed, propped up with pillows, ice pack pressed gently to his cheek.
Sunghoon clutches the ice pack like it’s precious.
“He’s coming?” he asks for the fifth time.
“Yes,” Jake says. “He’s on his way.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Sunghoon nods, satisfied, eyes drooping but refusing to close. “I’ll wait.”
When the door finally opens twenty minutes later, Sunoo barely gets one step inside Sunghoon’s room before freezing.
The sight hits him all at once: Sunghoon curled in bed, cheeks swollen, hair slightly messy, eyes glassy but lighting up the second they land on him.
“Sunoo,” Sunghoon breathes.
From the doorway, two more figures appear.
Jungwon leans casually against the frame, arms crossed, eyes flicking from Sunghoon’s face to Sunoo and back again. Beside him, Ni-ki cranes his neck for a better look, squinting like he’s trying to solve a puzzle.
Sunoo’s hand flies to his mouth. “Oh my god.”
“…Hyung,” Jungwon says slowly, clearly fighting a smile. “Is he always that round?”
Ni-ki gasps, hand flying to his chest. “He looks like he stored nuts for winter.”
Sunghoon blinks at them, deeply offended. “I can hear you.”
“That’s how we know the anesthesia’s wearing off,” Jungwon replies calmly.
Sunoo finally finds his voice, half laughing, half emotional. “Don’t tease him, he just got his wisdom teeth out.”
“That was hours ago,” Jungwon says. “This is just his natural state now.”
Ni-ki nods seriously.
Sunghoon lets out a small, indignant noise and turns his face toward Sunoo, pressing his swollen cheek deeper into the pillow like he’s hiding. “They’re mean.”
Sunoo smiles softly, immediately stepping closer to the bed. “Ignore them.”
Jungwon grins. “We will not.” But he still reaches out before leaving, gently placing the ice pack back where it slipped from Sunghoon’s cheek.
“Get some rest,” Jungwon says, quieter now.
Ni-ki gives a small wave. “Feel better, hamster hyung.”
The door clicks shut behind them, leaving the room warm and calm again, just in time for Sunoo to kneel beside the bed. “Hoon— You’re so swollen.”
Sunghoon giggles weakly. “I know.”
Sunoo’s voice goes soft instantly, like it always does when it’s just the two of them. “Does it hurt?”
Sunghoon considers this seriously. “Not really. It just feels… big.”
Sunoo laughs quietly, eyes shining as he carefully reaches out, brushing Sunghoon’s hair back from his forehead. “You did so well.”
Sunghoon’s chest puffs up with pride. “I was brave.”
“You were very brave,” Sunoo says warmly. “I’m so proud of you.”
That does it.
Sunghoon reaches out, fingers curling into Sunoo’s sleeve with surprising urgency. “Stay.”
“I’m here,” Sunoo says immediately.
“No,” Sunghoon says, tugging gently. “Stay stay. Sleep.”
Sunoo kicks off his shoes and carefully climbs onto the bed beside Sunghoon, mindful of the IV bruise on his arm, the ice pack, the way he’s curled in on himself.
Sunghoon relaxes instantly, turning toward him, forehead pressing lightly into Sunoo’s shoulder. “You smell nice,” he murmurs.
Sunoo smiles, heart melting. “Thank you.”
“Don’t go,” Sunghoon says again, softer this time.
“I won’t,” Sunoo promises, wrapping an arm gently around him. “I’m right here and I brought you ice cream for later.”
Sunghoon hums contentedly, fingers fisting into Sunoo’s shirt. His breathing slowly evens out, tension melting from his body now that he’s found what he was looking for.
Just before he drifts off, he mumbles, “I love you.”
Sunoo’s chest tightens. He presses a careful kiss to Sunghoon’s hair. “I love you too,” he whispers.
Sunghoon falls asleep smiling. Safe, maybe swollen, but exactly where he wants to be.