outskirts of paradise

❬ ✉︎ ❭

› [ attachment: sharks.jpg ] › it was fun. kind of intimidating at first, but it becomes fun after a while. › hm, how’s your schedule looking? maybe i can pull some strings.

❬ ✉︎ ⟶ jia noona ❭

     › yeah, you heard right, i went swimming with sharks. that’s one thing off my bucket list.      › i wish jisoo could have come with me.      › i’m going skydiving next. you can come with me if you’re free. 

Bobo raised an eyebrow. She should have expected such a serious response from Minhyun, but it didn’t stop her from thinking that the situation was not as dramatic as he was making it out to be. The young woman rolled her eyes, looking up at the taller male. “This wouldn’t be my first or last time sneaking out here,” she muttered back at him, failing to have any sort of care in her demeanor. “And it’s not like I’m going to walk out with some huge light up sign that says that I was at Origin’s dorm or anything. I’m dense, just a little too devious for my own good.” Bobo crossed her arms. “If you want me to stay the night, I certainly don’t mind, but I’m not sure if the rest of the members and the manager would be keen on me coming back at breakfast.”

“ i, well --- ” he’s faltering, seemingly at a loss for words --- and he should be used to the other’s antics by now, really, but his more basic instincts to fuss and to protect ( instincts that have so easily labeled him as the mother hen of his group despite being the youngest out of all the members ) overtaking his ability to form coherent thoughts. “ what do you want to do, then ? do you want to stay over, or... ? ” and it’s uncharacteristic of him, really, as he would prefer to advise others and watch them do as he says, but he supposes it’s just the exhaustion catching up to him. “ if you want to go, i could drive you. wouldn’t want you walking home in the cold. ”

“You want to be tossed out the window next? We have more then one window in the dorm. it’s not gonna be an issue.” Mj threatened, shooting his trademark glare at the younger. “Then how about the strong independent maknae pay for their own damn ice cream? How’s that for self worth?” Minjae wasn’t used to people talking back to him with as much sass as Max did, and it only riled him in a hilariously entertaining way of how petty and salty the vocalist could get. He didnt answer Max immediately, eavesdropping on their unusual conversation. “Why the hell does everyone ship you and Leo? Isn’t there supposed to be a thing against shipping maknae’s and leaders? The hell is that shit?” Mj whispered back, none too quietly. Minjae Ryang had a large personality, and unfortunately quietness wasn’t included.

" do you plan on throwing us all out of the window so you can continue promotions alone ? if you wanna go solo, hyung, just say so. no need to injure any of us. we’d understand. ” minhyun responds, somehow managing to keep a straight face as he nods solemnly. “ sorry, what ? i’m suddenly a very broke, very dependent maknae who needs his hyung to spoil him. ” he adds, failing to rein in his grin this time around. and then his eyes are blown to twice their size upon hearing the other’s words ; one hand coming up to cover the elder’s mouth, the other still locked like a vice around minjae’s own. “ hyung, could you be any more subtle ? ” minhyun hissed, still unable to look behind them despite how badly he wanted to affirm that they were, so far, undetected. “ and you know they just --- they think it’s cute, hyung, and i’m not exactly a minor anymore. so just --- let them be, and let’s just get some ice cream, yeah ? ”

“Please, Leo was being disrespectful to me whenever I was drunk. This is just payback, until I get him close enough to a window to make my move.” The tone Minjae used when talking about Leo was similar to the way a Mom would talk about the Dad whenever she was upset with him. Well- with Leo as the leader and Mj being himself, the example wasn’t too far off. “Yup, you’ve seen right through my plan. You’re nothing but an aegyo tool to me.” Mj remarked sarcastically, leading them down the block to the ice cream shop. “But to be fair, it’s your fault for being weirdly good at that shit. Plus you’re getting paid in free ice cream, so be glad im using you.” While Mj always seemed to sound sarcastic or like he was always serious, Max and the others close to him by now knew that he didn’t mean any of it. It was just how he was. All bark and no bite. As they approached closer to the ice cream shop, Mj overheard a trio of girls walking behind them- raving about Origin and them arguing about which of their ships were real. 

" defenestration. i see. i’ll be sure to steer leo hyung away from any and all windows so i could spare your conscience. ” there’s that usual grin spread across his lips now, eyes slipping into tiny crescents as he thinks up the hilarity of the situation --- reverting to their original state as he feigns offence at the other’s sarcasm. “ you wound me, hyung. as much as any of the fans would love to be used by you, i, a strong independent maknae, possess a lot of self-worth. ” he’s capping it off with a huff, shoulders tensing as talk of their band reaches his ears, clinging tighter onto the elder instinctively. “ hyung, ” comes the whisper, minhyun not daring to look behind them, “ what do we do ? ” dealing with fans was part and parcel of what he’d signed up for, but he preferred to spend his days off in relative silence, clinging onto the tiniest bits of normalcy he had left in his disposal --- pretending, even for the briefest of moments, that he wasn’t equivalent to public property.

Bobo wasn’t the best at listening to the rules and not exactly the best at being where she was supposed to be. Sneaking out of her dorms to be in Origins was one of the things that fit both of those requirements. Most of the time, she was able to sneak in, hang out with MJ and sneak out without an issue, but a voice called out to her as she was trying to sneak back out. “I run a candid blog of creepy sleeping pictures of Origins. Bitch gotta make money somehow when you’re barely existing as an idol group,” Bobo spoke quietly back, laughing at her own humor before shaking her head. She turned, hoping that the member she was speaking to was not the leader. “I was here to watch movies with MJ, but he is passed out. Just… Keep this between us.”

it was just the kind of joke he would expect from the other, and minhyun would have laughed if he hadn’t been far too preoccupied with worrying. the cold is starting to creep into his skin now, the darkness surrounding them reminding him once more of the lateness of the hour and the knowledge that boyeong shouldn’t be here. “ i mean, fine. that’s fine, but. ” he’s well aware that the two are close, and really he had no qualms about them hanging out --- but it was the current circumstances that caused a spike in his fussing. “ you should be more careful next time. or just stay over. we could drive you out first thing tomorrow. it’s easier than having other people see you leaving at this hour. ”

Mj tugged onto the younger’s hand, pulling him out the dorm and out into the public streets. As Origin’s fame grew day by day, he found going out in public to be more risky. Even now when his maknae grew much taller and much stronger then him, Minjae’s natural instincts to protect the younger at all costs lingered. Yes that even involved still holding Max’s hand as they crossed the street. Luckily, nobody seemed to be paying them any mind- and no paparazzi that camped outside the complex had spotted them leaving. “If anybody asks about us breaking our diet, we’re just going to rat out our leader eating 3 full bags of candy by himself. If that doesn’t work, im gonna need you to throw out your aegyo before the manager starts snapping at us- so I dont have to fight them.”

he’s trailing after the other, not bothering to shake off the hand clasping his --- origin took turns taking care of each other, after all, minhyun himself occasionally taking on the role of the group’s mother when the others inevitably made a complete and utter mess of the dorms ; but for the most part, his hyungs acted like the brothers he never had, and so he didn’t mind being treated as if he was younger than his own age every now and then. “ i can’t believe you’d throw hyung under the bus like that, ” he says, though it was ( truthfully ) a very minjae thing to do. “ and is that why you asked me to come instead of the others ? so i can pull out my aegyo ? i feel slightly used, hyung. ” he adds, the last statement taking on more of a teasing tone.

he’s shaking his head, leaning closer to the microphone pointed his way. “ not at all. it’s a little pressuring at times, i guess, but i just use it as motivation to work harder. i know people are gonna be watching my every move, so i have to make sure that i always give my best. ” he flashes a quick smile then, the tone of his voice slipping into something more playful. “ and honestly, i use it to my advantage sometimes. it’s mostly just to talk the hyungs into buying me stuff, though. perks of being the youngest. ”

“ really flattered, to be honest. ” he begins, and for once it isn’t a question he’s been trained to respond to ; his reply and the grin spreading across his mouth both completely genuine. “ we put a hundred and ten percent into everything that we do and it feels good to get recognition for our hard work. ” he keeps it brief, moving onto the next reporter as soon as he finishes talking ; all the better to escape any queries that would force him to utter a reply that alludes to origin attempting to dethrone knight. the company had enough to deal with, given his situation --- they didn’t need him throwing anything else into the mix.

his eyes crinkle into crescents almost immediately ; the chuckle slipping past his lips an attempt at relieving his unease. his managers had discussed the possibility of such questions, of course --- had drilled press-friendly responses into his mind from the moment he came out to them --- though none of it changed the fact that he lived in constant fear. it’s a small mercy that he was well-versed in the art of controlling his expressions, his mien disguising the frantic beating of his heart. “ not really, no, ” he says, his mind at odds with the words coming out of his mouth. “ i’m just naturally touchy, as you can see, but the hyungs don’t mind. the fans seem to like it, too, so i’m not really bothered. ”

he should be sleeping, he thinks, eyes squinting at his phone screen --- the numbers splayed across them declaring that it’s half past two almost accusingly. it’s a miracle he’s even awake at all, considering the exhaustion that has soaked deep into his bones, but he’s restless, itching to move --- and so he steps out of the dorm, nightclothes and all, in the hopes that the late night chill would lull him to drowsiness. what he sees, though, has a frown marring his forehead --- eyes widening as he takes in the younger idol skirting the perimeter of their living quarters. “ what are you doing here ? ” he asks, tone not quite a shout and not quite a whisper.