i don't ever wanna feel (like i did that day)

chaesung gasped, feigning far more offense than he actually felt at her question. in truth, he worried about dropping her every time she jumped on his back unexpectedly, but he had yet to do so. he was confident in his strength, but they both knew he was too clumsy for his own good -- he chalked it up to having long limbs and a distinct lack of bodily awareness. “i would never drop you on purpose, dasomie.” he whined a little. “you’re lucky you’re so tiny. i can barely feel you back there, you’re so light,” he teased, dimples on full display. he started to spin her around, his grip on her thighs tightening so she wouldn’t slide off. “oh, you know, the usual. messing around with my guitar, rewatching star wars again, reading comic books.” he got excited for a moment, eager to share what he’d recently discovered. “have you heard of fence? i don’t know anything about fencing, but i’m already emotionally invested in most of the characters. especially seiji.” his cheeks flushed slightly, his budding crush on the fictional character blatantly obvious.

bobby was doing what he did best: minding his own business, sleeves of his sweatshirt pulled down over his hands. sure, it was the middle of june and the temperature had been steadily climbing, but he’d left early that morning, when the sun hadn’t fully come out yet, and the chill had yet to leave his bones. out of nowhere, he felt the sudden weight of a small human -- at least compared to him -- jumping on his back. he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it had to be dasom. thankfully, he didn’t have his spaghetti arms anymore -- he’d worked hard for his biceps, okay? without a second thought, he grabbed the backs of her thighs to support her weight, shifting her a little higher on his back so she wouldn’t fall. “one of these days, i’m going to accidentally drop you, dasomie,” he warned, but the smile never left his face. // @rvdasom​

“i don’t think that’s true,” he countered. he hadn’t even thought before he said it, which tended to result in him eventually putting his foot in his mouth. he just hoped she wouldn’t be irritated that he’d contradicted her. “lots of people haven’t gotten plastic surgery. besides, i think having something unique like your ears just helps you stand out from the crowd, y’know? more people will notice you and remember you because of it.” he nodded, content with his explanation. his cheeks flushed a deep shade of crimson. “i -- yes, i do. is it obvious?”

chaesung rolled his eyes good-naturedly, lips pressed together so he wouldn’t laugh obnoxiously. he knew he wasn’t the smartest person in the world -- honestly, that was probably sikyung -- but he still had intelligent thoughts from time to time. okay, occasionally was probably a better descriptor. he pouted, exaggerating how offended he really was. “noodles don’t have muscles, though!” he protested, flexing to show off the guns he’d worked so hard to develop. 

chaesung couldn’t help the easy-going smile that graced his face. it was strange for him to feel comfortable with anyone outside of burnout, his social anxiety threatening to get the better of him in virtually every situation, but nico was a cool dude. chaesung didn’t have to worry about nico making fun of him if he stuttered or if he rambled more than he should have. besides, they were labelmates -- that had to count for something, right? he chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “maybe, but i feel like all your songs are super emo.” he was one to talk, what with some of the tracks burnout had released. “i’m not saying they’re bad or anything! you guys make great music, stuff i actually like to listen to, y’know?” he shrugged. “i hope so. nothing concrete that i know of yet, but we’re practicing.”

chaesung wrinkled his nose, but the expression didn’t last long once he heard her explanation. instead, he started shaking his head, sighing heavily and fixing her with an incredulous look. “you were exempted from the unit, so why are you reading it now when you could be reading something way better? like, i don’t know... saga or the catwoman 80th anniversary special.” he scooted a little closer to her on the couch, excitement starting to become evident in his tone. “besides, i have it on good authority that your favorite guitarist may have already procured himself a copy of catwoman’s 100 page super spectacular with lee jeehyung’s 2010s variant cover. y’know, if you ever wanted to borrow it.”

“xinyi, xinyi, xinyi,” chaesung muttered, shaking his head. had he been less comfortable with her, he likely would have acquiesced just to avoid the potential conflict disagreeing with someone could bring. but xinyi was his friend and he knew she wouldn’t really get mad at him. “i know i’m in a kpop group, but you know i don’t actually sing, right? there’s no way you’re going to convince me that i should spend my evening at karaoke.”

chaesung spotted nico across the room and decided to approach the kid. they knew each other, of course -- they were labelmates and guitarists, after all -- but it had been a while since chaesung had seen him. “nico, wait up!” he approached the younger man, a smile on his face. “how have you been, man? congrats on your last release, by the way. don’t think i’ve had a chance to tell you that yet.” he chuckled a little before continuing. “even if it was emo as hell,” he teased. 

“so, seulgi,” chaesung started, approaching burnout’s drummer at a trot so he could catch up with her. “i read a comment online today that really made me think.” usually, he tried to avoid comments. the vast majority of them were nice -- especially when they were talking about the band side of burnout -- but occasionally there’d be a mean one that would make him feel sad for a day or two. this one had really stuck with him. “someone on dispatch said i could never be a drummer because my arms are too long and noodle-y. thoughts?”

it was easy for chaesung to forget the seven year age difference between them sometimes. it wasn’t rare for sikyung to be more mature than chaesung, after all. but even when he was being a baby about a spider in his room and sikyung was gallant enough to remove it for him, he felt protective of her. in a way, she was like the baby sister he’d never had. “what’cha doin’?” he asked, dropping his phone on the couch cushion next to him and tilting his head toward sikyung. “i suppose ‘what’cha readin’” is probably a better question, actually.”