kangmin fluff & hurt/comfort

a thousand apologies

It was dark outside the misty window. So, so dark. As black as coal, with not a single glimmer of star within sight, no brilliance nor brightness in the vast expanse of the entire night sky. The world was still and unmoving at the late hours of the night, coated in a thick fog of solemnity and loneliness. Only city lights shone in the frame, hazy and foggy amidst the pelting rain which distorted its glow, some radiating lazily while others beamed powerfully, in rows and columns and circles and diagonals. The coldness of the rain could be felt through the glass pane and cooled the room beyond in a chilly swirl of icy air, enough to make a person shiver if they were not fortunate enough to be wrapped in the warmth of a snug blanket.

And Kangmin was fortunate enough. A thick blanket draped around his whole body, he sat on the window seat with a lonely gaze, his back against some soft cushions as he fidgeted with a small plastic plant that decorated the area. Remnants of tears glazed his cheeks as he sat in silence, occasionally sniffling as he waited and waited. A melancholic feel hung over the room like a thin curtain, surrounding him in its sadness and dismay, and a shaky sigh left his chapped lips as he brought his knees up to his chest.

In all honesty, he felt miserable — just before it was time for bed, he had gotten into a fight with one of his hyungs which eventually resulted in him refusing to go to sleep in the same room. He had trudged outside with tears in his eyes as he sat down with a huff at the window seat, waiting for the tension between them to subside, and had continued to stay there hours after the incident had happened. His hyung didn't come and comfort him, and he felt far too stubborn to go and apologise on his own because they were both at fault, so he obstinately waited and waited, feeling more and more hurt as time ticked by. Why hadn't his hyung come looking for him? They were always telling him to sleep early — and, anyhow, he didn't go back into the bedroom after the argument broke out. Did he not matter to his hyung as much as he thought he did? ...Did his hyung not care about him at all?

Another sniffle. He couldn't bear the thought of one of his hyungs not loving him, and he craved the comfort that his other hyungs could offer but he felt bad about waking them up so he refrained from doing so, which ultimately ended in him drowning in self-pity that changed into regret as he wished that he didn't get into the fight in the first place. All he wanted right then was to be in his hyung's loving embrace, hearing his soft voice, and inhaling the scent that belonged to him, and only to him. He had felt really lonely with none of his hyungs consoling him, and had kept everything bottled up inside and cried until he felt sick. Now, he sat dejected at the window, too unnerved to sleep. He did feel tired, but he just couldn't bring himself to fall asleep, so he messed around with random objects that was within reach.

At nearly two in the morning, his heart almost shot out of his chest when one of the bedroom doors suddenly creaked open. Kangmin had wanted his hyung to come out and find him, but now that the possibility was near he felt too unprepared. And what if it wasn't that hyung, but one of the others who weren't aware of their fight? He didn't feel like getting grilled for why he wasn't sleeping in bed.

He cowered deeper in the cushions behind him, wishing he could disappear into them so his hyung — whichever one of them it was — wouldn't notice him. Shutting his eyes nervously and hoping fervently that he would be missed, he tried to steady his breathing and pretended to be asleep, praying that whoever it was would just leave him alone.

Quiet footsteps approached Kangmin and he tried to be as convincing as possible, letting his limbs go loose (he didn't dare to pretend to snore as he knew the secret would immediately be out if he tried), and he felt the person's breath on his face as he bent lower to look at Kangmin. Kangmin could smell the person and he internally gasped in horror.

It was Gyehyeon! Why, out of all the members that could come out of that room, it just had to be the one that he fought with — and now too, hours after the incident had occurred. Kangmin didn't know what to feel and tried his hardest instead to put on a poker face. He felt his hyung sighing before putting his hand up to Kangmin's face and using his thumb to wipe away something, and he mentally slapped himself for not wiping away the fresh tear stains on his cheeks before pretending to be asleep. Not that he had much time, anyway.

His heart also (involuntarily) melted at the touch and he sub-consciously leaned in, missing the members' affection very much after a lonely night all by himself. Gyehyeon then mumbled something under his breath and Kangmin strained his ears to catch it.

"I'm so sorry, Kangmin-ah," he whispered remorsefully. "I'm such a bad hyung to you. I should've come and apologise but I fell asleep because I was too exhausted." Hearing this, Kangmin's heart leapt with joy knowing that his hyung still loved him, but happy tears threatened to fall and he still needed to pretend to be asleep. A pair of strong arms wrapped around him and lifted him from the window seat, being careful to not let the blanket fall to the ground, and Kangmin nestled into his member's warm body.

However, he didn't realise that, because his body was being carried by Gyehyeon, his low sniffles and the way his body trembled a bit when he tried to calm himself down didn't go unnoticed by his hyung, so Gyehyeon, instead of carrying Kangmin to his bed, sat down on the chestnut brown sofa instead with Kangmin across his lap. He wanted to calm the youngest down before he left him to sleep for the remainder of the night.

He rocked back and forth slowly, and Kangmin buried his face in the older's chest, trying to be brave enough to apologise. After all, his hyung had apologised to him already, so he should too. He sucked in a final deep breath and opened his watery eyes to look at Gyehyeon before enveloping him in a hug and whispering sorry over and over again, until his hyung stopped him and hugged him closer.

They ended up sleeping in that position that night, and the next day the other members were greatly surprised by the sight, knowing that Gyehyeon sometimes refused Kangmin's affections. However, the sight of them on the sofa hugging each other and sleeping peacefully was too cute that they just had to take a photo, which might or might not be used to tease Gyehyeon later.