Turtle Line

No exit

Porcelain skin under his fingertips looked so flawless, unreal, out of this world. His gaze traced the soft eyelashes resting against the soft cheeks, then followed the straight line of the sleeping one's nose and lingered on the beautiful lips he found himself drawn to more and more often. Fear of being obvious gnawed on him, so the only time when he could openly stare at his handsome best friend without being discovered was during the transition in between night and day, when moon and stars were too tired to pay attention and sun still not wide awake to uncover his undeniable adoration. He carried the title of sleepy prince of Monsta X and it was true that he loved sleeping. But he still loved Hoseok more.

Hoseok kept his promise, trying his best to get to his senses and not think much about the fiction that was causing all the pointless painful thoughts trouble his mind. He also put effort to not overwork himself and sink back into his normal routine of spending time in the gym with Shownu, eating healthier food and heading back home as soon as he felt too tired to do anything else. Robot-like actions were still present, but he did better job at disguising them and tried to indulge himself in some careless fun activities in order to distract himself. Physically he felt much better. Emotionally not really, but that was something he tried so hard not to think about. He could feel Shownu's and Changkyun's gaze on him almost constantly, but with each day passing it became something he got used to and didn't bother him anymore, especially since he felt those gazes gradually softening, traces of worry getting lighter. He could do this, it will be alright, it will pass and he will go back to being the same old Hoseok, a playful Monsta X bunny everyone loved.

It was one of the rare occasions when they were all relaxing in the dorm, spending time together with some good food and a movie night planned beforehand. They have just finished dinner and Minhyuk bounced over to find a movie for them to watch, Jooheon trailing after him to help him choose. Hyungwon plopped down on one of the chairs, taking out his phone to lazily scroll down fancafe as he waited and Hoseok sat down on the floor beneath his best friend's long legs, dumping a bunch of snacks on the table in front of him. The mom of the group entered a moment later, carrying drinks as he left the leader and maknae to finish cleaning the mess they made during dinner. The phone on the couch vibrated, the screen lighting up and Kihyun moved to take it.

"Kyun-ah, you got a notification!" He called out, looking in the direction of the kitchen.

"It must be manager hyung, he told me he'll send me the schedule for mixtape recording later... Read it, hyung." Changkyun cheerfully replied over the sound of dish washing.

Kihyun hummed, opening the message and raised an eyebrow at its content before reading more, confirming that it indeed was what he thought it was.

"Lim Changkyun!" He yelled, causing the rest of the members to stop what they were doing and look at the short, obviously furious, vocalist, the maknae coming into the room with the leader a moment later. "What is this?" Kihyun showed him the phone.

"Hyung..." Changkyun started hurriedly, not sure what he should say, but Kihyun didn't want him to continue anyway.

"It's fanfiction. You're reading fanfiction?" Everyone watched him swell with unnecessary anger, not really understanding the situation.

"So what if he's reading?" Minhyuk stood up quickly and Shownu sucked in a breath, slowly shaking his head as he knew what was coming.

"I thought we agreed not to do it." Kihyun obviously took a step back, understanding quickly that it probably looked like he was overreacting.

"We didn't agree on anything. I'm still reading and you're still getting fanfiction from me, or have you not been checking your mail?" Minhyuk crossed his arms, smirking a bit teasingly. He liked pushing Kihyun's buttons, no matter the situation, but here he was actually on the verge of being offended by his friend's harsh reaction to some harmless fun.