not your baby.

ego.

hoongjoong x san x seonghwa
- san gets a little too cocky, so his hyungs have to put him back in his place.

it was well known that choi san had a big ego. sure, he had plenty of insecurities, and fears, but if someone boosted his confidence just enough, he could become quite cocky.

ateez were at a fansign when it happened. despite being exhausted from their flights and concerts, all eight boys were still excited to meet their wonderful atiny. san was feeling a little bit nervous, cause even though all his members got a pair of pants from their styling staff, he was the only one in shorts. and they were rather small, cutting off towards his upper thigh. he had tried to hide behind wooyoung, getting a few "aww"'s from the crowd when it looked like san was just being his usual cuddly self, but wooyoung was moving around too much for him to cling onto. obviously, the members noticed his squeamishness, and how much quieter he was than usual, so yunho, being his angelic puppy self, tried to make the younger feel better. "atiny, sannie is finally showing off his pretty legs~" momentarily, this made the 99' liner feel even worse, but then there was a loud cry from the fans, a mixture of "cute!", or "sexy~", coming from the audience, and that made him smile a little wider. the fansign progressed well after that, with san joining in more and goofing off with the younger members. san felt better after many compliments from atiny and his members, and anyone could see how his ego bursted at the praise. one person in particular knew just where this swell of pride was going to lead, and decided to tell the leader. "joong," seonghwa gets the leader's attention when the fans are occupied watching mingi whine about how he never gets scared, "keep an eye on san.", "i know." hongjoong responds, "he's okay, for now." they exchange a smile before returning to the group.

he wasn't okay, though. hongjoong didn't blame it solely on him, after all, with jongho squeezing san's thin thighs to test his strength, and wooyoung slapping his perky butt every chance he got, yunho and mingi comparing the length because san's legs are so damn long, the leader can understand why the 99'er is so high on confidence, but he knew that if it didn't stop soon, san was going to end up getting himself in trouble. they had been dancing for a while now, cutesy songs, songs from other groups, their own songs, and now they were playing a more sensual track, the fans having begged for yunho and san to do a sexy dance. naturally, this went right to san's head, who was unsurprisingly quite incredible at giving a sexy dance, and the rest of the members watched with dark eyes as their vocalist rocked his hips and moved in such a practiced way. and it would be okay, if it weren't for those stupid tiny shorts, showcasing san's pretty, soft skin, and strong, perky muscles. atinys were screeching as the two finished their dance, and the mistake finally happened when an innocent fan had asked, "san-ah, who do you think is the better dancer, wooyoung or yunho?" now, in ateez, they stressed the fact they didn't believe anyone was better than the other in their team, each member was a necessity. however, san was feeling particularly bratty, simply because he could be. all the members knew when he got like this, just like they knew when he was hungry or sleepy, or needy. and right now, he was being a brat. "me~" the vocalist answered cheekily, and though the crowd laughed at his cute act, san didn't feel good this time. he had seen the way both wooyoung and yunho's faces dropped sadly, if only for a moment, and that filled san with guilt. but more than that, the sheer disappoint in hongjoong and seonghwa's eyes was making his skin crawl. after that, the fans were allowed to start taking pictures, and the members were asked to do many poses. san didn't miss the way seonghwa squeezed his hip in a threatening and painful grip when they were standing together for their pictures.

after pictures they said their goodbyes, and the fans were slowly shuffled away from the room, while the members were led to the changing rooms. even with the pressing fear in the back of san's mind, he was relieved to wipe off his makeup, and finally get out of these shorts. he was finally free! and just about to pull up his pants when the eldest ateez members stormed in on him, in only his underwear. "hyungs.." san whined, covering as much of himself as he could. he didn't get a response. instead, seonghwa grabbed him by the shoulder, and in one quick movement, had the younger over his knee, "seonghwa." the leader warned, but the eldest remained silent as he brought three echoing slaps across san's butt, the youngest only letting out a muffled squeak, before he was flipped back up. seonghwa was obviously still angry, but he managed to hold himself back. "get dressed, we're leaving." that's what i was trying to do. san wanted to retort, but he figured he was already in enough trouble, so he just nods and starts to pull his clothes back on. "when we get home, get undressed and go to your room. hwa and i will join you after we feed the others, is that clear?" san doesn't make eye contact, "crystal clear." he grits snarkily, they let him get away with it. "you don't get your phone, and you're not allowed to touch yourself." this makes san pout and cross his arms, "but.." seonghwa lifts a brow, daring him to keep going. "but it's not fair!" the rational side of him knows he should stop, but he doesn't. "i work harder than yunho-hyung but i'm still not considered main dancer! and even when i sing my heart out, jongho always drowns me out! i want atiny to love me.." the hyungs are silent after san's outburst, and the younger thinks he sees a glint of sympathy. "they do love you.." hongjoong whispers after a moment, one hand coming to grasp san's shaking one, "but you know it's more than that, baby.. you hurt your members." seonghwa responds this time, winding his arm around the boy's waist, and the two lead san out to the car without any more fight.