𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 :

. 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙳 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 .

[One weeks later]

Hangyeol sighed as he rubbed his neck, the skin slightly irritated from the chain of his mic during rehearsal. the week had flown by—early call times, recordings, endless rehearsals for their next comeback stage. they were barely sleeping, always bouncing from one schedule to another. but somehow, it felt... okay. familiar.

He pushed open the dorm door with his foot, his arms weighed down by plastic bags. The dorm was quiet except for the low hum of a game beomgyu was playing in the living room.

"finally" the younger looked up, eyes still glued to the screen "you were gone forever"

"blame yeonjun-hyung" Hangyeol kicked his shoes off and placed the bags on the table, "he wanted to stop by the practice room one last time to record himself doing that spin again"

"of course he did" Beomgyu snorted before tossing the controller aside and padding over barefoot

"what's all this?" he peeked into the bags curiously

"snacks" Hangyeol replied, pulling out bottled tea, instant rice bowls, seaweed chips, and two packs of strawberry milk. "since manager-hyung said we have that mini shoot tomorrow, figured we'd need something to survive the wait"

Beomgyu hummed in agreement, grabbing a rice bowl and disappearing into the kitchen without another word

Hangyeol smiled to himself, slowly starting to unpack the rest of the items when he felt a soft thud against his back. He turned slightly, recognizing the oversized hoodie sleeve before seeing the sleepy face

"you were gone long" Kai mumbled, resting his chin on hangyeol's shoulder

"we just wrapped practice a bit later than expected" Hangyeol replied, reaching up to ruffle the other's hair lightly

"you smell like floor cleaner" Kai made a face but didn't pull away

"compliment accepted" Hangyeol teased, gently nudging him off to let him move

kai yawned, rubbing his eyes as he leaned against the counter watching his hyung silently

"did yeonjun-hyung go home?" he asked eventually

Hangyeol nodded, "yeah. he said he's gonna spend the night at his mom's place. he hasn't been back in a while"

Kai only hummed.

.
.

The next morning was calm.

the sun slipped through the curtains in soft strips of gold, and the dorm smelled faintly of fabric softener and warm rice. Hangyeol was already awake, dressed in loose sweats and a soft white tee as he packed the group's bags for the schedule.

He double-checked the charger cords, extra snacks, a backup speaker, and kai's spare hoodie—because he always forgot it and got cold

"hyung?" Soobin's voice was still half-asleep as he entered the kitchen

"morning" Hangyeol smiled, closing the last zipper

"what time do we leave again?" Soobin asked while fixing his hair in the reflection of the microwave

"manager-hyung said 10:30. we're doing the photoshoot for that youth brand—it's just for social media this time, but we still need to be camera ready"

"great" Soobin replied, rubbing his eyes and reaching for the kettle

Hangyeol looked around quietly, then toward the hallway

"are the others awake?"

"not yet" Soobin answered before pouring hot water over the instant coffee mix