i'm so sick of seventeen (those golden years)

the one that got away

"Guys, cut it out." Jungwon snaps.

They're all scattered around in the greenroom of Weekly Idol. Stylists attempt to do last touches for hair and makeup, but the boys are making things way more difficult than they need to be, and Jumgwon is at his wit's end. Riki won't stop fidgeting and the stylist looks about three seconds away from snapping at him, and Sunoo eggs him on from his seat beside the makeup chair. Jaeyun watches a video on his phone and since he forgot his headphones at home, the whole room can hear it.

Only Jongseong looks at him when he addresses them, which is useless. Jongseong is sitting on the couch with Sunghoon and Heeseung, both of whom are asleep. Jonseong shoots him a sympathetic smile. Jungwon sighs and nods lightly, turning his attention back to the offenders.

He walks over to Riki and Sunoo first, not wanting to scold them in front of everyone. He dismisses the stylist and places himself in between Riki and Sunoo.

"I wasn't joking, guys––calm down, please. Like it or not, we're professionals and we have to give off a good impression. If you two can't relax when you're around each other, come over and sit with me."

Sunoo looks rightfully guilty, but Riki frowns at him.

"It's just us in here, it doesn't matter. Relax, hyung."

Jungwon raises an eyebrow; Riki must be in a mood. Jungwon elects to pull Riki up by the arms, and take him somewhere for a talk . He protests, but doesn't resist Jungwon's tugging. Sunoo looks away, going to bother Jaeyun instead of sticking around for whatever scolding he senses Riki is about to receive.

The hallway is empty, save for a few custodians mopping all the way at the end of the hallway. Riki is grinding his teeth so audibly that Jungwon fights the urge to flick him on the forehead to get him to stop. He pulls them into a staircase, and Riki groans.

"What?" He whines. "Hyung, come on, we're on in fifteen minutes. I'm sorry for being an asshole, can we just go?"

Jungwon shakes his head resolutely. "Nope. We're talking about this right now."

"I really don't want to."

"Too bad." He pauses, putting his hands on Riki's shoulders. "I get that you wanna mess around. And that's fine, but I need you to be able to turn it off when it's time to be serious, because we can't get anything done if everyone just does what they want. I'm your friend, Riki, of course I am. But, I'm also your leader and you need to respect my instructions when it comes down to it. This is not me trying to boss you around or single you out, okay? I'm just doing what I need to do."

Riki is silent, lips pressed together awkwardly.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I was too harsh with you. I shouldn't have dragged you out in front of everyone like that. Won't happen again." He pokes Riki in the ribs. "As long as you don't give me a reason to."

"Are we done now?" Riki groans, finally smiling.