Two Are Better Than One

Chapter 2

A/N - Trigger Warning for descriptions of injuries.

After so much begging (and a promise to sleep home for a week instead of the studio), Hongjoong finally convinced Seonghwa to go to the Littles Center for at least one hour. The leader was so worried the other would collapse or something. Seonghwa was really not sleeping or eating at all. Visiting the Littles Center would probably not help cure all the needs a caregiver requires to function properly, but it would at least help some bit. Hongjoong wouldn't know what he would do if Seonghwa, or any of the members, ended up in the hospital under his watch.

"Hyung!" Yunho called from the hallway's doorway. Hongjoong was currently sitting on their living room's couch as he worked on his laptop. The leader hummed.

"Can you come with me to the convenience store? Mingi and Jongho are playing video games so they don't want to come with me and I don't want to go alone since it's getting late." Yunho pleaded with hopeful eyes.

Hongjoong snickered. "Oh really? I'm the last resort then?" Hongjoong joked around, eyes never leaving his laptop.

"Well, you can be if you want to. I haven't asked San yet-"

"Asked San what?!" The said male appeared out of nowhere as if he was summoned. That's a lie, he just came out of the kitchen, but that was extremely good timing. "Oh! Yunho-ah! Are you going out? Can I come?" San perked up like an excited puppy. He smiled so big that his dimples appeared and his eyes shined.

"Yah. He asked me first." Hongjoong said as he set his laptop down and he stood up. He stretched up his arms and he felt a bone crack. "But, you can tag along too, San."

"Oh, so now you wanna come." Yunho teased but Hongjoong gave him a look to watch his mouth. Yunho chuckled.

The three left after putting their shoes on and their long coats. The sun had just set down several minutes ago, so the night was starting to get colder and the night had become a dark blue (almost black) color. Hongjoong regrets not coming triple layered in this freezing weather. The leader quietly walked, completely opposite from the other two.

"So then the stylist noona said 'no San you cannot dye your hair' and I was like- "

Hongjoong suddenly paused from walking. "Did you hear that?" He asked. Yunho and San stopped laughing and turned back to Hongjoong. They tilted their heads.

"Hear what?" Yunho asked.

Hongjoong pursed his lips. That's what Hongjoong wanted to know. What did he hear? A faint screech? A cry? He couldn't exactly pinpoint it.

"It's probably nothing, hyung. Come on, we're right next to the store. Snacks will make us feel better!" San grabbed Hongjoong's hand as well as Yunho's before dragging them both to the small convenience store.

Hongjoong couldn't help but feel uncomfortable for the first twelve minutes they rummaged around the store, but slowly his worry went away, and instead, it began to turn into an annoyance. San and Yunho were arguing about which chips were better. Why did those two take so long deciding which one was better for every single thing? Honestly, he wasn't sure how none of the members weren't full-blooded Littles themselves.

Finally, after twenty-five minutes of circling the small store, the boys finally got in line with armfuls of snacks. Well, Yunho and San were holding armfuls. Hongjoong was just at the side waiting in line with them...until he realized that was taking forever too.

"Hey, I'll be waiting outside, okay? Make sure to get bags for those." Hongjoong said over to the two before he exited the small convenience store.

Hongjoong stood outside on the sidewalk and leaned against a metal pole. He admired the stores around them. They were mostly closed since they were late, but some stores had beautiful clothes displayed on the windows. There were a lot of restaurants and clothes shops in this part of town. The convenience store seemed rather an outlier in the rich neighborhood, but Hongjoong wasn't complaining. Eating ramen and buying ice cream were little things he appreciated having once in a while.