sleep, hyung | hongjoong x ateez

sleep, hyung

seonghwa walked out of his and hongjoong's shared room, looking somewhat upset and disappointed.

"seonghwa hyung? what's wrong?" it was san.

seonghwa shrugged.

"are you sad? or are you ill?"

jongho's eyes widen, as if he had experienced great epiphany.

"is it hongjoong hyung?"

seonghwa nodded, and finally spoke up, "he can't sleep."

"hongjoong hyung can't sleep?"

seonghwa nodded.

look, it may seem a bit off for seven guys to worry about a friend who seems to can't fall asleep at eleven at night. it's different for ateez. well, it's different for hongjoong.

hongjoong's been working until four to five in the morning for the past few days, and after getting three hours of sleep, he proceeds to join the group to attend dance practice.

it was like hongjoong has been working non stop, literally.

and tonight, he promised his band members that he'll go to bed and get the rest he needs and definitely deserves.

"movies, cuddles, bedtime stories, lullabies, which one's better?"

seonghwa smiled a little at the younger members' concern. they were indeed like a family.

"why don't we ask hongjoong himself?"

"okay!"

san ran to his room and came out holding shiber.

"i can lend shiber to hongjoong hyung if he needs!"

yeosang looked through the tv cabinet and read out movie titles.

"twilight? or the cartoon with minions? or... fifty shades- no."

"yeosang, just bring the first two and let hongjoong decide,"

jongho practiced vocals, in case what hongjoong wanted was lullabies.

the other members just entered hongjoong's room, prepared to give hongjoong what he wanted and needed.

opening the door, their eyes met with the sight of hongjoong curling up on himself underneath the blanket, tossing and turning.

he looked so small.

"hongjoong hyungie!"

hongjoong almost immediately leap out of bed and looked at his friends sheepishly.

"h-hi."

mingi ran to hongjoong and embraced him in a tight hug. hongjoong hugged him back.

"hyungie, why didn't you go to bed yet?"

"i couldn't,"

"seonghwa hyung told us."

"hyung, you didn't have to."

seonghwa stared at hongjoong and hoped that he looked strict enough to hongjoong, so that he knew whatever he's doing to himself wasn't going to be taken lightly.

yeosang gave seonghwa a reassuring pat on the back, as he decided that whatever hongjoong needed right now wasn't a lecture. as cheesy as it may sound, hongjoong needed affection. 

"hongjoong hyung, would movies make you feel better? would that make you want to go to bed?"

hongjoong thought that he was too tired for movies but looking at yeosang being so excited, he couldn't bring himself to say no.

"okay."

yeosang smiled at that.

"hyung, which one?" he waved the few movies he picked out just now.

"m-minions?"

"okay, minions!"

and the movie played. all seven members cuddled hongjoong in bed.

wooyoung played with hongjoong's hair, attempting to help his hyung feel better.

the movie ended and seonghwa had fallen asleep. sadly, hongjoong didn't.

hongjoong was really, really tired though.

"hyung, you're tired."

"i know,"

"why aren't you asleep then?"

"i can't."

the younger members could sense and see the frustration hongjoong felt at that moment. honestly, they felt really bad.

"it's okay, hyung. how about bedtime stories?"

"okay."

yunho and mingi took turns to tell a story about a little tiger called matthew who worked in the circus.

hongjoong didn't know if they made it up or if it was based on a true story. but he also didn't know how a simple story told by his younger members could make him  tear up.

what the younger members didn't understand was how the clearly tired and small leader still couldn't fall asleep.

"hyungie, lullaby?" jongho asked in a quiet voice, shyly.

"of course."

jongho hummed the tune of the truth untold by bts, and started singing it softly.

as jongho finished singing, hongjoong felt bad. guilty, even.

"guys, you didn't have to."

"hyung,"

"thank you all so much."

"we're just returning the favour, hyung. you've been there for all of us, really."

at this point, seonghwa woke up.

"hongjoong ah, you're a great person. a great leader. but we don't want you to harm your health."

hongjoong smiled at his best friends sleepily.

"hyung, we don't want you sick."

"me too."

"hyung, close your eyes. it's okay."

"promise?"

"we promise."

hongjoong closed his eyes and let sleep take over.

the other seven members cuddled the leader, smiles on all of their faces.

it wasn't a comfortable bed. they didn't have large spaces for themselves. san even woke up in the middle of the night to find that the shiber he brought for hongjoong ended up on the floor, to his dismay. yeosang also woke up to mingi kicking his face at night, twice.

but what mattered most was that hongjoong finally got the sleep and rest he needed.

they felt proud, they felt as if they had help fight hongjoong's insomnia. and yes, they were happy for hongjoong and did not want his happiness to end.