ɴᴄᴛ ᴏɴᴇ sʜᴏᴛs/ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs | ʀᴀɴᴅᴏᴍ sʜɪᴘs

the cause of this warm feeling

JaeYong

"You okay?" Mark asked as Taeyong stumbled down the stairs, blinking slowly and taking deep breaths. As soon as the question everyone carried on the tip of their tongues had been voiced, all eyes in the room snapped to Taeyong and their elated expressions got replaced with worried looks. "You don't seem well hyung, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Taeyong smiled, waving his hand about in attempt to dismiss the issue. Of course, no one believed him, especially because of the way he wobbled away, a forced smile plastered over his face, and the bruise he received after dropping on the floor during his private practice clearly visible on the back of his neck, they remained silent, also knowing that there was only one person to be able to stop him from his workaholic state.

The lights in the dressing room closed, and Taeyong ran a hand down his face, rubbing harshly on his eyes to keep himself awake. The light from the flashes on the cameras fansites had helped him a bit, but also contributed to the dizziness he was feeling. Guards pushed alongside the fans, and Taeyong did his best to wave at the people around him, flashing smiles and nodding at those with with SuperM albums in their hands. The door to the car opened, and Taeyong felt a hand push him in, and shut the door behind them. Taemin ignored the way Taeyong sent him a questioning look, because it was meant to be Ten with him, and turned to the driver, telling him to go straight to the hotel room.

"We have to go back to the practice room—" Taeyong tried to interrupt, leaning forwards in his seat to pat the driver's shoulder, but Taemin placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back and shaking his head, a stern look in his eyes immediately shutting up the younger.

"We're going to rest." Taemin said, shuffling back on his seat and guiding Taeyong's head to his shoulder, letting his hand linger on his cheek, before sliding down onto his lap. Taeyong tried to move around, but his muscles gave up on him. Nothing moved. The only time his body inched anywhere, was because of the car going over speed bumps, tilting Taeyong forwards before sending him back to his precious position. A sigh escaped his mouth and his heavy eyelids dropped, blinding him in darkness and sleep rushing back to him, eager to dwell there as long as it could.

The noises of the car and the traffic surrounding them tuned out, and all Taeyong could hear was his own breathing. An image appeared in his mind, and the corner of his lips tugged upwards, still in an unconscious state. Memories of all the times he spent in the dorm, tucked in the arms of a specific someone who always helped him calm down, take a break, and rest for longer. The support from Taeyong's head disappeared, and he fell sideways, only to be caught by Taemin, who pulled him forwards, in attempt to somehow pick him up.

But Taeyong immediately jumped up, regretting it as his headache returned and the world began to spin once again. Mark's hand slipped into his and Taeyong walked without opening his eyes, too tired to even ask Mark why he was also here, and how he knew they were going back. The questions in his head were long forgotten when Taeyong dropped onto his bed, ignoring the fact that he hadn't taken a shower yet, and the clothes he was wearing weren't exactly comfortable either. Pulling up the blanket to cover himself, Taeyong kicked off his jeans and tugged his shirt over his head, content with having no clothes but his underwear.

The door to his hotel room closed, and the ticking of the clock got louder and louder, until it was the only thing ringing in his ear. Letting out a groan of frustration, Taeyong forced open one of his eyes, before reaching over his nightstand, thanking whoever placed his phone there, and then brought it close to his face, already squinting so that he wouldn't be too affected by the drastic change of light.

He scrolled through the contacts, accidentally going over the one he wanted to call, and then hurriedly tapped the number, tucking the phone under his ear and sighing audibly. There were only two bells before the person picked up the phone, a surprised voice answered, and Taeyong couldn't help but smile.

"Taeyong?" Jaehyun asked, and voices could be heard getting more and more distinct in the background, and Taeyong could just feel his heart warm up as he thought how Jaehyun left the other members just to talk to him.

"Hey." Taeyong said, closing his eyes and simply enjoying the comforting sound of Jaehyun breathing into the mic (which he would've commented about and told him to stop, but decided not to because it was causing his heart to do flips). "How are you?"

"I'm fine." A pause. "What about you?"

Taeyong remained silent for a few seconds, trying to word his sentence in a way Jaehyun could understand how he felt (although he only had to say two words for the younger to get it). The way Jaehyun cleared his throat and repeated the question, made Taeyong hurry to answer, realising that he must've made the latter worried.

"I'm tired." He decides to go with the shorter and more easier answer, chewing down on his lip before he heard Jaehyun freeze (his breathing hitched and Taeyong could heard him whisper his name in an endearing way). "I didn't mean to over work myself, but I'm genuinely so scared that I might not be perfect for this group."

"Taeyong, listen—"

"So many fans didn't want us to debut." Taeyong continued, his eyes stinging as his throat started to clogged up, and he knowd in the morning the stylists are going to kill him, but for now, he needs to get rid of everything. "No one wanted this, us, me. What if I'm not fit for this group? Is that the reason why so many people are out to make me leave the group? Am I not good enough? The way some fans were staring at me during the fanmeet, Jaehyun I- I really don't know what to think. Do they hate me? What did I do wrong?"

Taeyong felt his cheeks dampen and the quiet sobs that were bouncing off the walls of the room soon made him realise that he was crying. He brought a hand to his face, wiping at his cheeks roughly, before sniffling and opening his mouth to continue, but then Jaehyun spoke up.

"First of all Taeyong," He started, "Yes, not everyone wanted SuperM to debut, but it wasn't everyone! And please don't think you're not good enough for the group. You've worked just as hard as the others to get that position. All those nights you stressed about our comebacks, worked so hard with the members to help them improve. Took dance lessons everyday and look where you are now, known as one of the best dancers in our group! The people that don't want you in that group are jealous. You're perfect, and they're not, so please don't put yourself down because of them."

The last tear escaped Taeyong's eye and rolled down to his pillow. He swallowed hard and then tried to stop himself from smiling. Jaehyun, assuming Taeyong was still feeling insecure about himself, began to ramble on about why he was such an amazing person, even naming events that took place years ago.

"Jaehyun." Taeyong whispered, his voice coming out hoarse and sad, but the smile on his face was able to tint it with a bit of happiness. "Thank you."

Silence took over again, before Jaehyun let out a chuckle. Taeyong joined in and closed his eyes, snuggling into the blanket and humming in delight. Jaehyun said a few more things, and Taeyong muttered back replies, his voice getting tinier as the seconds went on. Sensing the fact that Taeyong was falling asleep, Jaehyun took a deep breath, lowering his voice and whispering a small, "I love you."

When a bit of time passed, and Jaehyun guessed that Taeyong had called asleep, he was about to pull his phone away, he heard a mumbled,

"I love you too.",

and a warm feeling spread through his heart.