Straight-ish (Hwang Hyunjin Fanfic)

24

The performance on the main studio stage was getting closer, so rehearsal time had picked up. Felix finally agreed to back off of work at Isa's rather threatening request so he could focus more on the dance. Minho knew how to take a hint and dropped his hours a bit as well because he didn't want to get in trouble with Isa anymore than Felix did. She'd call Jisung, and Jisung would be crabby and then it was just Hell. Hyunjin, on the other hand, had taken on a position at the main studio as a choreographer, adding about 15 hours a week to his schedule. He needed the extra money to help with the move he and Seungmin were planning. Seungmin actually took on a few hours at the studio, helping with set creation and stage organization. He originally had gone to school for dramatic arts, so this was an opportunity to get his foot in the door doing something he wanted to do. Hyunjin may or may not have put in a word with Mr. Nam when he heard they were looking for someone. He knew it would turn into a full-time placement and Seungmin wouldn't have to work at the restaurant anymore. That meant Leo couldn't harass him anymore. Because Seungmin saw him at home and at work, even if it was minimal at work, he could see the mounting stress a little better than the others. Minho and Felix both knew that Hyunjin was wearing himself out, and they were concerned. They didn't know about the nightmares and although they knew he dealt with anxiety, they didn't know how severe it was. Ordinarily, when his anxiety was at its peak, he danced as therapy. At times, he'd been known to spend so much time dancing that he actually started to lose weight. He didn't eat regularly as it was, and he really couldn't afford to lose much.

Minho was the first to notice because he saw Hyunjin the least, so the change was more drastic to him. Hyunjin walked into the practice room and he was just pale. Minho tilted his head and walked over to him. Furrowing his brow, he put his hands on Hyunjin's shoulders and looked him in the face. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked seriously.

"I'm fine. Just tired," Hyunjin mumbled as he tried to shake loose from Minho's grip. Minho held on though and reached up to tilt Hyunjin's head from side to side.

"Hyunjin, how many hours did you dance today?" Minho asked, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the way his cheeks seemed to be more hollow than normal.

Hyunjin shook him off and shrugged, "I don't know. I got here around 8 this morning, I guess. I had choreography to work on."

"Did you eat? Did you drink water as you should?" Minho continued to interrogate him.

"Aya... Mom, I'm fine, and yes, I ate lunch," he grumbled. Minho scowled at his sarcastic response. "Sorry. I know you're looking out for me. I'm fine. Really," Hyunjin added, hoping to appease his friend.

Minho nodded and snickered, "Yes, I am, because you don't do it for yourself and you make me worry like a mother hen." Felix walked in just in time to save Hyunjin from another once over by Minho.

"Whatup bitches?" he called out across the room. Both guys flipped him the bird and rolled their eyes.

"Hey, Lix," Minho greeted him. "Is your knee good?" He knew he'd been having a little trouble and had gone into therapy again to help.

"Man, it feels amazing, actually. Isa got me in with somebody that does a different type of pt, and it's made a huge difference. Like... Huge!" Felix responded enthusiastically. "I honestly don't know if it's been this good since I injured it."

Minho, scrunched his brows and pursed his lips, then grumbled, "Okay, well... don't get cocky and start going too hard. We don't need you undoing it!"

"Yes, Mom," he answered, rolling his eyes. Hyunjin laughed out loud, earning a dirty look from Minho. "Can we start plz?" Felix whined.

Now, it was Minho's turn to roll his eyes at his goofy, text-speaking friend. "Alright, get warmed up then. Hyunjin, you're probably good, Mr. Idancedforeighthoursalready. Did you at least go eat before you came here?"

Hyunjin swept his eyes to Felix then back behind himself, looking for somebody else to answer the question, because he didn't want to. Minho caught on and shook his head. "You pass out and Felix will tell Isa and she'll call Jisung, and he'll kick my ass. And I'll have to call Seungmin and he'll kick yours."

"I'll be fine, though, so go for it," Felix snarked.

"We can make arrangements for that to be a false statement!" Minho warned. They finally got around to practicing, but Minho was so distracted by keeping an eye on the other two that he couldn't focus. He stopped them for a minute and called them over to the middle of the floor. He sat down and motioned for them to do the same. "Guys, listen, you're like my brothers. You know that, right?" he asked as he looked to both of them. The other two nodded, wondering where he was going with the statement. "Our performance is in a few weeks. I'm stressed as hell. Felix, you're working fewer hours, right?"

Felix nodded and grumbled "Isa told me she'd fire me for a week if I didn't. Dating your boss sucks sometimes."

Minho laughed at him but then looked to Hyunjin, "How about you? You took on the choreographer spot, you're teaching classes here, and Jin, I can see you're losing weight. That tells me you're not eating right and you're spending too much time in the studio. This isn't about the performance as much as it's about you guys. I want to make sure you don't hurt yourselves and I'm stressing myself out over it. Lix, swear to me that you'll let me know if something doesn't work, okay?" Felix nodded in agreement, knowing Minho meant every word. "And Jin, I want you to swear to me that you'll try to get in at least a couple of meals a day. I know it's a good day if you get dinner and a snack during the day. I also want to see you drinking more water. Maybe even some kind of sports drink or something to keep you from getting dehydrated. You're worrying me."

Hyunjin could see by the expression on his face that Minho was seriously worried. He glanced over to see Felix examining him as well. The longer he looked, the more Felix saw and now he was worried as well. Hyunjin nodded and answered Minho. "Sorry, bro. I don't mean to worry anybody. Seungmin all but force-feeds me when he comes home. I'll pick up some Gatorade or something on the way home. Probably should have it anyway. I sweat like crazy." Minho sighed in relief that they were taking him seriously. He wasn't as concerned with Felix because he knew Isa watched out for him too. He decided to give Seungmin a call after practice so he could talk to him before Hyunjin got home.

"Okay, let's go through it all once more then call it tonight, sound good?" Minho asked. The other two nodded in agreement and got back to their places.

It took about an hour to go through all three pieces, just because they had some work to do on the new intro piece. They had filmed a portion of it for the commercial, but they needed to make some small changes to make better use of the size of the stage. They all grabbed up their bags and headed toward the door. Minho hung back, telling them he was going to check the lights and lock up. He headed back inside and just as he was going to call Seungmin, his phone rang. He sighed, "Hi, mom. Yes... Yes, I'm eating well. Yes, I'm getting enough rest..." he couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he headed out the door. They talked through his whole drive home and when he finally got off the phone with his mother, he realized it was too late to call Seungmin since Hyunjin would be home already. He sighed and decided he'd give him a call the next day.

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