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The heat in Korea was a lot for Hanjin. Even back home heat was a lot for him. The summer heat infiltrated the dorms and filled every room with its overwhelming warmth. The AC was little help, as it only went up a couple settings which were not high enough for Hanjin. He was hot on the outside, sweating bullet, and on the inside, having been eating nothing but hearty foods made by the other members.
Hanjin knew he wanted ice cream, for he knew it would quench the heat which suffocated the dorms. He also knew he couldn’t go anywhere alone, lest he get harmed or lost. He decided to ask Kyungmin, but he was busy, having to do a live later that hour. So he went over to Dohoon and Shinyu, who were lazily sitting on the couch.
“Dohoon-Hyung, Shinyu-Hyung, can we go outside?” Hanjin asked precociously. He knew there was a possibility his hyungs were too tired or too hot to go outside. “Outside? Ah, it’s too hot for that Hanjin.” There it was. It didn’t bother Hanjin that much, he would just wait another sweltering day for ice cream when his hyungs could join him. “Why do you want to go outside?” Dohoon curiously asked.
“I want to get ice cream.” Hanjin explained, sitting next to Dohoon on the couch. “Oh! That’s a good idea! Let’s go Hyung!” Dohoon was now very excited. Dohoon wasn’t often found to be eating icecream, but would never pass up the opportunity to cool down from the endless heat. “Fine. If you two want to go so bad.”
Ever the loving and caring hyung, Shinyu decided to pay for the ice cream from his own pocket. He could always use the company card to pay, but wanted to show his teammates he could provide fun treats like this. They decided to go get two tubs of ice cream from a nearby convenience store. That was, they would have to travel far in the heat, and would make it back before the ice cream melted. A sure and sound plan made by Hanjin.
The company car hummed lightly as the driver pulled up next to the convenience store. “What flavours do you want?” Shinyu asked his members as they exited the car. “Oh, what about mint?” Dohoon offered. He knew that the mint flavour would add an extra cooling feeling to the eating experience. “Good idea.” Hanjin agreed. As they entered the store, a subtle chill greeted them. Hanjin immediately walked over to the small freezer box and opened it.
Since Hanjin had gotten better at reading prices, he picked a pint of mint ice cream at a suitable cost. Dohoon pointed to the corner of the freezer box “Oh, they have grape popsicles.” They boys stared as they were deciding on what second flavour to get. “How about vanilla?” Shinyu suggested, grabbing a chilled pint of one brand.
“No Hyung, we should get cherry.” Dohoon said, the two boys then realized Hanjin’s hands were cold when he placed the first pint down on the glass lid and clasped his hands together. “Here Hanjin.” Shinyu grabbed the pint himself. Meanwhile, Dohoon took Hanjin’s hands and warmed them up in his own. They finally settled on getting coffee icecream, and payed for the frozen treats at the counter.
As they walked out, Dohoon was still holding onto Hanjin’s hand. “Hyung, I’m okay now!” Hanjin said cheerfully, reminding the older boy that he wasn’t in need anymore. Dohoon simply nodded and they all got into the car, still holding hands. The car ride was peaceful with the boys talking. Hanjin sat in the middle of Shinyu and Dohoon, being slightly smaller than them. “Hanjin, hold my hand too.” Shinyu said, smiling before taking Hanjin’s free hand. It was really more like a demand than a request.
Hanjin felt even warmer than before. Not only was his outside face warm, but also his inside heart was also warm as it beated softly. “Hanjin-ah, your hand is no longer cold.” Shinyu remarked, a smirk on his face as he scooted closer to Hanjin. “Yes..!” Hanjin said, trying to keep the mood upbeat and less intimate.
The two boys at his sides laughed and pushed in subtly, squishing him just a bit more between them. “Hanjin, you’re so cute, you know?” Dohoon gleefully grabbed Hanjin by the neck and pulled him into a loose hug. He then let go of the smaller boy’s right hand and fully roped his arms around him. The trio were laughing quite loudly at this point. The driver must’ve been annoyed at this point.
They finally returned to the dorm. The bag with the two pints in it started to sweat slightly as they entered through the front door. Jihoon looked surprised at the bag in Shinyu’s hand, “Hey, what’s that?” Jihoon’s sincerity when asking questions was occasional, but appreciated. “Ice cream!” Hanjin said brightly, a big smile on his face. “Uh!?” Kyungmin responded, scooting off the couch and closer to the three as they entered the small kitchen. “Can we eat some now?” The two youngest maknaes asked.
“It needs to get cold again. It’s a bit warm now.” Dohoon explained to the two littlest members. “Oh fine!” Jihoon resigned without any hard feelings. At this point Youngjae had walked. “Oh Jungwhan, you left your bed messy.” That scolding tone was always so soft with the members, but was felt by all. “Apologizes, Youngjae.” Shinyu said, raising a hand in the air for a moment before patting Youngjae’s far shoulder as he walked past.
“Hanjin! You could have asked me to go with you!” Youngjae scolded once more. Hanjin knew Youngjae would’ve gladly went with him, it’s just that he found Dohoon and Shinyu first. Youngjae patted Hanjin’s hair and Hanjin smiled in a way that said ‘please don’t be too mad’ in a soft, playful way. Dohoon wrapped her arms around Hanjin’s arms and waist and picked him up, moving him physically away from Youngjae: “Hanjin is tired.” Dohoon said. He then shuffled Hanjin away from Youngjae to the Chinese boy’s room.
“Hanjin-ah, if you want me to take you away from Youngjae and rescue you with my love, I will!” Dohoon always loved to have Hanjin’s attention on him. It made him feel happy, and more importantly, special. “And Shinyu, and Jihoon, everyone!” He said, so cheerfully, knowing he’d never be able to threaten his team with substantial threats. “Thank you Hyung!”
The room of Hanjin and Kyungmin was organized on Hanjin’s side, and a bit crowded on Kyungmin’s. Shinyu and Youngjae always admired how clean and well placed all of Hanjin’s plushies were. Dohoon absentmindedly remarked on Kyungmin’s side of the room before leaving with a wave. Soft, slightly chilled blankets met Hanjin at his bed. It was nice for Hanjin to cool down slightly from the heat. He knew that if he got in, he’d get hot right away, so he decided to change out of his outside clothes and into some comfy dorm clothes.
Armed with a set of pajamas and some rather nice socks, Hanjin walked back into the living room. “Is the ice cream cold yet?” The heat in the dorm hadn’t faded, and Hanjin was looking forward to some relief. “Check.” Shinyu said, pointing to the fridge. Hanjin did as requested and opened the freeze. Cool air hit his face, but his lower body was still hot. “I think it’s ready!” Hanjin said to the rest of the group. He pulled out the mint ice cream and placed it on the counter.
“Get the coffee one too!” Dohoon requested as he got up from the couch. Hanjin did as told and Dohoon simply wrapped his arms around him. “Hyung I can’t move.” Hanjin’s tone was plain, as this was a regular occurrence. “Ah Hanjin, your body is warm! Eat ice cream.” Dohoon finally let go and retrieved the ice cream scooper. “Let me see.” Youngjae walked over and hugged Hanjin. “Oh! You are warm!” Youngjae took the ice cream scooper from Dohoon and ran it under warm water for easy scooping.
Hanjin retrieved bowls for everyone as the rest of the group crowded around. “Ice cream!” Kyungmin exclaimed, pushing past Shinyu to Hanjin’s side. Youngjae scooped out two cup of coffee, for Dohoon and himself, and then four scoops of mint for Shinyu, Kyungmin, Jihoon, and Hanjin. “You don’t need caffeine, Kyungmin.” Youngjae nagged at the younger boy. “Hey!” Kyungmin wasn’t too upset, as he found mint more refreshing than coffee, but was pouting at Youngjae choosing for him. “Kyungmin, you match with me.” Shinyu’s attempt to cheer the boy up worked. The boy took his ice cream to the couch and ate it there with Jihoon.
“Hanjin, are you still warm?” Shinyu wrapped his arms around Hanjin’s waist and placed his chin on the boy’s shoulder. Jihoon said something about not slouching, but Shinyu didn’t really pay it any mind. Deciding that Hanjin was still too warm, the leader grabbed his spoon and tried to feed Hanjin. “Hanjin-ah, say ah! Say ah Hanjin!” The teasing tone used made Hanjin flustered, resulting in a laugh. Dohoon joined in on a verbal front, while You the are his ice cream with a smile.
Hanjin took a bite of the ice cream, finally, which appeased the hyungs. “Hanjin, you’re so cute.” Youngjae said with a chuckle in his voice. It was something everyone in the group could agree on. Hanjin was cute, he had the most aegyo face out of all of them. Hanjin wasn’t upset by this fact, feeling quite joyful about having hyungs who so outwardly adored him. “Shinyu-ssi, you can’t use that spoon now.” Dohoon remarked, trying to take it and put it in Hanjin’s bowl. “No, it’s fine.” Shinyu then took a bite of his ice cream with the same spoon.
Hanjin’s eyes widened as he saw this action. “Ah Hyung, that’s dirty!” Dohoon chided, but Shinyu didn’t care really. Youngjae was still smiling, overlooking the scene with love. “Ah, Hanjin eat from mine~” Youngjae took a scoop of coffee ice cream from his bowl with his spoon and brought it to Hanjin’s mouth. Hanjin took a bite and gave a satisfied sound. “Coffee and mint taste good.” Hanjin’s bright smile was infectious to his hyungs.
“Not fair! I want some!” Before anyone could say anything back to Dohoon, he gave a peck on the lips to Hanjin. Hanjin yelled out in a confused mess as Shinyu let go of him from shock. “Hyung!” Hanjin yelled, covering his mouth. Dohoon laughed hard, surprised by his own boldness. Youngjae walked over and pointed at his cheek. “Where’s mine?” He asked. The heat of the Korean summer was no longer a problem for these four. It was now heat radiating off their faces.