nine

͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"it's up!"

a few hours have passed and the boys have just finished some re-records of their songs for their upcoming album. since sunoo is now apart of the group, they had to incorporate him into the songs. it was a fun experience for sunoo, since he'd never actually recorded in a studio before.

he especially loved watching sunghoon record his parts. he sat outside the studio booth and saw sunghoon through the window, one hand pressed against the headphones on his head, the other flipping through the sheet-music in front of him. sunoo thought he looked so flawless and natural back there.

if only sunoo knew sunghoon thought the same of him, too.

finally, the boys finished recording, and they were all seated around a foldable table, lunch provided for them by staff.

jungwon currently holds up his phone, displaying the article their company released about sunoo's entry into enhypen.

jake, who's beside sunoo at the table, gives him a comforting pat on the back once he notices sunoo stiffen a bit. "don't be nervous, sun! this is great news! true fans will be excited to welcome you."

sunoo is extremely grateful for jake's kind words, but he doesn't focus on that as much as he does the nickname jake gave him. sun. only one person calls him that, and it's his best friend back home. come to think of it, he hasn't talked to ni-ki since that morning when he strangely hung up their call. sunoo makes a mental note to call him back later.

"i'm stuffed," heeseung huffs, rubbing his tummy as he slumps back in his chair.

"great, because i just got a new message from manager. we have to go live to introduce sunoo," jungwon announces.

the members are a mix of excitement and reluctance, since they're still pretty tired from their morning. but lives are a way to chill and connect with fans, so how could they be upset?

sunoo, on the other hand, falls into fear-mode. now he has to show himself to everyone? so soon? he worries their comments will be negative and he isn't prepared for that reaction yet.

"let's go to the room next door to record!" jungwon exclaims, clapping to grab their attention.

all six boys go from one room to the next, this one having a large sofa placed in the middle of it that's large enough to fit them all. a tri-pod stands in front of it for the company phone to rest on. it seems set in advance and it makes sunoo wonder how long this has been a plan...

jungwon, jay, jake, and heeseung take their places on the sofa. sunoo squeezes in beside heeseung. and at the edge of the couch, right next to him, sits sunghoon. there's space beside jay on the side, but sunghoon chose to sit here? sunoo thinks to himself. he's reminded of back to the car ride over, where the warmth of sunghoon's hold still tickles his skin.

he doesn't realize he's smiling to himself until heeseung leans in. "you excited for the live?" he asks.

sunoo quirks up, pursing his lips. "hm? oh! yes. definitely."

"okay, i think it's on!" jungwon says.

jay is holding the company ipad, in which the boys can read the comments flowing in from fans all around the world tuning into the livestream.

"here, pass it down," jay whispers to jake. he hands the ipad to jake, who passes it down so heeseung is in possession of it, that way sunoo can see the comments as well.

sunoo doesn't miss the way sunghoon scoots a little closer to his side so he can see the comments, too.

"hi, everyone!" a preppy jungwon speaks up, waving to the propped-up phone.

sunoo smiles and waves, too, as do the others, and he wonders to himself if ni-ki is watching. or maybe even daniel. or the other auditioners that didn't make it.

"by now, you've all probably seen the news," jungwon continues, his leader-side showing as he explains. "we're here to catch up with you guys and of course introduce you to our latest addition of the group!"

jungwon gestures to sunoo with his arms wide and a goofy smile plastered onto his dimply face. sunoo thinks of how if ni-ki was here, he would probably want to squish that dimpled cheek.

sunghoon gives sunoo a tiny nudge, and sunoo is brought back to reality. "oh! um, hi everyone. my name is kim sunoo! i'm super excited and blessed to have this opportunity. i look forward to meeting you all someday and working hard for you, too! nice to meet you!"

the members chuckle and clap at sunoo's adorable introduction. heeseung, who's glancing down at the ipad that reflects their current live back to them, catches the smile that comes from sunghoon, who's ever so fondly admiring sunoo as if he's the brightest star in the galaxy.

heeseung looks up from the ipad to sunghoon on his right, as if looking at him not through a screen would confirm what he sees. heeseung smirks before looking back down at the ipad.

throughout the rest of the livestream, sunoo peers over heeseung's shoulder and he's so, so relieved to only see a few negative comments and a majority of welcoming and uplifting comments. apparently him being added into the group is the talk of the industry, just as the boss predicted.

one comment catches sunoo eye.

the way sunghoon stares at sunoo makes me feel so single 😔💔

sunoo does a double take.. he had been looking at the comments rather than themselves, so he feels confused.

out of curiosity, sunoo turns his head to face sunghoon beside him. to his surprise, sunghoon was already looking at him. it's only for a mere second, however, before sunghoon instantly breaks eye contact and looks away, clearing his throat and fixing his posture as if he hadn't been staring at sunoo before.

the younger isn't sure why, but his heart picks up speed at the thought. he, too, looks away and bites his lip to suppress a smile.

maybe sunghoon really didn't hate him as much as he thought.

͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"what happened this morning?"

it's almost midnight, but sunoo finally has the chance to call riki back after their abrupt hang-up earlier that day.

ni-ki is in his car, his phone held up on a car vent phone holder he likes to use for quick accessibility to his phone. the two are on facetime, despite the slightly pixelated connection due to ni-ki being on the road.

"well, i got some pretty interesting news, so i needed the day to figure it out," ni-ki answers vaguely.

sunoo rolls onto his bed. "okay, what's the news?!"

a grin begins to spread along ni-ki's lips, his eyes focused on the road and his hands gripped tight onto the steering wheel. "you're not even ready for this news."

now, sunoo is beyond curious. "i've been ready since this morning, dumbass. tell me!"

ni-ki pulls into the parking lot of his apartment, or so sunoo assumes, since he sees ni-ki getting out of the car.

"hello? you can talk at the same time you get of the car, you know," sunoo sassily spurts.

ni-ki locks his car and starts walking. "sorry, i'm just so excited to tell you, so i wanted to be looking at the camera when i do."

"well, now you are, so spit it out!"

"one second–"

ni-ki shoves his phone into his pocket and hangs up the facetime call.

"what the hell?" sunoo groans. he tosses his phone onto his bed, irritated. just as he's about to get under the covers and scream into his pillow, a knock sounds from his door.

"great, now what does heeseung want?" sunoo mutters to himself.

he trudges over to his bedroom door and swings it open. heeseung, however, is not on the other side of it.

"RIKI?!" sunoo screeches. he throws himself into the taller's arms, ni-ki stumbling back with a chuckle as he tries to regain balance.

sunoo pulls away in shock. "what are you doing here? it's midnight!" he shrieks.

"i came to tell you my good news in person, duh," he replies with an eyeroll. "but, you'll be seeing me more often, anyways."

at this, sunoo raises an eyebrow. "what do you mean?"

ni-ki smirks.

"guess who's enhypen's new choreographer?"