Chapter Text
Three weeks into their debut preparations, with all of them living together in a dorm for the first time, Junseo found himself doing something completely illogical: cutting the crusts off Sangwon's sandwich.
What am I doing? He thought, blankly staring at his hands as they worked with surgical precision, the movements somehow coming instinctively. He's literally only two years younger than me. He's not even the maknae. Sanghyeon is right there, perfectly capable of eating his own crusts.
But then Sangwon shuffled into the kitchen, dressed in his pajamas and fuzzy socks, hair still mussed from sleep, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand like the most adorable sleepy bunny in the world, and Junseo felt that familiar tug in his chest.
"Morning, hyung," Sangwon mumbled, voice soft and slightly hoarse. He blearily blinked those impossibly large doe eyes—seriously, they had to be illegal—and Junseo found himself wordlessly sliding the crustless sandwich across the counter.
"Eat up," Junseo said, his eyes softening at the edges as he saw the way Sangwon's face lit up with that gentle, soft, appreciative smile that if Junseo was being realistic, he thinks could probably power half of Seoul.
Leo walked in at that exact moment, paused, took one look at the scene, and snorted. "You too, huh?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Dude, you're cutting his sandwich crusts. Yesterday, I caught Xinlong helping Sangwon to fold his clothes. The day before that, Jiahao was literally hand-feeding him grapes while he was reading on the couch."
Junseo opened his mouth to protest, then closed it. Leo had a point.
"It's not—" Junseo struggled getting the words out.
"It's not what? Weird that we're all treating the fifth-oldest member like he's made of glass, fluff and everything that's perfect in this world?" Leo grinned, his tone dripping with affection even as he rolled his eyes.
He moved to stand behind Sangwon's chair, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders in a gesture so natural that it was clearly automatic. The way Leo gazed at Sangwon with so much tenderness and affection was so domestic that it almost made Junseo feel like he was intruding. "Trust me, I've been living with this one for two years and dating him for eight months. I know exactly how dangerous he is."
Sangwon looked up from his sandwich, cheeks slightly puffed with food, looking genuinely confused. "Dangerous?"
Leo and Junseo exchanged glances. There it was again—that devastating combination of innocence and unconscious charm that had been slowly but systematically dismantling every member's common sense—whether Sangwon knew it or not.
"Never mind," Leo laughed, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Sangwon's head. "Just eat your breakfast, princess."
The nickname slipped out so naturally that it took a moment for all three of them to register it. Sangwon ducked his head, but he didn’t protest and kept smiling even as his ears took on a pinkish hue.
"You’re so embarrassing, I told you not to say it in front of the others," Sangwon mumbled against Leo's chest, where he'd somehow ended up leaning.
"I guess you’ll have to get used to it," Leo laughed, pressing a kiss to the crown of his boyfriend's head. "It’s becoming a group thing,” Leo continued, “My exclusive pet name is finally getting stolen."
When Sangwon laughed in response, playfully throwing another jab back at Leo, his eyes sparkled and it was like the sound of windchimes filled the air.
Oh no, Junseo thought, an air of resigned acceptance overtaking him. We're all doomed.
"Emergency meeting," Sanghyeon announced, bursting into the living room where half the members were sprawled across various surfaces. "We need to talk about the Sangwon situation."
Geonwoo looked up from where he was painting his nails a soft lavender color—because Sangwon had mentioned liking the shade exactly once three days ago and that he wanted to match with Geonwoo, and Geonwoo had apparently committed it to memory like it was vital information essential for his survival.
"What situation?" Geonwoo asked, though his defensive tone suggested he knew exactly what Sanghyeon was referring to.
"The situation where he's somehow become everyone's baby despite being older than three of us!" Sanghyeon gestured wildly. "I'm literally the youngest, but yesterday I caught myself asking if he wanted me to carry his bag!"
Anxin nodded sagely from his position on the floor. His voice took on a gravely tone. "I bought him those strawberry snacks he mentioned liking. Exactly Six boxes. Six. I don't even like strawberries that much."
"I've been unconsciously saving him the best parts of whatever I'm eating," Xinlong admitted quietly. "This makes no sense. It’s like some kind of voodoo magic."
Jiahao emerged from the kitchen carrying a plate of perfectly arranged fruit cut into cute shapes. "Has anyone seen Sangwon? I made him—" He stopped, taking in their expressions. "What?"
"That!" Sanghyeon pointed accusingly. "That right there! Why are you making him decorative fruit?"
Jiahao looked down at the plate, then back up at them, then down at the plate again. His voice took on an uncertain tone as he replied, "I... I don't know? He just looked tired after practice and I thought... cute fruit shapes would make him smile?"
A moment of silence fell over the room. In the distance, they could hear Sangwon's soft laughter mixing with Leo's louder cackles from their bedroom.
"He's doing it again," Junseo said, awe colouring his words. "Even when he's not here, just the sound of him being happy makes me want to... I don't know, wrap him in blankets and protect him from the world?"
"That's what I'm talking about!" Sanghyeon threw his hands up. "He's not even the maknae! I'm the maknae! Why do I feel like I need to fight anyone who looks at him wrong?"
Geonwoo carefully capped the nail polish and admired his handiwork. "I mean, have you seen him? Really looked at him?"
They all had, of course. That was the problem.
Sangwon had this way of moving through the world like he was made of something precious and fragile, even though he was perfectly capable and talented. His smiles came slow and genuine, like sunrise over still water. And when he laughed, his whole face would transform, his eyes crinkling into crescents, and it was impossible to resist the urge to do anything to make it happen again, hoping that Sangwon would bless them with the glorious sight once more.
And those eyes. Those damningly sparkly eyes. Large, dark and expressive, framed by lashes that were unfairly long, belonging to fairy tale princesses. When he was thinking hard about choreography, he'd bite his lower lip and furrow his brow just slightly, and every single member would experience the overwhelming urge to smooth that little wrinkle away at least once everyday.
"He's like a pretty woodland creature," Anxin said dreamily. "Like the most adorable bunny that accidentally wandered into the idol industry."
"A very talented bunny," Junseo immediately added.
"Obviously a talented bunny. But still a bunny. A precious, gentle, cute, must-be-protected-at-all-costs bunny."
The breaking point came during a particularly grueling dance practice. They'd been running the same routine for hours, and everyone was exhausted.
Sangwon had been making small mistakes—nothing major, just tiny timing issues that came from fatigue and overthinking. But Sangwon, being Sangwon, was clearly frustrated with himself, and had decided to cope by withdrawing into himself more and more as the day wore on, becoming quieter and more reserved.
During their water break, he sat alone in the corner, knees drawn up, staring at the floor with those big eyes looking suspiciously glossy.
The reaction was immediate and unanimous.
Jiahao was there first, sitting beside him without a word and offering him a towel. Geonwoo appeared with an electrolyte drink, already opened. Junseo crouched in front of him, hands hovering uncertainly.
"Hey," Leo said softly, settling on Sangwon's other side and immediately pulling him into his arms. As his boyfriend, Leo had boyfriend privileges and exclusive cuddling rights, but he'd learned to share Sangwon's comfort with the others when needed. "Talk to us."
Sangwon shook his head, trying to curl in on himself further. "Just tired," he mumbled. "I keep messing up the choreography transition in the final verse."
"You're not messing up," Anxin said firmly, joining their little circle. "We're all tired. It's just practice."
"But—"
"No buts," Xinlong interrupted, plopping down cross-legged in front of him. "You're being too hard on yourself. You always are. You’re struggling with the choreography because the choreographers gave you the toughest part—but that’s because they trust you with it. It’s natural to struggle."
Sanghyeon nodded, completing their protective circle. "Remember last week when you spent four hours practicing that one move until you got it perfect? Even though you'd already gotten it right on the second try?"
Sangwon looked up at them all—seven faces full of fond exasperation and genuine concern—and something in his expression cracked. Not broke, but softened, like ice melting at the edges, his walls crumbling just the tiniest bit.
"I just..." he started, then stopped, clearly struggling with the words. Opening up never came easily to him.
"Take your time," Leo said gently, and the patience in his voice was echoed in every face around their little circle.
"I just want to be good enough," Sangwon finally whispered. "For the group. For you guys. I don't want to be the weak link."
The silence that followed was thunderous.
"Sangwon," Junseo said, and his voice was so soft it was barely audible. "Do you know what we see when we look at you?"
Sangwon shook his head minutely, eyes trained to the floor.
"We see someone who works harder than anyone has a right to expect," Junseo said quietly. "Someone who’s so exceptionally considerate that he remembers every single one of our preferences and somehow always knows exactly what to do to make us feel better."
"Someone who makes us all want to be better people," Jiahao added. "Just by existing."
"Someone who somehow became our emotional rock without any of us realizing it," Anxin said. "Including you, apparently."
Sanghyeon leaned forward, expression serious in a way that looked almost foreign on his usually playful features. "Sangwon-hyung, I'm the actual maknae of this group, but even I want to protect you. Do you know how weird that is?"
That startled a small laugh out of Sangwon, watery but genuine, and as the tension began to leave Sangwon’s shoulders, everyone’s hearts warmed impossibly.
"We all want to protect you," Xinlong added. "It's like... you have this quality that makes everyone around you want to take care of you. Not because you're weak or incapable,” and here, Xinlong paused, letting out a soft chuckle, “In case you forgot, you ranked first throughout the whole show so I doubt anyone would think of you, of all people, as a weak link. But the point is that we want to take care of you because you're... precious. Like something rare and wonderful that the world doesn't deserve."
"Too precious for this cruel world," Leo bemoaned dramatically, nudging Sangwon's side, making him laugh again, brighter this time.
"So if you could stop being so hard on yourself," Junseo said, and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Sangwon's ear. Junseo’s heart clenched, seeing Sangwon blink his doe eyes up at him, his expression so unguarded and open. "-that would be great. Because watching you doubt yourself physically hurts."
Sangwon looked around at all of them again, and this time his smile was soft and wondering. "When did I get so lucky?" he murmured.
"We're the lucky ones," Leo said firmly. "We got you."
After that, they stopped upholding all pretenses.
Sangwon wasn't the youngest, but he was theirs in the ways that mattered most. More than just their center, he was their honorary maknae, their collective soft spot, their unanimous weakness.
And Sangwon, slowly but surely, began to let them take care of him.
It started out small—accepting Junseo's crustless sandwiches without protest, letting Geonwoo fix his hair before interviews, curling up against Jiahao during movie nights without overthinking it.
But gradually, as he realized that their affection wasn't conditional on his perfection, he began to open up more. He started seeking them out when he was tired or overwhelmed. He'd pad into the kitchen in his pajamas and fuzzy socks and let Xinlong cook for him. He'd sprawl across Anxin's lap while reading, accepting head scratches almost as if he were a kitten–Anxin swears that Sangwon purrs whenever he’s satisfied.
"This is ridiculous," Sangwon said one evening, though he made no move to extract himself from where he was sandwiched between Leo and Xinlong on the couch, Sanghyeon braiding small sections of his hair while Geonwoo painted his toenails and Jiiahao fed him pieces of mango.
"What's ridiculous?" Anxin asked from the floor, where he was organizing Sangwon's jewelry collection (because apparently that was a thing he did now).
"This. All of this. I'm not a baby."
"No," Junseo agreed from the kitchen, where he was making Sangwon's favorite late-night snack without being asked. "You're our baby. Completely different thing."
"I'm older than three of you."
"Age is just a number," Sanghyeon said solemnly. "Your princess maknae energy is innate and supersedes everything else."
Sangwon groaned, but he was smiling, and he didn't move away when Leo leaned over to kiss his forehead.
"Besides," Sanghyeon said, finishing another tiny braid, "you like it."
Sangwon's cheeks turned pink, but he didn't deny it and that small, private smile spread across his features–the one that was reserved only for them. They all wanted to coo.
Because the truth was, he did like it. After years of taking care of himself, of being the responsible one–the hyung before Trainee A disbanded, of keeping his walls up and his needs insignificant, it filled him with unending happiness to be on the receiving end of so much casual, unconditional love.
"You're all insane," He said fondly.
"Insane about you," Leo corrected cheerfully, thumb brushing against Sangwon's cheek. "There's a difference."
And if Sangwon fell asleep right there on the couch, surrounded by seven people who had somehow decided he was worth protecting and cherishing and spoiling, with his boyfriend's fingers running through his hair—well, that was just another day in what would come to be their new family.
Leo found Sangwon curled up in the window seat of their shared room, looking contemplative in that way that meant he was overthinking something. The late afternoon light caught in his dark hair and made his profile look like something out of a painting.
My boyfriend is ridiculously beautiful, Leo thought with the same mixture of pride and disbelief he felt every day. And somehow I'm the only one who gets to kiss that face.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Leo said, settling beside him and automatically reaching for Sangwon's hand.
Sangwon glanced at him, then looked back out the window. "Just thinking about what Xinlong said earlier. About the... thing."
"The thing where you've somehow convinced seven people to treat you like precious cargo despite being a fully grown adult?"
"That thing."
Leo studied his best friend's profile, noting the slight furrow between his brows and the way he was unconsciously doing that thing where he made himself smaller when he was feeling vulnerable.
"You know your effect, right?" Leo said casually.
Sangwon turned to look at him, genuinely confused. "My what?"
Leo raised an eyebrow. They'd lived together long enough that their communication had transcended normal friendship and entered some kind of telepathic territory. He watched as understanding slowly dawned in Sangwon's eyes.
The realization hit—slow, then all at once. Sangwon's eyes went wide, his cheeks flushed pink, then red, and in the next moment, he was burying his face in his hands with a sound of mortification similar to that of a dying animal.
"Oh god," came his muffled voice. "Oh no. I do, don't I? I have an... an effect."
"Congratulations on joining the rest of us in reality," Leo said cheerfully. "It only took you two months."
"Leo," Sangwon's voice was getting higher with embarrassment. "Tell me I haven't been unconsciously manipulating everyone with... with..."
"With your devastating combination of big doe eyes, soft smiles, and natural bunny aegyo?" Leo supplied helpfully. "I mean, manipulating is a strong word. Absolutely destroying our brain cells and turning us all into overprotective mother hens? Definitely."
Sangwon made another sound of distress. "I didn't mean to!"
"Oh, I know. That's what makes it worse." Leo grinned, his eyes taking on a wicked gleam. "The fact that it's completely natural and unconscious makes it about a thousand times more effective."
"What do I do?" Sangwon peeked at him through his fingers. "How do I stop?"
"Stop?" Leo looked at him in disbelief, like he'd suggested they disband the group. "Sangwon-ah, my dear, sweet, absolutely oblivious boyfriend—why would you want to stop? Do you see how happy it makes everyone to take care of you? Do you see how much joy Jiahao gets from making you cute snacks? How proud Anxin looks when he saves you from bugs? How Geonwoo literally glows when he's doing your hair?"
Sangwon's hands slowly lowered from his face. "But it's... weird being so taken care of. I'm not actually the youngest."
"So? You think any of them care about technicalities when you look at them like they hung the moon just for bringing you crustless sandwiches?" Leo shook his head. "You've got seven people wrapped around your little finger and you didn't even realize you were doing it. It's honestly impressive."
"This is so embarrassing," Sangwon mumbled, but there was a small smile tugging at his lips now.
"Oh, this is nothing," Leo said with evil glee. "Wait until I tell the others you finally figured it out. They're going to have a field day with this."
Sangwon's eyes went wide with horror. "You wouldn't."
"I absolutely would. Sanghyeon’s going to write a whole speech about it. Junseo’s going to get emotional. Xinlong is going to go into protective overdrive because you look embarrassed. Anxin's going to—"
"Okay, okay!" Sangwon laughed, swatting at him. "Point made!"
Leo caught his hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. "Hey. For what it's worth? We were all doomed from the moment we met you. I would know, I was doomed the moment we first met. You didn’t even say anything at that point, but I thought you were so pretty that I ended up stumbling over my own introduction. I’m always thankful you still gave me a chance even after all that. Effect or no effect, you're just... you're special, Sangwon-ah. Things like this are inevitable."
Sangwon's expression softened, and there it was again—that gentle, radiant smile that never failed to make Leo’s heart race.
"Thanks, Leo," he said quietly.
Leo groaned even as he wrapped his arm around Sangwon, pulling him into his chest. "And you're doing it right now! See? Devastating!"
Sangwon's resulting laugh was bright and surprised, and Leo resigned himself to spending the rest of his life being completely wrapped around his boyfriend's finger - both as his partner and as another helpless victim of the Sangwon Effect.
Honestly, there were worse fates. Like not being the one who got to kiss him goodnight.