Chapter Text
It’s fairly normal for sunbae groups or groups that are performing later to watch the stages of other groups. When Kangmin spots the members of Pentagon waving at him as he walks up the steps to the stage of The Show, he politely bows at them, shooting them a bright smile. The daisy tucked behind his ear still remains and Kino seems to have taken to it kindly, if his exclamations and words of encouragement are anything to go by. Kangmin giggles in response, making small talk during the small break, but immediately rushes to his spot as the directors yell that pre-recording is about to begin. The song starts and he takes a deep breath, allowing himself to get engrossed in the melody. His body moves; flails; he allows his limbs to flow with the music and he makes eye-contact with the members of Pentagon as he dances. It’s not what he’s used to, but nonetheless they’re a welcome presence. It’s not like the group had issues performing in front of cameras, the staff, plus them. He can’t stop himself from subconsciously smiling at them when he struts off to the side allowing Hoyoung to get his solo shot; they reciprocate the expression and he feels a warmth in his heart.
He pants and collapses when he hears the loud “cut!” coming from the camera director, gently patting his forehead with his sleeves and the back of his hand. He huffs more, taking in deep breaths in the dark background of the set. He thanks the staff that passes by him, giving them a polite smile. He’s tired, but all his exhaustion seems to wash away when he spots his Pentagon-hyungs bounding over to him. He grins and waves at them vigorously, finding their company to be rather favorable.
“Kangmin-ah, that stage was so good!” Hwitaek exclaims, pulling Kangmin in for a deep hug.
The boy takes it in stride and being quite a skinship enthusiast himself, he lets the older wrap his arms around him, and he gently places a kiss on the older’s cheek. Hui grins and chuckles, affectionately ruffling his hair.
“Min-ah!” A voice calls out to him. Kangmin turns his head and strains his neck over the tall males. He waves back at them. “We’ll be in our waiting room. If you want to hang out with Pentagon-sunbaenim, then just message us, alright?”
Kangmin makes a hand signal in response. “Okay, Hoyoung-hyung!”
He turns back to Pentagon — he smiles. “Well, I suppose I’m available now!”
Yuto shoots him a small yet meaningful grin and he reciprocates it. He grips onto the Japanese male’s hand and entwines his fingers with the older one and gently nudges Yuto’s arm with the top of his head. The other members coo at him — some even take pictures. Despite trudging off with them, he can hear Yeonho’s distinct teasing voice and Gyehyeon’s amused snickers.
When they manage to fit all of them in the large van, Kangmin is squeezed between Wooseok and Kino, but he finds it hard to complain about it, not when the younger of the two is currently wrapping his arms around his torso, and placing his chin on top of his head. He glances up at Wooseok and gives a small smile which is naturally reciprocated. They all fall into a comfortable and rambunctious conversation; the topics rapidly change.
While meant to be a normal hangout — as normal as visiting his big sunbaes can be — Kangmin finds himself stuck and distraught on how to answer when they ask him about their songs and the choreography that goes along with it.
Kangmin flushes and lets out a small cough. “Um, yeah. I do know all your choreo,” he mutters.
Kino beams at him, pinching the boy’s pink cheeks. “Really? Oh my gosh, you’re so adorable!”
The boy whines and lightly pushes the dancer on the chest; Kino chuckles amusedly as the others smile at the cute sight.
Kangmin thinks his mind and lips are betrayers, because the next thing he knows he’s speaking out loud, more embarrassing admissions that he really didn’t want coming to the surface. “I’ve memorized the lyrics to pretty much all of your songs too!”
They all blink at him owlishly, before Shinwon grins and playfully leaps at him, arms tangling around his own. Kangmin yelps but makes no attempt to escape, only enabling the older boy further. The others watch and groan, though it’s all in jest. Kino pouts and gets jealous, attempting to drag Shinwon away, though to no avail.
Hongseok eventually wins.
Those damn muscles.
Kangmin thinks he’ll never get to that point. Granted, that’s probably a good thing. He doesn’t even have the right body shape nor the height the other has to make it look good.
Anyways , needless to say, the amount of coddling Kangmin continues receiving practically fills up his quota for at least a few months.
Not that he’s complaining, of course.
He likes them.
He likes them a lot.