daehyun wants to laugh but bites it back because the expression on junhong’s face is just so sad, so devastated, as if all the disappointment in the world couldn’t have prepared him for this tragic moment.

“why does this always happen to me?” junhong’s voice quivers as he stares despondently at his empty ice cream cone, then at the puddle of goopy pink mess melting on the sizzling, summer sidewalk. “why?”

daehyun doesn’t say anything until he’s absolutely sure that his voice is steady enough to speak without cracking up. because agitated junhong is a dangerous junhong. and daehyun isn’t ready to face the consequences of incurring the maknae’s wrath for making fun of him.

“come here kid,” daehyun says after a moment of silence, junhong still mourning the loss of a perfectly good ice cream treat. he pulls in the over-sized child by the arm, using a finger to split half of his own green tea ice cream and pushing it into junhong’s empty sugar cone.

and just like that, junhong is all rainbows and butterflies again, beaming as if christmas had come early and daehyun were santa claus.

except daehyun isn’t fat. and he doesn’t have a big, white beard.

“thanks hyung!” junhong sings, wrapping his long, slender arms around daehyun’s neck, squeezing the elder so hard that he’s starting to see pinpricks of light behind his eyes.

“okay, okay,” daehyun gasps, sticking his hand bearing the ice cream cone far away so as not to hit the maknae with it and lose his treat too. “i can’t breathe.”

“oops. sorry,” junhong says sheepishly, relinquishing his hold and skipping away towards the basketball court where yongguk and himchan are locked in a furious, epic battle of staring contest.

daehyun shakes his head, smiling in amusement and rubbing his neck as slowly makes his way towards the rest of the group.