Cutest Hero 🫧
Word count: 3674
Lee!: Sieun (+Little Juntae segment)
Ler!: Baku & Hyuntak
SUM: Juntae snitches on Sieun to Baku and Hyuntak that he had gotten in a fight earlier, and those two were not going to let it slide that easily.
Tag list: @lxnarisnthereee @minsungii @gnabnahcnova @jaimeslay @sunghoswonderland @idontknowhattoputformyname @w1nt37
🫧📝: Listen I’m SO sorry this took so long omg. But with how… lee I’ve become recently *cough*… I just decided to let this fic simmer a little. With how long I took on it, I just made it longer to make up for the wait. Matter of fact this is the longest fic I’ve written so far! It won’t actually let me reblog the ask, but thank you w1nt37 for this detailed request!!! This was really fun to write, and I’m posting it on a saturday as I promised! I hope this fic at least okay since the wait took so long. Thank you for being so patient too I appreciate it soooo much. Hope you enjoy~
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Sieun sat many feet away from the commotion on Juntae’s couch, his hood up and covering his face. The TV screen illuminates in front of him. A video game screen that displayed each boy’s name at a different ranking, Juntae’s (not) surprisingly sitting at 4th.
All had agreed for a loser penalty way before the round began, but Juntae quickly regretted his agreement as he realized what exactly the penalty would be.
As soon as Juntae’s name popped up as last place, controllers were quickly abandoned. “Guys..! W-we didn’t even do three rounds!” Juntae stammered as his hands were raised defensively.
Quick pokes had already landed for him to end up cornered. His escape had failed tremendously. Hyuntak snickered, “We said penalty per round, remember?” He brought his finger dangerously close to Juntae’s side, threatening another poke.
Juntae flinched as he smiled nervously, his body trying too hard to sink into the wall behind him. Baku chuckled, “Yeah! Did you not read the terms and conditions?”
“What teHERMS?!-“ Juntae squeaked right on beat as Baku swiftly poked his ribcage. The boy jolted as he giggled uncontrollably at the ridiculous situation he was put in.
“Ooh~ listen to that, Hyuntak!” Baku poked some more, making Juntae twist to dodge him, of course that was doing nothing in his favor.
But past the taller figures he was trapped by, Juntae watched Sieun, noticing a discolored mark practically glowing on his cheek.
Even through giggles and teasing, Juntae grew concerned over Sieun. He reflected on their earlier texts, promising he wouldn’t tell Baku or Hyuntak about the situation. Sieun felt they would blow a “simple fight” out of proportion.
For Sieun it was simple, more or less expected. But Juntae just couldn’t ignore any sort of abuse Sieun was withstanding.
“guys waihit- wait!” Juntae whisper-shouted at the duo, his tone sounding suddenly serious. This actually made the duo pause, their smiles fading slowly.
Juntae was taken aback. They actually listened? He wasn’t expecting that.
“You know you’re not getting out of this right?” Hyuntak crossed his arms, yet Juntae stammered with how quickly and quietly he tried to get his words out.
“It’s Sieun…” Juntae spoke low enough that the boy in question couldn’t possibly hear him over the TV’s idle background music. “He got into a fight earlier… he didn’t want me to tell you.”
The duo’s cheeky grins dropped entirely hearing this. Baku wanted to think this was a joke, but he knew Juntae wouldn’t lie, especially when it has something to do with Sieun in this context.
Hyuntak looked at Baku with pure worry in his eyes before looking back at the boy they cornered. “For real? You aren’t just saying that?”
Juntae nodded quickly, his eyes reflecting the worry of the other two. Hyuntak and Baku turned to look back at Sieun who was simply minding his business. Juntae also watched the boy act like he wasn’t beaten to the ground not that long ago.
The trio now stared like a group of bullies gossiping over a nerd sitting across the room.
The atmosphere shifted so obviously that Sieun struggled to ignore the eyes burning into his skin like lasers.
Sieun’s posture straightened at the momentary silence. The silence was long enough for two boys to plot on him.
“Sieun-ah… our little Juntae says you got into another fight, is that true?” Baku walked over, speaking in a gentle tone that wasn’t going to last long.
Hyuntak tried to hide his shock as he pointed at Sieun’s face, “I mean… that would explain that bruise...”
This only solidified Juntae’s claim, making the others look at each other with deeper concern.
Sieun shrugged, his hood not enough to hide the mark on his face anymore. He pulled his hood off his head and made a quick glance at Juntae, his secret wasn’t hidden for more than an hour.
“I’m fine.” Sieun spoke up in his monotone voice that could fool anyone, unless you knew him better. These three, unfortunately for Sieun, knew him way better.
The mark on his face began to discolor. Though he managed to clean off the remaining blood, he began to bruise like a banana at the worst possible time.
Juntae looked like a guilty puppy, “No you’re not..!” he argued. As Sieun’s eyes landed on him again, Juntae seemingly shrunk a second time.
Baku sighed, “Hey.” His hand landed on Juntae’s shoulder, part getting his attention and part reassuring him that he did the right thing. “Do you have any bandaids? Maybe some cream?”
Juntae nodded as he pointed towards his bathroom, “Should be in there.”
Baku immediately left in the direction Juntae pointed. Hyuntak then sat beside the genius who just wasn’t smart enough to hide his struggles. “Are you alright? You must be sore!” Hyuntak gently rubbed his back, his hand moving in soft circles to not cause any more pain he may be in.
Sieun shrugged again as he reluctantly accepted the physical contact, “It wasn’t that bad.”
It wasn’t that bad… this time.
Hyuntak didn’t want to doubt him, but he did wonder if he was downplaying it. Baku then returned with pain ointment along with a bandage for Sieun’s face. Hyuntak asked again, “Are you sure???” his hand slowly fell back to the couch cushion, however his thumb lightly grazed Sieun’s side in a way that alarmed the boy’s senses.
Sieun hissed as he suddenly stiffened. The three others froze at the noise, watching Sieun like they dropped a new phone on concrete.
Hyuntak pulled his hand away immediately, “did that hurt?” he wondered.
For a second, Sieun didn’t know what exactly to say. It didn’t hurt, not at all. But in this moment, it was something maybe worse than pain. He was only lucky to have hidden a noise that could’ve resembled a laugh.
“No. Just…” Sieun hesitated. “Don’t do that again.”
Another moment of silence. Eyes meeting eyes that said more than words. Baku and Hyuntak glared at each other, their eyes squinting with suspicion, but they had bigger matters on their hands than to investigate right this second.
Baku sat on Sieun’s other side, physically recoiling as he looked at the bruise. “Who did this to you?” he questioned as he placed some of the ointment on his finger, then gently applied it on Sieun’s cheek.
“It’s not that serious.” Sieun tried to dismiss this as quickly as possible and move on. He had been a punching bag before, it almost felt like his second purpose other than being a successful student at this point.
Baku focused on applying the cream as Sieun cringed at the sting it caused, “It really is.”
Baku kept his voice soft yet stern to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. Hiding whoever hurt him wouldn’t help any of them in their situation. “We need to know.”
Sieun simply huffed, he knew deep down he had no intention of putting a name to his bruise. To Sieun, it was just another fork in the road, just one of many. He just wanted to treat it like it was nothing.
But it was far from nothing to the other three. Baku carefully pressed the bandage onto Sieun’s face. He asked yet again. “Sieun, who did this.”
Sieun denied an answer a second time, “It’s not a big deal-“
But twice was already too much.
Baku stood up, looming over the “nonchalant” boy. “Arms up, Sieun-ah!” he commanded. Sieun looked up, his eyes not yet breaking his calm facade though he questioned the sudden demand.
“You heard me, arms up!” The serious atmosphere fell apart as a gleeful grin beamed on Baku’s face. Sieun simply stared, “why…”
Hyuntak’s mind seemed to sync with Baku’s as he took the initiative to place himself right behind Sieun, grabbing the boy’s wrists and placing them up for him. However he made sure to be gentle to not strain his muscles.
Sieun didn’t fight this time, used to the antics of the chaotic boys. “You’re not being released until you give us an answer.” Baku crossed his arms. Sieun sighed deeply, thinking he’s going to hold his arms up forever at this rate.
Hyuntak smirked, and Sieun could basically hear it in his voice. “I think we can make him speak!”
This caught Baku’s attention immediately. “Really? How so?” He pretended to genuinely wonder, though their thoughts were already passing like they had telepathy.
It was so theatrical it made Sieun want to crumble right there. Hyuntak made sure his grip was just tight enough to keep Sieun in place, “Could Sieun possibly be… ticklish?”
That was the last thing the top student wanted to hear. “I’m not.” he lied so quickly it was too obvious. Though they momentarily ignored his words, Baku snickered “I wonder! Could he be more ticklish than Juntae?”
“Hey!” Juntae gasped. Of course he caught some kind of stray by being there. (Like that’s new- SORRY)
Sieun rolled his eyes, “I didn’t even know their names!” his voice raised slightly, feigning irritation so maybe… just maybe they’ll leave him alone.
Baku believed him instantly, yet that didn’t mean Sieun’s fate would change. “So… no interrogation tickles…”
Hyuntak’s eyes glowed with mischief, “How about cheer up tickles instead~?”
Sieun’s mind raced yet again, it raced faster than having to make moves in a fight. His fluster was slowing his mind down, “That’s not necessary.” he blurted out. But his words only fed into his fate.
Baku hovered closer to the student, “Oooh I think it is~” His fingers wiggled slowly. Sieun wished he could hide the flush that was forming at his ears.
The trapped boy knew at the end of the day… it would be no use putting up an actual fight against Baku. His intelligence vs Baku’s was like mixing water with oil. “I’m not ticklish.” Sieun spoke his final rebuttal while already feeling defeated.
“Really?” Baku wondered genuinely. For a moment Sieun thought he had him, but Hyuntak spoke just too close to his ear. “You believe him? You saw the way he flinched earlier! I wasn’t even trying!”
Sieun’s attempt at remaining nonchalant was failing miserably as he tried to slowly twist his head away from Hyuntak, but his breath hit his ears just right… or for Sieun, just wrong.
He moved too fast, it was really over. Sieun’s first instinct was to struggle, his arms tugging in Hyuntak’s grip. “Stop talking!” Sieun’s voice raised just enough to catch them off guard.
Hyuntak didn’t take the hint whatsoever, “Stop? Why should I stop?”
The air that landed on his ear just at the word “stop” was enough to break him further. “You know what you’re doing!!!” Sieun sank a little, trying to avoid Hyuntak’s words that were being unknowingly weaponized.
Juntae observed more than the other two, seeing and understanding what Sieun was going through… however, Sieun was in his place now. “Are his ears ticklish?” he questioned.
The slightest sign of fear in Sieun’s eyes gave everything away, “No! You’re all being ridiculous!”
Hyuntak raised an eyebrow, now bringing his lips closer to Sieun’s ear on purpose. He whispered, “Is this the problem~?”
Again, the P sounds caused his breath to hit his ear. This time, he jumped, “AH- Hyuntak!” he tugged his wrists even harder this time. Sieun was crumbling faster than he thought.
Baku rubbed his hands together like a scheming villain, “This will be fun!!!” he snickered deviously.
Of course Sieun found himself cornered again, by doing nothing.
Even though Sieun knew he already lost this battle, his mouth still tried to come up with something to help stall the situation just a bit longer. “Come on…This is stupi-HIHIHI-“
Baku’s face practically dropped in shock as his fingers wiggled into Sieun’s sides. Sieun’s voice raised an octave as he didn’t get a chance to think of suppressing his laughter. Baku’s surprise turned into mischief all over again, “Sieun-ah… You’re really that ticklish~?”
Sieun tried not to focus on the fact it felt like Baku was causing electric-like surges through his body. He tried to close his mouth, but the smile on his face just wouldn’t budge. “nOhoHO iHi- yOhOU-“ His mind scrambled in a way it had never before.
“No! you just caught me off guard!” was what he wanted to say, but the corners of his lips that curled into that rare smile betrayed him. It was just babbling that fused into uncontrollable giggles.
Hyuntak and Juntae shared equal shock as the boy fought against his own laugh, and was losing.
Baku gently pinched Sieun’s sides continuously, his fingers moving rapidly. Sieun looked like the happiest person in the room for a change, “BahAHAkU qUIHihiHIT!” he pleaded, but Baku was barely trying.
“I think we found Sieun’s weakness~!” Baku cooed, becoming more confident as Sieun actually laughed. “Hyuntak-ah, how about you help me out?”
Hyuntak perked up at his name. He watched Sieun with so much adoration he barely paid attention. “But I’m holding him! What if he fights?”
Baku paused his attack momentarily to briefly pat down Sieun, “Got any pens on you?” Baku asked Sieun with somewhat seriousness. Sieun could barely recontain himself as he stabilized his breathing, “noho…” he answered.
But he processed the question again. Pens. Sieun’s expression shifted from uncontrollable glee to what could only be defined as “Excuse me… How dare you!”
Baku saw the offended look on Sieun’s face and couldn’t help but laugh, “What? You’re predictably unpredictable!”
Hyuntak still had his grip on Sieun’s wrists, “Are you sure I can let him go?” he seemed to be asking not just Baku, but Sieun as well. Baku nodded, “Just trust me.” he said.
Hyuntak slowly released his grasp, but before Sieun got close to dropping his arms, Baku had put his hands in his underarms. Sieun dropped his arms down so fast, it was possibly the fastest he’s moved in a while. Sieun almost shrieked, “BAHAHAKU-“
Baku chuckled, “I’m not even doing anything!” he argued before wiggling his fingers, forcing his hands even deeper into the hollows of Sieun’s arms. “YEHEHES YOHOHOU AHAHA-“ Sieun fell further into Hyuntak who sat behind him, trapping himself even more than before.
“He might actually be worse than Juntae, don’t you think~?” Hyuntak began to tease, his fingers tracing along the shells of Sieun’s ears. Sieun couldn’t help but let out the smallest squeak possible, instinctively pushing into Baku instead of stopping the boy behind him. “NOHOHO DOHOHONT!!” Sieun’s strength was nothing in comparison to Baku, and this kind of attack turned his brain into TV static, he was defenseless.
“You know what? All those fights you get into Sieun-ah…” Baku moved his hands down, finding the bones of Sieun’s ribs and letting his fingers softly drill into the gaps, “And this, this is what gets you! That’s adorable!”
Sieun’s face started to warm into a dark red. Getting called adorable wasn’t something Sieun was used to, nor was he used to laughing this much. Sieun shook his head in denial and to get away from Hyuntak’s hands, “IHIHITS NOHOHOT!!!”
Hyuntak simply let his fingers travel to his neck, skittering around way too softly for Sieun’s sanity, “Aww! He’s denying it! Isn’t Sieunie sooo cute~?”
Baku added fuel to the fire, “How could you hide this from us Sieun~!? When were you going to show us how cute you are!”
Sieun shrunk under the tickles and teasing, his usual monotone and intimidating aura dissipated in that smile. “GUHUHUYS PLEHEASE!!” he squirmed, his attempts at fighting becoming weaker as he melted in laughter.
Hyuntak looked over at Juntae who was grinning in awe over the display in front of him. “Juntae! Do you think Sieun’s cute?” Hyuntak just loved instigating these types of moments, but the biggest difference was Sieun was right in the middle of it for the first time. Who knows if he’ll ever get this chance again!
Sieun twisted his body, but that only made himself more vulnerable. “SAHAHAY NOHOHO!” he tried to insist as his eyes landed on Juntae for just long enough, it made Juntae pity him. However, it wasn’t the type of pity that made him want to help, but it seemed more like watching a kitten beg for another treat when you just gave it one.
On top of that, Juntae knew what would happen if he sided with Sieun. Watching Sieun struggle under the other two gave a preview of what Juntae’s fate would be if he tried to side with him.
“It… it is kind of adorable!” Juntae shrugged. He tried to lessen the blow of the truth since he’s not that evil, but that didn’t lessen the betrayal Sieun felt. Juntae’s innocent agreement only increased the power of Baku and Hyuntak.
“See! See! Even Juntae thinks you’re cute!” Baku could barely hide his excitement over seeing Sieun laugh this much. Sieun on the other end wanted to evaporate, “NOHOHO IHI HAHATE THIHIHIS!!” he barely managed to get the words out, his brain just spilling meaningless words.
Baku suddenly paused his attack, pulling his hands away before signalling for Hyuntak to stop as well. Hyuntak froze, confused but obeying anyway. Baku stared at Sieun with genuine concern, “Do you actually hate this, or are you just saying that?”
Sieun couldn’t stop himself from giggling right away, his mind was still spinning with the adrenaline he was being given. “ihihi…” his lips tried to give an answer before his mind even came up with one
Baku would never want to push his friends too far. If Sieun actually hated this, he would stop right away. “If you actually don’t like this, we can stop!” Baku reassured him.
But the longer Sieun sat there, feeling the phantom tickles on his skin and weary smile on his face, the more he realized he didn’t want it to stop at all. This was new for Sieun. This was the most care free laugh he’s had in years. Ever since the beginning of the academic pressures and traumas from his previous school, he had not once found the comfort to laugh, to feel safe, to show weakness.
Sure, this may just be a tickle attack, but it gave Sieun what he spent years missing. The whimsy and fun that was stolen from him.
Baku noticed several thoughts going through Sieun’s mind, but he couldn’t quite tell what they were. “We just want to cheer you up, that's all! We’re just glad you’re okay.”
Hyuntak rubbed Sieun’s shoulders, “Seriously! You go through so much already. We want to help you!”
Sieun sat quietly as Baku observed his facial expressions. Baku raised an eyebrow, seeing nothing but pure joy in Sieun’s eyes. Baku’s tone changed, becoming playful again, yet comforting. “You don’t hate this do you~”
Sieun refused to give a verbal answer. He couldn’t understand why this was so incredibly flustering for him, but his smile grew on its own as Baku watched him.
Baku reached out and rested his hands on Sieun’s tummy, not yet continuing the attack, but giving just enough time for Sieun to give an answer if he wanted. “Say nothing if you want us to continue.” Baku said, which gave Sieun every chance to stop them.
Baku even started counting down from three, but Sieun couldn’t stop himself from grinning widely. Once Baku hit “one”, Sieun immediately brought his hands to his face as his fluster hit him. Baku gasped, wiggling his fingers above Sieun “Awww! Sieun wants tickles!!!” his hands dropped down and began to claw at his tummy, causing another wave of giggles to erupt from Sieun. Though instead of that panicked sounding laughter he had before, he seemed a lot more relaxed instead, muffling his laughter in his hands.
“Sieunie?! Wanting TICKLES?!” Hyuntak wiggled his fingers at the boy’s ribcage, and just like that Sieun was back to the squirmy laughing mess he was moments ago. “As if you couldn’t be any cuter!”
Sieun’s mind raced, but this time he embraced it. “ThihIHIhis ihIS soHOhO MEHEHEAN!!!”
Juntae giggled at Sieun’s words, “You’re really just saying that!”
Baku pinched at Sieun’s sides again, his cute aggression towards him growing by the second, “Yeah! You’re just saying that~!”
Hyuntak cooed at the giggling boy, he couldn’t help it when they basically reduced him from his serious persona to this giggling puddle. “Sieunie loves the tickles~ tickletickletickle!” Hyuntak’s fingers found their way to Sieun’s neck again, earning him a squeak as he attempted to scrunch and avoid him. “DOHOHOHONT SAHAHAY THAHAHAT!” Sieun’s vocal chords could only take so much as his laughter reduced to breathy squeals.
“Come ooon~ We know it’s true Sieun-ah~” Baku chuckled.
The three were just teasing him of course, but little did they know how much Sieun actually did enjoy this. But instead of arguing or struggling, he instead melted into the warm atmosphere his friends created.
As he continued to laugh, Sieun wondered if he should actually tell them how much fun he was having. He wondered what they would say, or what they would do.
Just like that, Sieun’s face became hot with the deepest blush. Okay, maybe not right now, but… maybe someday.
The video game on the TV was forgotten that easily. All that surrounded the room was Sieun’s giggles and the merciless teasing voices of Baku and Hyuntak.
Sieun was having the most fun he’s had in a while. Was he going to admit it? Nope!
Is he going to laugh and pretend he’s suffering to avoid his fluster? Absolutely! It was the most logical thought his brain could muster in a moment like this. Not like he could think much anyway.
Just wait till they find out how much fun he’s really having…