"Hakyeon-ah!" Taekwoon called after the beautiful tan-skinned man desperately.

            Why was he crying? Why is he running away from him?

            Hakyeon didn't want Taekwoon to see him like this. So weak. So...vulnerable. The thought made him cry even more. Taekwoon was the one he had always shown his vulnerability to and the one he wanted to accept him that way, but the fear of rejection was too much. He didn't want that. He didn't want him to leave. He didn't want to be rejected.

            He felt strong fingers curl around his wrist in no time. It was no surprise that Taekwoon's long legs had caught up to him without a hitch, even if Hakyeon had been running at full speed. He didn't want to come to terms with his feelings. He didn't want to have to talk about why he was crying or why Y/N's piece had spoken to the deepest parts of his soul. He didn't want to lose Taekwoon.

            "Hakyeon." Taekwoon called, softer this time because he was out of breath.

            His voice echoed inside Hakyeon's mind; it had always been a beautiful melody to him when Taekwoon said his name straightforwardly. He looked away, trying to hide as much of his face from him, but feeling utterly defeated. Taekwoon cautiously glanced around and pulled him along to his studio, away from any watchful eyes.

            Carefully, Taekwoon sat Hakyeon down then walked around the room, to clean up a bit and grab him a water bottle. Lifelessly, Hakyeon watched his lover's strong back. When did you two get so distant? When did you start putting your walls up around each other? When did you stop talking fearlessly?

            You wanted to restart. You wanted another chance. You wanted to go back to that first night where you two kissed and do it properly from the beginning.

            Would it end up the same? Would it end up like this? Or would you two be happy and in love like he had always hoped?

            Taekwoon bustled around, trying to figure out what you were upset about.

            Did he do something wrong again? No, he hadn't said a word to him. Was that it? But why would he burst into tears during the auditions?

            He couldn't understand and because of that, he didn't know how to make Hakyeon smile again. He missed seeing him smile. He was the one in charge of the solemn face in this pairing. He handed him a water bottle and sat beside him.

            "That trainee sure is talented..." he mumbled nervously, not knowing how else to start a conversation.

            "Let's stop this, Taekwoon." Hakyeon stated seriously.

            Taekwoon felt a bad feeling rising up in the pits of his stomach and he froze. Although he was afraid of the answer, he needed clarification.

            "S-stop what?"

            "Us." Hakyeon closed his eyes. He couldn't bear the pain of what he was doing, but he knew he would rather have Taekwoon as a close friend again than live in this constant cycle of worry, anguish, and frankly, unrequited love. Being simply physical or whatever they were was a big tease; the grand prize was dangling in front of him within reach and no matter how much he ran, how hard he tried, it could never be caught. He couldn't live like that. He loved Taekwoon so much it hurt.

            "What?" Taekwoon gazed at him with terrified eyes. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

            "I just don't think we're connecting anymore." Hakyeon confessed. "We don't talk. We don't laugh as much. We--"

            "But I love you." Taekwoon whispered, his heart shattering and tears began rolling down his face.

            Why was Hakyeon saying these things? Did he not love you anymore? Did he find someone better? Was he tired of you not asking about his day, or tired of you not talking to him a lot? Millions of thoughts rushed into his mind. Going through all of the "what ifs" and what he could've been done differently. He was frustrated and scared. Hakyeon was the only person he had ever truly trusted wholeheartedly and the person he knew he could come home to, no matter how many days they didn't talk or how many times they fought. Hakyeon accepting who he was gave him enough courage to step forward and grow into someone that could stand beside him.

            Was I not enough? He clenched his fists and winced at the thought, still crying.

            Hakyeon stared at him with wide eyes. Had he heard that right? Is he seeing this right? Taekwoon-- strong in all aspects -- was breaking down in front of him. Being vulnerable...in front of him. And...

            "Wh-What did you say?" Hakyeon stammered.

            Taekwoon looked at him straightly, "I love you."

            As if he thought he had no more tears left, they began streaming down his cheeks prettily. He continued to stare at Taekwoon in disbelief. Taekwoon, mustering up the courage after seeing Hakyeon's reaction, his hesitancy, closed the distance between them. He remembered all of the times Hakyeon had encouraged him and reassured him of his feelings out loud. He had always found it embarrassing and since Hakyeon never complained about it, he thought everything had been fine. But now, at the edge of losing him, he realized that it wasn't embarrassing at all. It wasn't scary at all. Because the most truly frightening thing to him now was losing the man he loved so much.

            "I love you so much, Cha Hakyeon." Taekwoon blurted out again. He needed to do things right. He needed to make things right. "I don't know what I did to make you want to break up...no..." he flustered. "I can think of a million things so I don't know which one it was that made you realize I was unworthy of you. But I don't want to lose you. It hurts when you come home late and it felt better when I didn't wait for you endlessly only to be disappointed in the end. I miss you when you have your own schedules. But regardless, I loved it when you did come back to me. No matter how late it was, no matter how long you were gone, I was grateful you came back to me."

            Taekwoon knew he had to say what he had been feeling all this time. Hakyeon had always been good at reading him and his thoughts, but Hakyeon didn't have telepathy; he couldn't understand everything and Taekwoon knew he shouldn't have expected Hakyeon to do so. That was one of his biggest mistakes.

            "But..." he continued as Hakyeon watched him in awe. "I don't want to be someone that just waits for you as you run forward. I want to be someone worthy to stand beside you and move towards our dreams together!"

            There was a mixture of his signature shyness and latent confidence in his speech, and Hakyeon was at a loss. Who was this person in front of him?

            "When you weren't around, I was alone. I couldn't hide behind you, and that's when I realized, what kind of person would I be if I just continued to hide and depend on you for the rest of my life like that? So I began thinking to myself 'What would Hakyeon do in this situation?'. I got to know the other members better and worked hard to speak up more. I even tried practicing aegyo and thinking of witty comments when I can so you wouldn't have to work so hard for me during interviews. And when LR was formed, I thought this was the chance to catch up to you so I could be worthy enough to be beside you, instead of your shadow or someone you have to protect. I want to --"

            He was cut off by Hakyeon's lips pressing against his. Startled, Taekwoon didn't have time to register and react to it.

            "I'm sorry." Hakyeon breathed, resting his forehead on Taekwoon's. "You had such positive reasons for what you did and I had been such a negative and maniacal person this whole time."

            Taekwoon furrowed his brow, his expression fully of inquiry.

            "I was jealous and scared, Taekwoon." Hakyeon admitted. "I liked when you relied on me because I wasn't sure what else I had to offer you. I liked being the only one that could approach you and knowing exactly what you were thinking. It made me feel special to you."

            Hakyeon smiled fondly and gazed into Taekwoon's eyes.

            "But when you started getting particularly close to Ravi, I got jealous."

            Taekwoon's eyes widened. He had no idea that Hakyeon had been feeling that way.

            Hakyeon chuckled at Taekwoon's visible shock.

            "Then when you started talking more in interviews and depending on me less, I felt like you didn't need me anymore. I didn't know what I could do to hold onto you. I was the one trying to catch up to you." he laughed. "But I guess we were running around in circles, trying to chase each other."

            Taekwoon smiled and Hakyeon's heart melted.

            Ah there's the gentleness I fell in love with. He thought.

            "And honestly, we never really defined what we were verbally so I wasn't sure if I had been the only one thinking we were together this whole time." Hakyeon bit his lip guiltily.

            Taekwoon nodded understandably. He had been so sure Hakyeon knew of his feelings but he understood now that misunderstandings arose because of that assumption.

            "I'm sorry." Taekwoon timidly spoke. "I-I'll try to speak up more...but I also thought that we were together this whole time...so you weren't the only one."

             Hakyeon grinned and nodded, feeling the weight lift off his shoulders. "Can I hear it one more time?"

            "Hm?"

            "You know the L-word?" Hakyeon whispered.

            Taekwoon looked at him amused then moved his bangs over, to kiss him lovingly on the forehead, "I love you."

            Hakyeon's heart tumbled in different directions and his cheeks were on fire. He was frazzled by the sweet gesture and confession and ecstatic at the same time. Jung Taekwoon was in love with him. He loved him. They loved each other.

            "But why did you suddenly start talking about the trainee?" Taekwoon pouted. "That got ME jealous."

            Hakyeon chuckled, "That was the point since you got me jealous over Ravi."

            Taekwoon blushed and huffed, "It wasn't on purpose! You were doing it purposefully!"

            Hakyeon grinned mischievously, "Why then did YOU start flirting with her?"

            Taekwoon pursed his lips together, "I wanted to be friends."

            "What?" Hakyeon raised his eyebrows.

            "She was someone you thought so highly of, I wanted to be close friends too..." Taekwoon murmured under his breath, embarrassed.

            Hakyeon realized that Taekwoon was never trying to make him jealous; he was just getting possessive over someone he wanted to be friends with.

            "I'm so stupid." he laughed as Taekwoon gave him a concerned look.

            Hakyeon hurriedly wrapped his arms around Taekwoon and embraced him warmly. "And you're so cute Taekwoonie."

            Taekwoon smiled. He loved the nickname that was only reserved for Hakyeon's lips. And he blushed as he hugged Hakyeon in return, knowing that his chest was reserved for Hakyeon's head alone. Things were going to be alright now.

            "Be my boyfriend?" Taekwoon questioned.

            Hakyeon chuckled into his chest then looked straight up at him, grinning from ear to ear. "You already are, silly!"

            Taekwoon smiled and gazed down at Hakyeon, feeling like the luckiest guy on Earth. He was loved by this vibrant, talented man despite lacking so much.

            "Oh and Taekwoonie?" Hakyeon hummed into his chest, neither of them wanting to let go.

            "Hm?"

            "I love you too." 

Author's Note: Yayyy! Finally Neo <3 Sorry I haven't update in a while >< I was in a bit of a writer's block with where to take this story, but I've got it figured out now :) Now that Neo's resolved, I wonder what fate has in store for Hongbin and Y/N? ~ Next chapter will pick up from the end of chapter 14 (back to Y/N's POV). Hope everyone's having a good week!