“I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

They were standing in front of Hyunwoo’s hotel room, Jooheon holding the pregnancy test in his hand. “If he’s as much in denial as you say he is then he’s not going to take a test just because we ask him to.” He pointed out. "Knowing him he'll keep pretending he isn't until it's impossible to do so any more."

“We could threaten to tell a manager if he doesn’t take it.” Changkyun suggested. It wasn’t something he wanted to do but if it was the only way to get Hyunwoo to do what they wanted then he would. Desperate times called for desperate measures after all.

Jooheon shook his head. “He might never talk to us again.” He reasoned. “And he still might not take the test.”

He was right but that didn’t mean Changkyun thought the plan Jooheon had come up with was going to work. Because Jooheon’s plan included acting, or as Changkyun liked to call it, lying. And he was terrible at both of those things. “He’s going to see right through us.”

“He won’t, not if you just keep quiet and let me do the talking.” Jooheon told him. And before Changkyun could argue with him further he hammered on the door.

“What if he's sleeping?” Changkyun hissed.

“You’re the one who wanted to talk to him. You even stole Kihyun hyung’s key card.” Jooheon hissed back.

He had a point but Changkyun still felt pretty bad about potentially waking Hyunwoo up. Sleep was something he definitely needed more of, the bags under his eyes were getting ridiculous. And it seemed he was right and Hyunwoo had been sleeping because the Hyunwoo that opened the door was messy-haired and bleary-eyed. When he realised it was Changkyun at the door though he went from half-asleep to wide-awake rather quickly.

And then Jooheon was waving the pregnancy test in his hand under his nose and Hyunwoo's gaze turned accusatory. Before he could accuse Changkyun of breaking his confidence though Jooheon was talking.

“I found this in our maknae’s bag.” He said and Hyunwoo gingerly took the offered box. “He says it isn’t his.” He continued as Hyunwoo stared down at the pregnancy test he was now holding in his hands. “He says he’s holding onto it for a friend but he won’t tell me which friend so I’m not buying it.”

Obviously deciding that this wasn’t a conversation they should be having in a hotel corridor, Hyunwoo grabbed Jooheon’s elbow and pulled him into the room. Changkyun, thankful that Hyunwoo hadn’t immediately slammed the door in their faces, followed.

“If he says it’s not his…” Hyunwoo said as he pulled the door closed behind them, “… then it’s not his.” He finished, not quite meeting Jooheon’s eye.

“And you’re fine with that, with just taking his word for it?” Jooheon pressed. “What if he’s lying? I'd understand it if he was, if he does think he might be pregnant then I doubt he’s thinking straight. But the longer he keeps it from us the harder it’s going to be when the truth eventually comes out. If he’d just own up to it he’d be doing everyone a favour.”

“He’s not lying.” Hyunwoo insisted, and believing every word that Jooheon was saying he gave Changkyun an apologetic look.

“Okay.” Jooheon conceded. “Say he’s not lying. Say the test isn’t his. But if it’s not, then who is it for?” He turned to Changkyun. “If you want me to give up on this just tell me who you bought it for. I won’t tell anyone else, I promise.”

“I can’t tell you.” Changkyun said, deciding to keep his answer short. The more he spoke the more likely it was Hyunwoo was going to cotton onto the fact that this was all an act.

“Why not?” Jooheon asked, sounding genuinely frustrated.

“I just can’t.” He told him.

Jooheon’s brow furrowed, as if he was thinking Changkyun’s answer over. And then his expression cleared. “It’s for one of the members isn’t it?” he said, as if the thought had just come to him. “That’s why you can’t tell me. Who is it? Is it Kihyun? He’s been kind of moody lately.”

Changkyun shook his head, nervousness something he was having no trouble conveying at all.

“Oh my god, it is!” Jooheon exclaimed, addressing Hyunwoo now. “Of course it is. That’s why he snapped at you in rehearsals. But who…” he paused, again appearing to be in deep thought. “It’s Minhyuk, isn’t it? They share a room, they’re always together lately….”

“It’s not for Kihyun hyung.” Changkyun said.

But Jooheon wasn’t listening. Or at least he was pretending not to. “We should talk to him.” He said, tone decisive. “Come on.” And he grabbed Hyunwoo’s wrist.

And as Jooheon had predicted when he’d first come up with his plan Hyunwoo pulled away. “No. No we don’t need to talk to Kihyun.”

And again Jooheon did a stellar job of looking confused. “But hyung, isn’t talking to him kind of your job? You're his friend not just his leader.”

“I told you,” Hyunwoo said, studiously avoiding looking at Jooheon. The way the conversation was going was quite clearly making him feel anxious. “It’s not necessary.”

“If you won’t talk to him…” Jooheon said, “… then I’ll have to go and tell someone who will. Maybe Hoseok hyung, or a manager, you know that, don’t you?”

And that was it. At the thought of someone else getting in trouble on his behalf Hyunwoo cracked.

“You can’t.” He almost shouted and as if surprised by his own outburst he took a step back, his free hand held out in apology. “I mean please don’t.” He amended, lowering his voice slightly. “Don’t. You can’t bring anyone else into this. I know who Changkyun bought the test for and it wasn’t for Kihyun.”

“Then who did he buy it for?” Jooheon asked, feigning confusion and doing it well.

Hyunwoo took a deep breath. He looked down at the box he still held in his hand. He ran a hand through his already messy hair. “Me.” He said at last, his voice so quiet Changkyun almost didn’t hear him. “He bought it for me.”

“You?” Jooheon said, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

“Yes.” Hyunwoo told him, still staring down at the pregnancy test. “Me. I… well I told him he didn’t have to… but he… well he did… and I… I shouldn’t…”

His voice was shaking. He was shaking. Changkyun shared a worried look with Jooheon and they both stepped forward. Taking an arm each they guided him to the foot of his bed and sat him down.

“I… I don’t… I can’t… but I did…” He was shaking his head vehemently, close to hyperventilating. He was falling apart and it hurt Changkyun to see it.

“Breathe.” Jooheon said gently.

Changkyun, not sure what to say, took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Hyunwoo’s head shaking slowed to a stop, he took several deep steadying breaths. Then he looked up at Changkyun. “I think I’m pregnant.” He blurted. “I know I said I wasn’t, that I said you were being paranoid but I was lying to myself as well as you. Because you’re right. I don’t feel right, I haven’t in a long time and I tried to put it down to overwork and exhaustion but… well… it’s getting harder to do that. The tiredness, it isn’t the same as usual. I can’t just ignore it and plough through it, it’s relentless. And it’s not just that, I'm not just tired all the time, I feel sick all the time too.” He took another deep breath and continued. It was like a dam had burst and now he’d started talking he couldn’t stop. “And it’s just getting worse. The taste of coffee, the smell of Kihyun’s cologne, the sight of other people eating, they all get to me, they all make me feel queasy. Most of the time I can handle it, I can keep myself from actually throwing up, but if I do that I still feel ill. I still feel like . And that's not all… the dates… the timing… between the last time we… and now. They match up.” He shook his head again. “But I can’t be, you know? I just… I can’t be pregnant. Not right now. Not because it isn’t possible. It is possible. It’s just… we’re so busy. Both of us. Me and him. And we’re not even together anymore. How am I supposed to tell him when we… it’ll… he’ll… I… maybe I shouldn’t tell him. But no, he’ll find out. It’s not like I can keep it a secret forever. Oh God. I’m such an idiot. I should never have… but I did… and now…I just.. what am I going to do?”

He looked scared. No it was more than that, he looked petrified. And Changkyun didn’t blame him, realising you were pregnant could be terrifying at the best of times and this definitely wasn’t the best of times. “You’re going to take that test.” He told him, keeping his voice level, wanting to try and calm him down a little. He looked close to tears and he didn't like it. “Then we'll know for sure if you're pregnant or not.”

“I am.” Hyunwoo told him, sounding defeated.

“You might not be.” Jooheon argued, although he didn’t look convinced. “But even if you are, well it’ll be okay. We’ll talk it through, together, and we’ll come up with a plan.”

Hyunwoo still seemed wary. “You won’t go straight to a manager?”

“I won’t go straight to a manager.” Jooheon promised. “Telling the people who need to know, that’s up to you. But if you need help to do it, moral support or whatever, well we’re here. Aren’t we?” he said and he clapped Changkyun on the shoulder.

“We are.” Changkyun agreed. Then he nodded at the box in Hyunwoo’s hand. “We’ll still be here after you take that too, so off you go.” Even if he wasn’t going to need their help telling the company, looking at the results of that test was one thing he was definitely going to need moral support for so he wasn't going to go anywhere until he took it.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

A/N: I want to say thank you again, for all the comments and interest people are showing in this story. So yeah, thanks. And I hope you enjoyed this.