Seungyoon met up with Jinwoo, Seunghoon, and Minho that night in front of the theatre doors. There were a lot of people coming in. Hopefully, Taehyun feels fine… Seungyoon thought.

“Wow, Seungyoon!” Seunghoon laughed as he looked at Seungyoon’s outfit, which consisted of the best of the best he owns.

Minho chuckled, “I thought we all agree to go as casual as we could, but we all look like trash compared to you.” They all laughed.

“Are you sure we could sit next to you, tonight?” Jinwoo asked with a smile.

“Yah, it’s okay if I want to dress like this,” Seungyoon pouted and looked down.

“We’re not saying anything bad,” Seunghoon put an arm around Seungyoon’s shoulders, “We’re just saying that your outfit is on point.” He laughed. “Seriously, who are you trying to impress though?” Seungyoon’s cheeks grew red, and Minho smirked when he saw it.

Jinwoo stood next to Seungyoon and elbowed him lightly on the side, “Who’s the lucky person, huh?”

“Can’t I just look good if I want to?” Seungyoon’s pout deepened.

Minho shook his head and chuckled. “Okay, boys, let’s go inside now.” He proceeded to push them all inside.

As they were looking for the perfect chairs to see the whole play, they were joking around. “When Taehyun comes out, we should all just scream,” Mino said chuckling.

Seunghoon laughed, “Just be like, ‘Wooh, Taehyun fighting!’” He started waving his hands in the air.

“Taehyun, we love you! Wah!” Jinwoo followed of Seunghoon’s footsteps.

“We should all stand up and do hearts,” Minho said as he did one himself with a big smile on his face. The three of them laughed as they probably thought what Taehyun’s reaction would be if they actually did that.

Seungyoon gave them a disapproving look, “No way, let’s not do that. This is very important to Taehyun.” He was very nervous about it, too. Seungyoon did not know if what they did last night helped them in any way. Taehyun would probably still be just as nervous. If they all did that, Taehyun would probably end up having a breakdown on stage, and that was not good for scouts that were watching.

“You’re no fun,” Minho pouted, “We were just joking around.”

“Yeah, calm down,” Seunghoon joined him, “We weren’t gonna do anything.” Jinwoo nodded.

Seungyoon rolled his eyes, “Sure, let’s just find seats.” All the others sighed and followed Seungyoon in looking for chairs.

Once they were seated, they waited a couple of minutes for the play to start, and then they quieted down. Taehyun did not appear for the first few scenes, but the play was pretty interesting without him. However, when he actually did come out, it was like the whole stage changed for Seungyoon. He could hear Minho and Seunghoon doing some silent ‘woos’ that were not loud enough to reach the stage as encouragement. Taehyun did not need to hear them though. He was doing great. It seemed like he was never nervous about this. He had it in the bag. Everything seemed to be on point; from his body language, to his facial expressions, to the way he said his lines. It was prefect. Seungyoon tried to hold in the big smile that threatened to come out. His heart fluttered. There was this weird charm about Taehyun. It made the whole stage revolve around him. It felt empty if Taehyun was not there. He definitely belonged in the stage.

When the play was finished, they all waited for Taehyun outside as they had planned. They were all talking about the play; making fun of it and praising Taehyun at the same time. Taehyun appeared half an hour later. “Sorry, I’m late!” He ran to them, panting. “I needed to freshen up a little bit and attend the last meeting. Our teacher said that scouts would be contacting them in the next couple of the days for students,” Taehyun said with a big smile on his face.

“I’m sure they’ll ask for you, Taehyun,” Minho said as he patted Taehyun’s shoulders.

“If they don’t, they’re crazy,” Jinwoo said and nodded.

“Thanks, guys,” Taehyun smiled at them in gratitude.

“You did amazing job, Taehyun,” Seungyoon said sincerely.

Taehyun turned to him and smiled. “Thanks, hyung,” He said before turning back. Seungyoon did not know why, but Taehyun turning like that and dismissing him so quickly hurt him more than it should. It should not hurt him at all. Taehyun did not have to tell him anything else. What was he expecting? A hug and a kiss? That would not happen. They were friends and nothing more. Seungyoon had to always remind himself that.

“Yeah, you did better than I thought you would,” Seunghoon said.

“What? You thought I was going to ?” Taehyun raised a brow at him.

“No, no,” Seunghoon shook his head vigorously, “It’s just that once while I was walking to class I saw you practicing your lines and you were stuttering and forgetting them. I thought that was going to happen in the actual play because it wasn’t too long ago.”

“You guys have no hope on me sometimes, I swear,” Taehyun shook his head and pouted. “Got a got a little help beforehand.” Seungyoon could swear Taehyun briefly glanced at him.

“That’s good then,” Seunghoon smiled and nodded.

“Yup,” Minho stepped forward and put an arm around Taehyun’s shoulders, pulling him closer. While looking into Taehyun’s eyes, he asked, “Now where does our actor want to eat? Our treat.”

“Uhhh…” Taehyun didn’t know how to answer. He just stared back at Minho.

Seungyoon felt a pang of jealousy. “There’s a pretty good restaurant not too far from here,” He said bluntly, interrupting Minho and Taehyun’s moment, “We can go there. I’ll drive.”

“Yes, that’d be great,” Minho smiled and let go of Taehyun, but Taehyun stayed still.

“S-Sure,” Taehyun muttered and looked down. He took a deep breath and looked up, with a smile, “Let’s go!”

The sitting arrangement at the restaurant made Seungyoon mad. It was a circular table; Jinwoo was sitting next to Seungyoon, Minho next to Jinwoo, Taehyun next to Minho, and Seunghoon next to Taehyun. It made Seungyoon mad that Taehyun was not sitting next to him, and it really should not make him mad. It was not like they were going to secretly hold hands under the table or play footsies.  They did not have that type of relationship. No matter how much Seungyoon wanted it; he was pretty sure Taehyun did not and would never look at him that way. Seungyoon sighed. “This is so difficult,” He muttered to himself. The place was loud enough for anyone to hear him. After that, he cleared his throat and decided to focus on the conversation his friends were having.

“No, but seriously, Taehyun,” Minho laughed, “if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll leave us all behind. You’re seriously that talented.”

“I can’t believe you could be leaving before your hyung,” Jinwoo said with a smile.

Taehyun smiled and looked down embarrassed, “Thank you, guys, but nothing’s for certain yet. My teacher told me that scouts might start getting interested in me, but not interested enough to call her about me, and I’m fine with that.”

“That’s bull,” Minho shook his head, “They really should call you right now. They shouldn’t have left that theatre without asking about you. I know I wouldn’t have.”

“Thanks…” Taehyun muttered and slightly blushed. Seungyoon frowned at the sight of it. Taehyun should not be blushing at a compliment from Minho. He never did that when Seungyoon complemented him. Why Minho? Why not him? Seungyoon took his glass of water and gulped it down. Why is he having these thoughts now? He never had them in the past. He choked and started coughing.

“Wow, are you okay, man?” Seunghoon asked worryingly and patted his back.

“Yeah,” Seungyoon coughed a little more and nodded slowly, “just have a lot in my mind.” He involuntarily looked up at Taehyun, who was giving him a worried look, too.

“Well don’t stress too much about,” Seunghoon kept patting his back. “If it’s anything too bad, you can always come to us.” The rest nodded, but Seungyoon thought about Taehyun’s probable method of problem solving. It made him gulp.

“Yeah, okay,” Seungyoon nodded again, “Thanks.”

“Good,” Seunghoon nodded and stopped patting him. The rest of the night continued without incident. They all talked, ate, drank, and joked around. Seungyoon mostly spent it looking at Taehyun’s close interactions with not only Minho, but his other hyungs. Was he always this close to them? Seungyoon had never noticed. He was suddenly slightly relieved with not being able to sit next to Taehyun. He would have probably acted like the jealous boyfriend he was not towards Taehyun. It would have probably made Taehyun really uncomfortable and made his secret feelings for the younger boy very noticeable. Seungyoon really did not want that. Instead, he tried his best to seem like nothing was wrong and enjoy the night with his friends. Once done, he drove all of them to their dorms and then went to his small apartment, which he had inherited from his grandmother, who moved in with his mother.

As the days passed, Seungyoon could not get that thought of jealousy out of his mind. He could not get the image of Taehyun interacting too closely with the other hyungs. It made Seungyoon’s blood boil faintly. He hated it. He hated this feeling of jealousy, especially when he should not have it. Taehyun was not his. Taehyun was not anybody’s, and he would let you know that in a heartbeat. Seungyoon did not have the right to feel jealous, but he just could not help it! He could not stand the thought of Taehyun being with someone other than him now. These two pleasure encounters had really changed him… and maybe for the worse…

About a week passed and Seungyoon was still fighting his unnecessary feelings. They were making him so frustrated. There were times when he wanted to call up Taehyun so he could release all that pent-up frustration, but had decided against it. Doing it with Taehyun would probably make it worse, but yet… there was always that small high he felt when he was with Taehyun. A small high that made him forget about everything, and right now, that was just what he needed. He could deal with the consequences later, but now… Now, he wanted Taehyun so, so badly. At least he could also feel like Taehyun belonged to only him during those moments.

Without much hesitation, Seungyoon grabbed his phone and rang up Taehyun. “Come on, come on, answer,” He muttered to himself impatiently.

“Hello~?” The other line asked.

“Taehyun! Could we possibly ha-?” Seungyoon stopped at that moment. That voice on the other line didn’t sound like Taehyun at all. He checked his screen to make sure he had the right number.

“Seungyoon, how nice of you to call!” The other person said happily.

“Minho hyung?” Seungyoon raised a brow.

“Yup,” Minho said and probably nodded. “I’m with Taehyun right now, so you’re going to have to borrow him later. He’s in a position where he can’t really move.” He said that last line quite like if it was threat, like he was not talking to Seungyoon and just to Taehyun. Those suspicions were confirmed when he heard Taehyun nervously laugh in the background.

“In a position, what?” Seungyoon muttered in confusion. What the hell were these two doing? He felt the pang of jealousy in chest again.

“Here, I’ll put him on the phone for you. I can hold it for him,” Minho said and walked to Taehyun and put him on the phone.

“Hello, Seungyoon?” Taehyun asked once he was on the phone. His voice sounded slightly unstable.

“Taehyun…” Seungyoon sighed.

“What’s up?” Taehyun asked simply.

Seungyoon gulped a little. His neediness was suddenly not as strong, and he did not know how to go through this, “Oh, I was just wondering if…”

“Oh, that,” Taehyun chuckled quite awkwardly. “Sorry, hyung, but I’m kind of busy these next few days. Minho hyung has an art show in two weeks, and he wants to get one last piece in before the deadline at the end of the week. Me and Jinwoo are helping him.” A small and happy ‘hello’ could be heard in the background, courtesy of Jinwoo.

“Oh, is that so…” Seungyoon said, slightly disappointed.

“Minho hyung says it’s going to be epic. I can’t wait to see the final product,” Taehyun said with enthusiasm. Seungyoon could hear Minho chuckling in the background.  He tried to ignore how he suddenly hated Minho for taking Taehyun away and hummed to say he was listening. “Anyway, maybe later, after we’re done?”

“Um… sure…” Seungyoon suddenly sounded bored and sad.

Taehyun did not seem to notice as he was preoccupied with other stuff, “Good, now I’ll have to leave. We’re in a really tight schedule and can’t lose another minute. Goodbye, hyung!”

“Bye…” Seungyoon sighed and hanged up. He looked at it for a couple of seconds before throwing in at the other side of the couch and glaring at it. What is wrong with him? Are his feelings taking over him? No, that cannot be happening. Seungyoon had always been a collected man and goofy only when the time was correct. He was not one to get overrun by emotions. It was childish. Seungyoon pouted. He still really wanted Taehyun, and now he had to wait a couple of days to see him because of Minho. Stupid Minho… Seungyoon thought childishly. Of course though, just like he had promised, Taehyun called around a week later to make up for not being able to be there when Seungyoon needed him. Seungyoon of course agreed to meet him without hesitation at all, because even for just one night, Seungyoon wanted to feel like Taehyun was only his.

By the course of the week, they actually met a lot; probably more than they should, but Seungyoon could not help but call him every other day to meet up. Taehyun showed no signs of being hesitant. He agreed every time. That made Seungyoon really happy. If Taehyun was not bothered by being with Seungyoon so much, then that could mean that Taehyun might harbour some feelings of more than just friends. That was Seungyoon’s train of thought. It was especially fuelled by the nights when they were not tired enough to fall asleep quickly. Those nights, they would talk and goof around; sometimes in the bare. They had really gotten comfortable in each other’s presence. Being this close and this comfortable to Taehyun made Seungyoon so happy as it meant that in the near future, they could be something more.

That Friday, after Seungyoon finished the assignments the professors had given, he happily took out his phone to call Taehyun. A big smile was on his face as he knew exactly what to say to Taehyun. It didn’t make uncomfortable or nervous anymore, and it was miracle he got to this level so fast. “Hello?” Taehyun whispered when he answered. Seungyoon could tell he was in a crowded place by all the people talking around him.

“Hello, Taehyun? Where are you?” Seungyoon tilted his head.

“In the art exhibition at the university,” Taehyun answered just as quietly.

Seungyoon furrowed his brows, “Why?”

“With Minho hyung,” Taehyun said. “He has exhibition here, so he invited me to come. Plus the painting we did all last week. I still haven’t seen the final product.” He sounded excited over that.

Seungyoon pouted, “Oh, so not today…”

Taehyun already knew what he was talk