“You do know that glaring at him that hard won’t actually put a hole in his head?” Jongdae said as he glanced between Jongin and his current target. “Our super powers aren’t actually real and even if they were, you don’t have laser vision.”

“What’s she doing with him?” Jongin asked, ignoring Jongdae’s teasing but letting the unsatisfied pout remain on his face.

“Looks like they’re talking,” Jongdae answered sitting on the chair next to Jongin and throwing his arm over ’s shoulder. They were at a summer festival and getting ready for rehearsals. It wasn’t too hot of a day but Jongin could feel a low fire burning inside of him.

“But why is she talking to him?” Jongin asked, eyes narrowing as the other male idol leaned in closer to Kyungsoo to show her something on his phone.

“I dunno,” Jongdae pretended to play dumb, “maybe because they were friends in high school and are still friends?”

“Friends my ,” Jongin scoffed, “I know she doesn’t talk to him regularly anymore.”

“Why does it matter so much to you?” Jongdae asked, rolling his eyes at Jongin’s obvious jealously. “Kyungsoo can talk to whoever she wants.”

“I just don’t want her to get herself in trouble,” Jongin defended himself. “There are a lot of cameras here and anyone can start a rumor with flimsy proof.”

“Is it because Hyunsik was her first love?” Jongdae went straight for the kill. Jongin turned his glare from the other idol onto Jongdae instead.

It was an unconfirmed rumor that Hyunsik and Kyungsoo had dated each other before their celebrity lives. They had gone to the same high school, been in the same class, and started a band together with some other friends; those facts were confirmed through yearbook photos and acquaintances. A few leaked pictures and anecdotes from friends had hinted that the two had been more than friends though and the story basically went that Kyungsoo and Hyunsik had shared a passion for a music and naturally became a couple for about two years. Then Hyunsik passed his auditions and decided to end things with Kyungsoo to focus on his career. Kyungsoo had understood his decision and they had separated on a good note and decided to remain friends. Of course this was all speculation to the public but all of their members knew better. Yes it was true that they dated and separated but Kyungsoo had been a little hurt by Hyunsik’s decision. They did decide to remain friends but they never became as close as they were before and rarely contacted each other. It was only during shows like these where they would run into each other and have the courage to spring up a conversation and catch up on each other’s lives.

“He broke her heart,” Jongin muttered, remembering that one night they had gotten tipsy and Kyungsoo had tearfully confessed her first love story to him. He didn’t understand how anyone could ever make the beautiful girl in front of him cry on purpose.

“First loves don’t last anyways,” Jongdae told him. “I mean none of us are with our first loves right now.” Jongin didn’t say anything and turned back to look at Kyungsoo and Hyunsik. He said something and she laughed hard enough where she did that thing where she rested her head on his shoulder to steady herself.

“They do look quite cozy today though,” Jongdae mused out loud. “Do you think they’re back together?”

“I don’t know,” Jongin answered emotionlessly. What he did know was that he didn’t like the way Hyunsik looked at Kyungsoo, like she was the only person in the whole stadium. “Does he have any nicknames to do with honey or bears?” Jongin asked, remembering the strange number saved underneath an emoji that double texted Kyungsoo a few weeks ago.

“How would I know that?” Jongdae shook his head. “You’re the one that our fans call a bear.”

A staff tapped Hyunsik on the shoulder, signaling him to get ready for rehearsals. Kyungsoo gave him a quick one-armed hug before she made her way back over to Jongin and Jongdae. She was in a pair of low-waisted ripped jeans today with fishnet stockings underneath rising over the waistline with the thick band ending right above her bare belly button. Their stylist had somehow convinced her to wear a black cropped tank top that looped itself in the front like a corset and tied into a little bow at the bottom. Jongin noted that one little tug and it looked like her entire top would come undone. All of her male fans would go crazy today. The Eve was quite a game-changing era for them.

“No bra today?” Jongdae as she sat next to them. The skin that showed in between the loops of her chest was bare and her tank top straps were so thin that Jongin wondered how they even supported her.

“Sticky s,” Kyungsoo answered, tossing her beach waved hair over her shoulder. “I might need to get them adjusted though. I think they’re slipping.”

“How did you get stuck with that outfit?” Jongdae asked her, knowing how conservative she could be sometimes.

“I wanted to try something different,” Kyungsoo said, suddenly second-guessing herself and curling in on her body. Jongin hated the way that she became even smaller and how worried she looked all of a sudden.

“You look nice,” he reassured her, moving to put his hand on her thigh but then retracting it at the last second. “The fans will love it.”

“Thanks Jongin,” she murmured, smiling nicely at him. He was going to take that smile.

After their performance, which was a hit based on how loud their fans had been screaming the entire time, they were headed to a company dinner party. Kyungsoo had seemed to get even louder cheers than normal and she had been a blushing, shy mess during their ment. As usual though she was a fireball on stage and Jongin had a hard time not looking at her and at the audience instead. Something was off about him today and he didn’t know if it was because the racier stage outfits than usual or if it was just exhaustion from their endless schedules.

They had all changed out of their stage outfits and into comfier clothes. Their company dinner was going to be at a family style restaurant and there were no new executives to impress anyways. Jongin was in a pair of black sweats and a white t-shirt. Kyungsoo and Joonmyun were wearing matching gray Nike hoodies and track shorts. Kyungsoo also had a black baseball cap covering her head and a new pair of slides that Jongin hadn’t seen before. Her last pair hadn’t even been that old yet and he didn’t know where this new one came from. 

Because of their schedule, they were the last ones to enter the restaurant and Jongin sat next to Chaeyoung who had saved him a seat. She immediately looped her arm through his and smiled widely. Jongin checked to make sure they truly were in a private section of the restaurant before he let her arm stay and smiled back. Sehun took the seat next to him and the rest of s sat across from them. Kyungsoo was sandwiched in between Joonmyun and Chanyeol. With their arrival, food quickly came in and Jongin balanced his eating in between talking with Chaeyoung. Her music promotions had ended just as Jongin started his so it was hard to for them to meet up regularly. He had only seen her during their tap lessons and his sleep schedule was so tight that it was difficult to regularly call and message each other too.

After he ate to his content he looked up and noticed Kyungsoo playing with the rice in her bowl. It was even odder that her plate seemed relatively cleaned compared to everyone else’s because their meal had consisted of lots of different sauces and soups and he knew that this was Kyungsoo’s favorite type of food. He could tell just from her plate that she had barely eaten anything. He stretched his leg out underneath the table just enough so that he could tap her toes with his. She startled a bit but then looked up at him for the first time that night.

“You okay?” he asked her, hoping she could hear him over the noise of everyone else.

“Yeah,” she nodded with a slight smile.

“You didn’t eat much,” he pointed out, pointing his spoon towards her bowl and plate.

“Don’t really have an appetite,” she told him, “and I’m going drinking with some friends later so I’ll probably eat then.”

“You’re going out later?” Jongin asked, a little surprised. They didn’t have a schedule tomorrow though, just practice in the afternoon.

“Kwangsoo landed a new movie role and he wanted to celebrate,” Kyungsoo explained, “I haven’t seen them in a while too so it’ll be nice to go out.” Jongin was about to tell her to stay safe but then Chaeyoung took his attention away and he never got to get back to Kyungsoo.

As they left the restaurant, Chanyeol was slightly drunk so Jongin and Sehun were both holding onto him to get to the van, Jongin noticed Kyungsoo talking to one of their managers outside the door of the restaurant. Her baseball cap was pulled low over her eyes and their manager reached into his bag and pulled out a white facemask for her. She slipped it on and also grabbed her wristlet from him. Just as they got Chanyeol buckled into the back seat, an expensive, sleek, black sports car pulled up to the front of the restaurant and Kyungsoo quickly got into the passenger seat. Jongin could barely get a good look through the tinted windows before the car was speeding away, Kyungsoo in it.

“Can I use the bathroom before we go?” Joonmyun asked, fidgeting in her seat as the rest of her members buckled themselves in. Kyungsoo would be gone for most of the night but the rest of them had plans to stay in and rest before practice tomorrow.

“Make it quick,” their manager told her, “if there’s a line just hold it until we get back home.” Joonmyun nodded and got out of the car, stepping quickly to get to the bathroom inside. Luckily for her there was no line for the lady’s room and she relieved herself, texting Minseok an update and saying she would be out in a few minutes. She washed her hands with the generic foam soap and dried them with a paper towel before exiting. Tonight would be catch up for a drama that she had been interested in lately. As she swung the door open, she was surprised to bump into a broad chest. Joonmyun quickly stepped back and apologized for her clumsiness.

“You didn’t tell me you were an idol,” a familiar voice said. She looked up and found Kwon Taehyun looking down at her, an amused smile on his face. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt, like he was in the middle of a casual business dinner. Joonmyun felt very intimidated in her hoodie and shorts.

“Y-you didn’t tell me you were a professional basketball player,” She stammered back.

“Ahh so someone did decide to look me up,” Taehyun smirked, stepping half an inch closer to her.

“Well you must have looked me up too,” she said, refusing to let this guy get to her.

“I did about twenty minutes ago,” Taehyun admitted, “your company has quite the roster. I listen to your guy’s songs sometimes. I should’ve checked out the live performances though so I wouldn’t have missed out on your pretty face.” Joonmyun felt herself grow rose pink at that. She was called pretty all the time but it sounded different coming from him.

“Don’t worry though,” he reassured her, taking a step back, “just because I only found out who you were today doesn’t mean I didn’t think about you all this time. It’s nice to finally match a name to a face. I’ll see you soon…Joonmyun,” he said her name softly like a promise. And then he was gone and Joonmyun’s phone buzzed in her hand. She made her way back to the van, where some members were already sleeping. Her heart was beating fast though and she was sure her face was still a bit flushed from the encounter. She hadn’t been expecting to run into Kwon Taehyun again but a part of her knew that their next meeting wouldn’t be too long from now.