From backstage, the sound of the roaring crowd was dull, muffled by the walls and curtains that separated the idols from the fans. Peering at himself in the mirror, Sungyeol straightened his bowtie in silence, an emotionless face masking the turmoil within. His eyes scanned his image from bottom to top, memories flooding his mind. He remembered the gentle foot rubs after a hard day of practice, hours and hours of dancing with no breaks in between. The thought of a hand holding his or a body pressed to his arm lovingly caused his heart to skip a beat. He paused at his cheek, staring longingly as he remembered the soft palm cupping it, as if reassuring him everything would be okay; that love prevails. Once he met his own eyes in the reflection before him, he realized tears were surging forth, streaming down his face and causing his foundation to become streaked. Placing his hand on his reflection's cheek, he began to wipe away the tears with his thumb, wondering if the tears were actually his own or a distant memory. Sungyeol swallowed the hard lump in his throat and let out a soft whimper. He bit his lip as if that would prevent the feelings that were pouring forth from within him. A sudden but firm squeeze on his shoulder immediately jolted Sungyeol back to reality, snapping him out of his emotional frenzy. Turn his head, he met eyes with Sunggyu, whose brows furrowed worringly. 

"Are you okay?" Sunggyu asked, reaching up with a curled index finger to gently rub the tears off Sungyeol's face.

Sungyeol sniffed softly, quickly drying his tears with his sleeve. "I-I'm fine," he stammered, turning around so his elder couldn't see his face. "Just a little overwhelmed."

Sunggyu's eyes fell to the ground, knowing full well that Sungyeol was not okay. Everyone knew Sungyeol wasn't okay. Breathing in deeply and exhaling just as deep, Sunggyu's lips tightened into a straight line. He took a step forward and slowly reached his arms around the man in front of him, squeezing him tightly with reassurance. "It's okay to not be okay, Sungyeol. We know you're hurting," Sunggyu said softly.

Sungyeol raised his head, swallowing once again to try and suppress the emotions welling in his throat. "We?"

The door to Sungyeol's dressing room squeaked as it slowly swung open as Sungjong stepped into the room, the rest of the Infinite members shuffling in behind him. "We," Sungjong reaffirmed. 

Sungyeol whipped around to look at his fellow band members. Each and every one of them had worried looks plastered across their visages. He couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt for bringing the mood down, especially during a concert. He breathed in deeply, his breath stuttering for just a moment as his voice cracked mid sentence, "I'm sorry." His gritted his teeth, shaking his head and shutting his eyes tight as his face fell into his hands. He slowly backed up, seating himself at his makeup station. Everyone's heart sank, watching their friend fall apart before them. Woohyun was the first to rush towards the fellow, placing an arm around his shoulders and gently rubbing it. "I don't know what to do. My career, my dreams, this is my everything, but her- she... she's also my everything. Why is life so unfair? Why did I have to make that decision?" 

L looked away, his hand grabbing at his chest as he felt his heartrate speed up. He and the others knew what decision it was, but no one could even begin to give Sungyeol any advice, much less help him make a decision. The company found out that Sungyeol had a significant other and greatly disapparoved. They believed it would ruin the band's image and interfere with Sungyeol's marketability and his work. Because of this, they gave him an ultimatum; give up the girl or give up his career. L clenched his first, gripping his shirt tightly as he spoke up. "Sungyeol, do you remember how you met her?"

Sungyeol nodded slowly. How could he forget? She was just a fan. She attended a fanmeet like any of the other fans; a smile stretched across her face and a heart beating right out of her chest at the sight of her idols. At that specific fanmeet, the group had a segment where fans could confess anything they wanted to to the group. Many hands were raised high along with hers. Her heart began to drop as everyone was being picked except for her. As the coordinators announced that Infinite only had time for one more confession, she shot up onto her feet and shouted at the top of her lungs, "I have a confession for Sungyeol!" If her goal was to catch Sungyeol's attention, she definitely did, along with the rest of Infinite, the coordinators, staff, and all the other fans at the fanmeet. Glancing around, her anxiety began to skyrocket and she shrunk back, her gaze suddenly landing on the ground. "N-nevermind," she stammered, slowly sitting back down. The coordinators went on to pick a different fan, and soon, everyone had forgotten about her outburst. Everyone except Sungyeol. 

The girl pulled her knees to her chest, resting her head atop as she closed her eyes in embarassment. Her face was still warm and her mind was clouded with thoughts of what could've been if she had just blurted out her confession. So occupied by her cloud of thoughts, she hadn't realized that the crowd of fans soon began to disappear as Infinite had left the fanmeet. By the time she had come to, she was the only one left in the park square. She hurriedly stood up and brushed herself off, grabbing her bag and turning to leave when she heard footsteps quickly approaching her. Quickly turning around, she rammed right into a tall figure who reacted accordingly with a resounding, "Oof." She quickly covered her face in embarassment and backed away, bowing her head apologetically.

"I'm so sorry!" She shouted, internally scolding herself for being such a klutz.

"It's okay," the figure replied in a voice that was all so familiar to the girl. 

Her eyes widened as she slowly lifted her head, not believing her ears. Her eyes met with the one and only Sungyeol's, who smiled warmly in response to her awed expression. She exhaled in disbelief, rubbing her eyes with her fists. Upon realizing that Sungyeol was truly standing before her, she squeaked and hopped back a step, hands covering as she continued to stare at him. He chuckled, amused by her reaction.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Sungyeol teased.

The girl blinked. "Not a ghost. An angel maybe," she replied, slowly lowering her hands. "Have I died and gone to heaven?"

Sungyeol's expression quickly changed as he became amazed by her witty reply. As the two stood looking at each other in silence, he blinked rapidly as his cheeks became red, hers following in pursuit. She looked away and he looked the other way, raising a fist to his lips and clearing his throat. "Th-that's quite the reply," he said as he cleared his throat. "Do you always say things like that to your favorite idols?"

"Only the one I've truly fallen for," she retorted. Her eyes widened even more after realizing what she'd just said. She quickly squatted down, hugging her knees and burying her face in her lap as she repeatedly called herself an idiot. 

Sungyeol was completely flabbergasted. A huge grin soon stretched across his face as he let out a hardy laugh. He leaned over, hands on his knees, peering down at the interesting girl before him. "All right. Now you've definitely got my attention. What's your name?"

The girl stopped cursing herself and slowly unfurled from her defensive position, falling onto her as she looked up at Sungyeol in surprise. She hadn't realized how close he was to her. "My name?" She asked as if unsure that's what he requested from her. Sungyeol nodded. "You can just call me J."

Sungyeol tilted his head, puckering his lips as he raised a curious brow. "Like the letter? Just J?" J nodded in reply, earning her a friendly smile from the pop star. He let out a sigh and slowly sat down behind her, his back pressing against hers and causing her to stiffen up in reply. Sungyeol loosely wrapped his arms around his knees, linking his hands together as he silently admired the park surrounding them, a content smile on his face. Meanwhile, J's heart was racing in her chest, eyes darting to and fro wondering what the man was up to. 

"Uh, can I ask you a question?" J managed to muster up the courage to speak. 

"Shoot," Sungyeol replied promptly. 

"Why exactly are you here? Shouldn't you have left with the rest of the group? Don't you have a schedule to follow?" She continued, her voice wavering slightly from nervousness.

"Mm, I had some unfinished business. I should've, I guess. And nope. The fanmeet was the last item on our agenda for the day," Sungyeol replied, counting off the questions on his fingers as if making sure he got all of them.

J turned her head curiously. "Unfinished business?"

Sungyeol smiled ear to ear, turning his face so he could just barely see J from the corner of his vision. "Yeah. A fan really wanted to confess something to me. She wanted to confess so much so that she disrupted the entire segment, leaving everyone in silence for a moment. For some reason she decided not to confess, leaving me curious."

J became flustered, knowing that the fan he eluded to was her. "I-I wonder why."

"I wonder, too," Sungyeol chuckled, letting his shoulder slump as he placed his hand on the ground. He rotated his body slightly so that his eyes met hers, faces just inches apart. "So tell me, Miss J, what did you want to confess?"

J opened slightly, moving her jaw as if she were preparing to say something but continuously hesitating at the last moment. Her hand reached up to her chest and grabbed at her shirt, gripping it tightly as she swallowed her cowardice. "Can I sing for you?"

Sungyeol blinked rapidly, turning his head away as he laughed airily. He looked back her her with a joyful expression and announced boisterously, "You haven't failed to amuse me since I first encountered you today."

J's expression fell slightly, brows pressing together. "Is that a bad thing?"

Sungyeol's joyful expression melted into one of a softer demeanor as he reached up to lightly tossle her hair. "Absolutely not. I would love to hear you sing."

J blinked at him, quickly scanning the area before pointing at herself, craning her neck foward. "Right here. Right now?"

Sungyeol fully turned his body to face her, crossing her legs and placing his intertwined hands in his lap as he leaned towards her. "Where else and what other time would you like, Miss J?" 

She swallowed hard and nodded as she began to stand up. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her phone and quickly scrolled through her music library before selecting a song. Clearing , she took a deep breath, eyes closed in an attempt to calm herself. Straightening up her back, she opened her eyes and played the song. A melody began to play that she and Sungyeol both knew all too well.

She's going to sing "Man in Love" to me? Sungyeol thought to himself, smirking slightly in amusement. She doesn't cease to amaze me.

"I've started opening up to others like never before. I always thought that socializing was such a chore. But you taught me that this world offers to me so much more, and I've got to see what it's in store. You taught me what love feels like. What happiness is all about. I want you to see how I feel, to see how I feel about you. When a girl falls in love, all her walls come crashing down from above and her thoughts seem to go out of control. And when I fall in love, all I can think of is the man that makes me feel loved, like I'm the only one that's for him. When I fall in love. When a girl falls in love. When a girl falls in love," J sang with the fullness of her heart, her emotions showing through her melodic voice.

Sungyeol became entranced, fascinated by her rendition of his band's song. He felt a soft tug at his heart, a warm feeling swelling in his chest. He remained silent as she finished her song, the last few notes of the instrumental playing out as J breathed in deeply, out of breath from her performance. She glanced down at Sungyeol expectantly. The two remained silent, simply enveloped by each other's gaze, lost in thought. Sungyeol broke the silence as he slowly lifted his hands, clapping slowly and softly before gradually growing louder and faster. Soon he was cheering and hollering, absolutely taken by her song. 

"You liked it?" J asked shyly, pulling her back behind her ear. "You didn't think it was lame?"

"Lame? It was beautiful, and you sang with all your heart. How could I ever think something like that was lame?" Sungyeol replied, quickly hopping onto his feet. He wrapped his arms around J and hugged her tightly, head laid gently against her shoulder. "Thank you for that. I'm touched you went through so much effort for me."

J's face warmed up again as she spoke into Sungyeol's chest, muffling her words slightly. "No, thank you."

"Thank me?" Sungyeol asked, holding her by her shoulders and pulling her away from his chest. "What did I do?"

J smiled shyly, head shrinking into her body as her gaze fell to the ground. "You made me happy. Hearing you sing made me feel a way I'd never felt before. I made a rendition of the song that made these feelings grow inside me because I hoped it would make you as happy as it made me."

As J looked up at Sungyeol, she found him staring intently back her. Meanwhile, Sungyeol was listening to his heart beat loudly. The sound of blood pulsing to his ears was so loud, he couldn't even hear his own thoughts causing him to speak first without thinking. "Have you ever loved anyone before?" 

A small bell rung inside J's mind as her ears perked up. She could feel her own heartbeat pounding against her chest, begging to be set free. Her heart shouted for her to respond without hesitation, and she did just that. "Yes."

"What's it like?"

"Well," J's eyes wandered around shyly. "When you're around that person, your heartbeat becomes crazy and your thoughts kind of jumble together. You feel like you can't breathe and they make you feel a weird way you never felt before. And when you're apart, you can't stop thinking about them. You become restless and itch, waiting for the moment you'll see each other again. They're all you can think about, but every time you think about them, you become overwhelmingly giddy."

Sungyeol smiled softly and placed his index finger under J's chin, lifting her face up to his. "So, if I can't stop thinking about you tonight, I'll call you to confirm that I'm in love, yeah?"

Those words rung loud and clear in Sungyeol's mind as he nodded in reply to L. L pursed his lips in determination before continuing, "Remember that feeling? Remember how much you loved her?" 

Sungyeol's expression softened, his eyes clouded with sorrow but a glint of something hid behind those clouds. "Remember? I still do. There hasn't been a day that's gone by since we broke up weeks ago that I haven't longed for her." 

"Then why don't you listen to your heart?" Woohyun spoke up, stepping forward. "Are you going to let Woollim keep you from what your heart yearns for?" 

Sungyeol sighed, leaning forward, hands clasped before him as he hung his head. "It's not that simple. Everything I've worked for... we've worked for is in jeopardy. I have no qualms giving up my dreams for her but I'd ruin us."

Dongwoo chuckled softly, walking over to Sungyeol and leaning against the desk as he placed his hand on the other's shoulder. "How long have we all been together?"

"About eight years since debut. Longer than that with training," Sunggyu replied, arms folding across his chest.

"It's been a while, yeah? But that's what makes it okay," Dongwoo continued, his hands wandering across the desk and fidgeting with Sungyeol's makeup. "We've been through a lot. We trained hard, made it big, and we even lost a member of the band. But you know what that also means?" Dongwoo scanned the room, watching as brows raised. "Losing a little popularity so my friend can be with the one he loves is nothing. What's that saying about going backwards so you can make some progress going forward?" He gave a gummy grin and tapped his chin playfully.

"One step back and two steps forward," Sungyeol smiled slightly, lifting his head and turning his head to look at Dongwoo who gave him a wink and pointed at him. 

"As leader," Sunggyu announced, straightening up his posture and placing a hand forward. "I motion to allow Sungyeol to love."

"I second that motion," Dongwoo chimed in, reaching over Sungyeol to place his hand on top Sunggyu's.

"I motion that, too!" Sungjong chirped excitedly, quickly rushing forward to place his hand atop Dongwoo's.

"Is fourthing a motion a thing? Is that how this is supposed to go?" Woohyun joked, walking over to place his hand on top.

"Now, we just need the involved party to agree for this motion to carry," Sunggyu smirked, looking down at Sungyeol. Sungyeol grinned widely and reached up to place his hand on top. "Motion carried. Now let's go out there and put on one hell of a show, one our fans and the company won't soon forget. On three, Infinite. One, two, three."

"Infinite!" The men shouted in unison.

"I wonder if J is here tonight. You might've broken up with her, but she's definitely still an Infinite fan," Sunggyu winked at Sungyeol and walked out of the room, getting ready to go on stage. 

The rest of the band soon followed suit and got prepared to go on stage for their opening number, "Man in Love." As the intro began playing, the band cheered and hyped up the crowd. "Today is going to be a very special day, everyone! Are you guys excited?" Sunggyu shouted. The crowd roared enthusiastically in response. "Our beloved member Sungyeol actually has a very special message to send." He walked over to Sungyeol and gripped his shoulder, reaffirming that this was his chance to make things right.

Gathering the courage within himself, Sungyeol brought his mic to his mouth and looked out into the crowd. "I want to dedicate this song to a special someone. Someone who makes me feel something I've never felt before. The same way she told me this song made her feel," Sungyeol announced, getting into position for the number to begin. "If you're out there tonight, I want you to know that I haven't stopped thinking about you, and I'm willing to give up everything tonight if that means I can be with you." 

During the song, Sungyeol eyes searched the crowd hopefully. While the sea of fans seemed boundless, there was an aching inside him that told him his other half was in the crowd watching him intently. Just as his line was about to come up, J stepped forward from the crowd, hands wrapping around the barrier that separated her from Sungyeol. Her eyes met with Sungyeol's and her face radiated with happiness. Sungyeol broke formation and hopped off the stage, gently pushing the security guards aside to get closer to J. The rest of the band looked at each other and nodded in unison. As Sungyeol sung his line, he caressed J's cheek lovingly. But where his line stopped, he kept going, and the band allowed it. They all danced on stage and allowed Sungyeol to serenade J with the next few lines and the chorus, because he wasn't just singing to her; he was expressing his true feelings. The others soon joined in again as Sungyeol lowered his mic, leaning forward to whisper in J's ear. Blush dusted across J's face as Sungyeol pulled away, a sincere smile tugging at his lips. J spoke to Sungyeol while cradling his face in her hands. While he couldn't hear her over everything going around them, he could read her lips perfectly. 

I already have.

The song soon came to an end and the crowd erupted in applause. The camera projecting onto the big screens panned over to Sungyeol and J. The two leaned towards each other, Sungyeol drawing J's face closer to his, their eyes locked on each other. Their eyes fluttered close as their lips met in a sweet, blissful kiss, which was soon hidden by fans holding up signs.

The next few weeks proved Woollim wrong about their assumptions that Sungyeol dating would cause a drop in popularity. In fact, Infinite's popularity skyrocketed, and their schedules were soon packed with talk shows, performances, and fanmeets. Fans took the internet after hearing about how the couple were kept apart and rioted, demanding Woollim take back what they said and allow the couple to be together. The fans even left messages of support and encouragement for Sungyeol and J, saying they wished happiness for the two and that they'd love Sungyeol no matter what. The company soon issued a public apology to Sungyeol and J and even offered J a job as an assistant manager for Infinite so the two could be together more often. The two were even invited to appear on a talk show together. On the show, the host asked Sungyeol, "What did you whisper in her ear that night?"

Sungyeol gently squeezed J's hand and beamed, "I asked her when she'd fall for me."