It was pitch black. He was plopped in the middle of nowhere, darkness gnawing at him from all directions. He pushed forward, but was he really getting anywhere? He looked around, but was there anything to see? He didn't know.

But he wasn't afraid.

Somehow, he knew there was something - someone - in this place, waiting for him. He just had to keep going. After an immeasurable amount of time, he stopped mid-step. Before him, a narrow tunnel of bright white light could be seen, a hand reaching through it. Unexpectedly, a deep voice cut through the darkness and made his heart flutter. "Come here! I've got you!" With a smile slowly spreading across his features, he ran toward that light and grabbed the warm hard tightly, only to find himself being pulled into a strong embrace. Looking up, he recognized the face of the person he loved so much. "Yongguk hyung..."

He wasn't smiling, and he didn't look even the slightest relieved that Daehyun had managed to escape the darkness. Instead, his eyes that had locked with his were sad, making him confused. "Hyung - ?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Daehyun-ah. I...I love - "

His internal alarm went off, telling him it was around five o' clock. Though they didn't have a schedule today, he always woke up at around the same time, since he was already so used to it. Sitting up, he rubbed his sleep-deprived eyes. At this point, he couldn't go back to sleep even if he wanted to.

Seeing that it was only twelve past five, he decided to let the other members sleep in for a little while longer before he woke them up. So instead, he laid back down, pulled the blankets up to cover his neck, and started to think about his dream.

He'd never had dreams of Yongguk before, but he couldn't say it was surprising that he finally did. He'd admired and secretly loved their leader for quite a long time now, but he never confessed. He was scared - of being rejected, yes, but more because he didn't want to be a burden to the one he loved.

Because he knew Yongguk didn't love him back.

Watching him from afar talking about and flirting with girls was more painful than driving a knife through his heart. But the fact that Yongguk had recently initiated major skinship with him just made it all the more unbearable.

Baby, you know I'm unbreakable.

The lyrics they sang didn't apply to him, it seemed. He smiled bitterly. How ironic. At this point, he really didn't know what to do or where to go from here. At least before, he had nothing to go on to prove that a romantic relationship between them was impossible. But now, he knew that Yongguk could never love him - not even in his dreams.

Or...maybe that wasn't true. Though he'd said that he was sorry, he didn't say who he loved. Had he meant to say it was him he loved? Why else would he be embracing him? But then again, why did he look so sad? There were so many questions he had, but he would never know the answer to any of them.

Glancing back at the digital clock on the nightstand, he saw that it was nearing five thirty. He forced himself off of his sheets, took a moment to stretch his limbs, and then proceeded to sluggishly walk around the dorm in search of the other members.

Unknowingly, the first member he chose was Yongguk. Slightly taken aback by the sight of their leader with blankets and limbs tangled in one large mess, his breath caught in his throat. What was he thinking, finding this hyung to wake up first? He sighed. Since he was already here, he might as well finish his job.

Kneeling on the ground beside Yongguk's sleeping form, Daehyun silently observed him with tears in his eyes. He mentally slapped himself. God, Daehyun, it's not like you're looking at someone who's dying! No, no - it felt like he, himself, was dying.

"I wish you knew how I felt, hyung. I wish you knew how much I want you to wrap your arms around me and tell me that you love me, too." He hadn't realized he'd said this aloud until Yongguk groaned, shifting slightly closer to his voice.

"But I do love you. I always have."

Daehyun froze. Yongguk...loved him back? The shock had nearly died off, and he almost smiled when Yongguk murmured, "I've always loved you, Jieun."

--

Jongup couldn't sleep.

Since the night before, he found himself in the bathroom, relieving himself of his little problem that came up way too often lately. It was Daehyun's fault, really, for being so damn perfect. He sighed, willing himself to get out of the bathroom, where he'd fallen asleep approximately two hours ago. He rubbed his stiff neck and looked in the mirror, at the dark bags under his eyes. He sighed, defeated. He couldn't deny how he felt about his hyung. But he also couldn't help how much he wanted the other boy. He reprimanded himself for thinking such dirty thoughts about his innocent love, who was probably too naive to know how he felt about him. It was so frustrating to not be able to openly love Daehyun, but at the same time, he knew he had to it up.

All he wanted was for him to be happy.

Because of that Yongguk, his love was constantly heartbroken. It pissed him off to see their leader with his arms frivolously thrown around Daehyun's shoulders while he went on and on about some girl he'd just met, because when he looked at Daehyun's face, he would see a forced smile on an expression that told him he was on the verge of crying.

I'll protect you, Daehyun hyung. I'm always on your side. It's okay if you don't love me. One-sided love hurt like a , but the pain of loving him was so addictive - like a drug - and he was already too far down the hole to come back out.

Opening the bathroom door, he noticed the other members weren't awake yet. Shrugging, he walked past a room with the door slightly open. Curiously, he peeked inside, only to find Daehyun on his knees next to a sleeping Yongguk. Daehyun was whispering something, but he couldn't really decipher all the words. When he managed to make out, "...tell me that you love me, too," he wanted to believe that he'd heard wrong. His grip on the doorknob tightened.

Both he and Daehyun visibly froze when Yongguk replied. Great, just great. Now that he knew how Yongguk felt about his love, what was he supposed to do? But didn't he say that he just wanted him to be happy? It wasn't like he was selfish enough to want anything more. No - if Daehyun was happy, then he would be happy, too. A sad smile formed on his lips.

That was, until Yongguk spoke again.

--

When had it started?

He remembered being in the recording studio with her, rapping his parts in her song "Going Crazy." While he sat on the couch practicing his lines, he would stare at her, looking absolutely stunning, through the glass. Her voice captivated him, her good looks keeping him within her grasp. He'd never felt this strongly about a girl before.

To say he was a player was an understatement. He loved girls, and his relationships seldom lasted more than two days. But it was different with Jieun. After he'd collaborated with her, she was constantly on his mind, and he couldn't understand why at first. But then he'd continued seeing other women and found out the hard way that Jieun was special.

"You've changed," the other members would tell him jokingly, nudging him in the stomach. "You've finally become human." And he would smile because he truly felt proud of himself for finding his significant other.

Somewhere along the way, he began spending more and more time with Daehyun. Though he never said much, he was a good listener and was easy to get along with. They'd gotten considerably closer, him talking about girls and other random while Daehyun just nodded and said all the things he wanted to hear at the right times, and he found himself sitting next to and touching the boy at every opportunity given to him. But whenever he did so, the younger boy would stiffen under his touch, though he'd assumed that it was because Daehyun probably didn't like skinship anyway.

Lately, though, he wasn't so stupid to not notice the subtle changes in Daehyun - how he would shy away from his glances with guilt written all over his face, how his shoulders would slump ever-so-slightly whenever he mentioned Jieun, and how he would dodge every single question he asked referring to girls by simply saying "No comment." He shook his head. He didn't understand the other at all.

--

Yongguk felt a warm presence next to him, but he wasn't sure if he was still dreaming or not. Deciding he was still in a dream state, he allowed himself to respond truthfully - as he would never admit this out loud - to that beautiful yet strangely familiar voice speaking to him. He smiled subconsciously, fabricating an image of Song Jieun in his mind. "I've always loved you, Jieun."

When he didn't receive a response, he frowned and pried open his eyes, only to come face-to-face with a Daehyun who seemed to be shocked, confused, and disappointed at the same time. The younger boy quickly composed himself and stood up. "I...I just came to wake you up. I'm sorry if I startled you, hyung." Daehyun laughed awkwardly before bowing and leaving the room in a hurry. Yongguk continued to stare at the closed door, wondering if he'd been imagining the moisture on Daehyun's right cheek.

--

Daehyun made it to the bathroom within three seconds. Leaning against the door, he sunk down onto the floor and pulled his knees close to his chest before squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears. God, he'd almost slipped - almost. How could he be so careless as to let his guard down like that - to let that one tear slip when he'd thought that he had his emotions under control? He'd known that his hyung loved her all along, and yet hearing it for the first time only confirmed his worst nightmares.

He wondered if he could continue like this; seeing Yongguk everyday was like deepening the gash in his heart. But then, as Yongguk chose to sit next to him - as he did every morning - at the breakfast table, he decided that he wouldn't want it any other way.

Daehyun reached for the kimchi, which was placed at the opposite end of the table. Jongup saw this and was about to push the small dish closer to him when Yongguk grabbed more than a few pieces of kimchi with his chopsticks and placed them in Daehyun's bowl. The main vocalist looked up, the simple words "Thank you" stuck in his throat when Yongguk smiled widely at him. "Is that enough? I can get you more if you want." Daehyun shook his head, maybe a little too eagerly. He stuffed a chopstick-full of rice and kimchi into his mouth. Yongguk chuckled at this.

The cheery sound was cut off by a ringtone coming from one of the rooms.

Himchan desperately tried to swallow, but was proven unsuccessful as grains of white rice flew from his mouth while he spoke. "Hyung, I think that's your phone."

Yongguk, the always calm, collected, and charismatic leader ambled into a room. His deep voice echoed throughout the entire dorm, audible from the table. "Hello?" Silence. The sounds of food being inhaled and of chopsticks and metal spoons clanging against ceramic bowls could be heard. Daehyun ate silently, trying to listen. "Cool! We'll be there soon. Uh-huh. See you!" A button was pressed, and Yongguk emerged from the room, beaming. "Guess who's got a date with Song Jieun?"

Daehyun nearly choked on his soup.

Youngjae eyed their leader skeptically with one eyebrow raised. "No. Really?"

"Well, technically, she invited all of us." Yongguk shrugged like that was a minor detail.

"What for?" Everyone turned to Jongup, who'd begun to stab the kimchi with his chopsticks. They all knew that he wasn't particularly fond of Jieun, but they could never figure out why.

"Uhh...she's recording a song called "It's Cold" for an OST. I guess she wants us to be there to give her some support and assistance." Much to the annoyance of Yongguk, the members continued eating, completely ignoring him. "Yah! Are you guys coming or not?!"

Jongup mumbled something along the lines of "Why doesn't she just ask her SECRET members instead of bothering us on our day off," which earned him a playful slap to the back of his head from Youngjae. Yongguk glanced at Daehyun, knowing the other couldn't refuse whatever he asked of him. "You'd go with me, won't you, Dae?"

Daehyun gulped nervously. Jongup looked at him apologetically. "S-Sure, hyung." No one noticed the way his expression fell or the way his head dropped ever-so-slightly. No one except Jongup.

A/N: I hope this chapter was okay!

Things will pick up pretty soon. ;3

Remember, comments and criticism are always welcome ~ !

Thanks so much for reading!