Second In Command
Chapter 2: Jealousy

It’s the week of debut and Byunghee’s jealous.

The oldest member receives most of the attention naturally. As leader he’s supposed to guide them through all of their events and ensure that everyone stays on task. Being so new, all eyes look to him as the main representative of the style and goals of the group.

As they step onto the slightly raised platform in front of dozens of cameras and press, Seungho naturally takes center stage. Beside the eldest male are the hyper country kid and Mr. Hollywood star- both with broad smiles that captivate the press. Mir’s making all the females in the room want to pinch his cheeks while Joon occupies himself by showing all forty-something of his perfect pearly whites and flashing his dimples.

And then, at the very far end opposite of Dara’s brother, is where Byunghee stands.

Forcing a smile, he zones out as the questions fly in, none of which seem to be aimed at him. He’s been a vocalist for years but nobody even mentions that when there are far more interesting accomplishments to discuss. Successful films, hometown boys becoming stars, famous older sisters, and plans to lead MBLAQ outrank anything he’s ever accomplished.

Attempting to focus, he comes back into space and hears Seungho saying something about Jihoon hyung.

Of course he would, he already had the most attention from Rain between the meetings after practice and before practice, and during practice. Inside he knows it’s because Seungho has the most to take care of between them all, but it still makes him see green.

On top of it all, Seungho even has his own room. Leader’s privileges. Joon and Mir are down the hall and Byunghee’s stuck with Thunder. At least the kid is quiet and respectful even if some of his manners and Korean are clumsy. It’s forgivable considering he grew up elsewhere. He’s still called hyung consistently and the room is rather clean.

Come to think of it, it’s probably the best situation he couldn’t have come up with. Mir would drive him crazy, Joon would drive him crazy, and rooming with Seungho would bother him to no end.

There are a lot of things that bother him.

Right now it is yet again, their leader. Every five seconds the kid is sticking out that damn tongue of his. Honestly, even the fans calling it y doesn’t make it any better. As he loses count of how many times those chubby lips are he can’t help but feel annoyed. It’s like Seungho isn’t even trying to control his nervous habits. It’s bad for their image and what kind of leader ignores a fact like that.

He knows he shouldn’t be so cynical, that somewhere inside he gets that he’d never want the position and all the demands that come from it. Too bad repeating the truth over and over doesn’t make the jealousy go away which is unfortunate because if it did, his life would be so much easier.

There’s a sudden burst of applause and Byunghee wonders if it’s all finally over.

Almost, but not quite.

After what seems like another twenty minutes even though it’s just two, they each deliver a closing thought. Tapping his fingers against his thigh, he impatiently waits for the mic to get passed down to him.

When the maknae hands it over, he lies. He says everything he’s supposed to, how much he loves the group, how hard he’s going to work, how excited he is for debut. He even throws a few appreciative glances at the other members.

Before he realizes it he’s babbling about Seungho. It’s nothing bad, rather the complete opposite, but as he says it he looks at the leader rather smugly. He stares him down as he spews words about what a great job he’s been doing, what a nice image he has, how well he treats the members. Every word that comes out of his mouth is positive- positive and laced with a sarcastic undertone easily missed by the press but a straight shot at the elder male.

See, I can do this too, he taunts with his eyes as he walks over to personally hand back the microphone. I can do this just as well, if not better than you.

Older or not and  leader or not, Seungho is really not that special.

***

Hello two my two subscribers ToTheBlaqPercent and MelonCandy!
Thanks for commenting, it really means a lot.
... I found that typo in the first part and fixed it. This is what happens when you look at the same page for too long XD

And for all readers and new friends...
I'm really excited to have a Byunghee fic- there doesn't seem to be many which is a shame.
Also I know Thunder wasn't originally part of MBLAQ and came really close to debut but we're going to pretend otherwise for the purposes of this fic. I don't think that effects much anyways.

Anyways, until next time!
~Leesh