CHAPTER TWENTY:Inkigayo

The fact that he was pissed didn’t change as he walked sharply by the hallways of the studio. He could bow in an educated way at the good wishes they received from other people before smirking shortly but that didn’t mean he was happy. Oh no. That just meant he was being polite enough to accept their words. And still he never opened his mouth. If he did that SungGyu was sure he was going to burst right there and let go of everything he had been holding. He knew the other members were eyeing him worriedly as he kept his cold expression on the face but he didn’t care. He didn’t care at all how the youngsters were feeling. Not in that moment when he just felt like punching them straight on their faces.

Right then there was nothing that could calm Infinite’s leader down.

Their steps were quick as the five members tired to catch up their angered leader. They tried to be close enough to him but were scared to be too close. It was really weird to see him like that. One thing was the playful and short moments when he let the serious cold side of him appear and another – completely different one – was the one when he was seriously mad.  

As soon as SungGyu reached their waiting room he walked inside without paying attention to his surroundings. Kim DaSom, which was with the WonderBoyz, obliviously congratulated SungGyu for their comeback. Poor of her, he never saw the idol. He was busy turning to his donsaengs before he started shouting at them. The rule that idols never cursed was long buried as SungGyu released his anger at the youngsters. One after another Infinite’s leader never stopped his words. Someone closed the door as they noticed people had started to gather around their waiting room. SungGyu’s voice was painfully loud.

“Hyung, please.”

“Don’t you dare to ing ‘please’ me!” SungGyu snarled getting no response from the younger males. Everyone tried to avoid his eye contact, especially the youngest. “What the were you thinking, SungJong?! Forgetting those damn lyrics. It’s not that hard!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, sure you are!” SungGyu’s voice kept being loud unlike the maknae’s.

SungJong frowned trying to control that sad expression that was threatening him to appear. “I’m sorry, Hyung. I really forgot them.”

“You seriously want me to believe you forgot them? For ’s sake, SungJong, you aren’t retarded!”

“I really—!”

“Save it!” SungGyu remarked his words by hitting strongly the wall next to him. At the sudden action some members flinched, SungJong included. But that was the thing the youngest male needed to overcome his shock and let his frustrated self appear. With it, came anger.

“Yah! Why won’t you listen—?!”

SungJong’s angered glare didn’t change, not even when SungGyu pulled him by the shirt. Soon after the youngest member decided to throw a punch trying to get himself free but it just lead to a tussle between both males.

“SungJong! Stop it!” DongWoo was the one that said it, but it was HoWon the one that went to pull the youngest member away from their leader that didn’t want to let go.  

“Hyung, calm down!”

Hoya managed to get SungJong away from their leader with the help of WooHyun who had trapped their leader’s arms. The only one observing was MyungSoo. He didn’t dare to move an inch from his place; he just captured everything that was happening between his group members with his eyes. When did the WonderBoyz and DaSom leave the room? MyungSoo wasn’t so sure about that.

“Calm down?!” SungGyu huffed as he finally got himself free. “After you went and changed the choreography you dare to tell me that?!”

“I didn’t change it, I just followed DongWoo,” Hoya pulled strongly SungJong to his chest so he would stop trying to get himself free. Between the younger’s complains he continued. “If I didn’t our comeback would’ve turned into a laughing matter.”

Instantly SungGyu’s eyes went to pierce DongWoo. The rapper’s eyes were unwavering unlike SungJong’s. Somewhere between their fight the maknae had started to cry but he didn’t even notice. Not when he was hurt and mad at his leader.  

“Hyung, come on,” WooHyun murmured from behind getting SungGyu’s attention. The man didn’t turn around; he just closed his eyes tightly.

“Don’t. WooHyun. Just, don’t.” His cold voice went directly to the guilty member.

“Hyung—”

“Just what WooHyun?!”

This time he turned to look at the singer and it was then that he saw SungYeol at the door’s entrance. Confusion and plenty of other feelings got mixed inside of him. Questions and other things he wasn’t even trying to decipher attacked his mind. But above all of those the anger kept reigning. In all, things had gone too far. They had gone too far. The members had just gotten out of his grip. There was no control. The responsibility seemed gone. They were just doing whatever they wanted; even SungYeol that had obviously sneaked into the recording set.

How all this things happened? When? Why? SungGyu couldn’t care less. What he cared about was the fact that those things had been done.

“Seriously! Do whatever the you want. I don’t give a damn about what you want to do. I really don’t. Just ing tell me! Am I your puppet?! Ah?! I’m not your toy so you can play around with me! I’m not!”

SungGyu’s obviously hurt. The magnitude of the accumulated problems wasn’t visible for the six members. SungYeol who hadn’t move from the closed door finally moved to reach for their leader and just when he touched SungGyu’s arm the man released himself in an angered way.

“If you were here why the didn’t you go and cover your god damn spot?!”

That was it. SungGyu wasn’t going to be there with them in the same room. He just couldn’t see them at the moment. He was so angered and stressed. Once again he just wanted to be out and away from them. From the people that had, as bad as it sounded, backstabbed him.  

Nothing else was said as SungGyu walked out of the waiting room. He didn’t even waste his time on closing the door.

“Well, that didn’t go as expected,” WooHyun murmured before he left himself fall on the closest sofa. His eyes were busy looking at nothing and everything.

“What? Did you really plan all this…?” Hoya didn’t know how to call it. He was altered just like everyone else and having WooHyun look at him with those challenging eyes made him lose his mind.

“Why did you do it?!” SungJong said taking the chance to get free from the dancer’s grip. “You shouldn’t have skipped the lines too. Now I’m at blame—!”

“Yah, to whom are you raising your voice? And so what if I did it? It fitted so well with out intention.” 

“Our?” Hoya repeated sourly getting a sigh from MyungSoo. All eyes were instantly on him.

“Don’t look at me, DongWoo just told me before we went up stage,” L said calmly.

“Hyung? The hell?”

“What, HoWon? I believe it was necessary,” DongWoo’s face showed no remorse, “SungYeol’s part of us. We had to do it in order for people to not forget.”

“Seriously?” L snorted before eyeing SungYeol. He seemed, ironically, speechless.

“But you didn’t have to do it that way!” SungJong hissed, “That wasn’t professional at all, hyungs.”

“Guys, you didn’t have to,” SungYeol finally said getting a half smile from DongWoo.

“Whatever. What’s done it’s done,” WooHyun shrugged before the silence consumed the waiting room.

Everyone seemed too confused and partially in a blank stage. They did really change the choreography in the middle of Speechless, right?

“The only thing that bothers me is SungGyu,” as expected WooHyun was the one that broke their short uncomfortable silence. “I never thought he was going to take it that way. It was a great idea to be honest.”

“If it was such a great idea why the hell did you hide it until the end?” Hoya found himself asking. Masochist. 

“To surprise people, what else?”

And just like that Hoya and WooHyun started another fight. The waiting room turning once again into a riot where now the six last members were involved. Between trying to calm things down and release everything they had their conscious side slid to the bottom of their minds. Their stress and fears bloomed in the small space and there was nothing that managed to ease the fight. It wasn’t until their managers arrived that it toned down. At least in a physical way.

Like that, with the unfinished and useless fight, the young males concluded the recording of Inkigayo. SungGyu who had appeared at the end on the final stage drew a perfect smile as they were being recorded. The other five members quickly followed their leader, mad or not, they followed. And with those fake smiles the six active members managed to finish their somehow light schedules. Four interviews in a row and a conference.

Their playful words and joyful images were a perfect façade to the eyes that didn’t know what happened between them a few hours ago.

All day long they had been waiting for their managers’ angry words but they never came. Not even a question for the change of choreography was said. The way they were ignoring the problem made it ten times more uncomfortable. SungGyu, who would usually break the ice, didn’t have the intention to do it. Not this time.

The only serious words they received came from JungRyul that informed them in the van that Lee JungYeop wanted to see them tomorrow morning at eight sharp. Thankfully there wasn’t an idiot that asked why.

♫

“SungGyu is seriously mad,” WooHyun groaned as soon as he walked inside the biggest bedroom. “I can’t sleep there.”

“Then go sleep in your old room, Hyung.” L said from his bed where he was playing with his iPad. He never turned his eyes away from it.

“DongWoo let me sleep here so I’m taking your bed Yeol-ah,” without care WooHyun sat on the scarlet desk chair.

SungYeol popped his head from the upper bunk bed, his eyes staring at the singer, “go sleep with the Lee’s.”

“As if. SungJong’s completely mad at me right now and Hoya, well he’s always mad at me,” WooHyun spoon on the chair before helping himself with his feet to get closer to their bunk bed. “Right now Hyung’s trying to ease them a bit.”

“Your old bedroom has enough space,” SungYeol didn’t fall for the change of conversation.

“But it’s cold, SungYeol—and I don’t know when was the last time we cleaned there.”

“Then sleep on the floor or with DongWoo.”

“Aish,” WooHyun pouted, “L-ah, lend me your bed.”

“You shouldn’t have done that, Hyung,” MyungSoo said as he locked his electronic, he didn’t gave the older singer the obvious answer. After a moment his unreadable eyes met WooHyun’s. “Now half of the group’s mad at you.”

“Only at me? I didn’t do it alone. DongWoo gave the idea and you didn’t blow the whistle when he told you the plan so basically, you’re our accomplice,” when he pointed it out L’s eyes opened slightly. Yes, WooHyun was right. “Right, SungYeol-ah, what were you doing in Inkigayo? Weren’t you supposed to be here?”

“As much as I want to say that I escaped, it really didn’t go that way.” SungYeol said as he sat on the edge of the top bed. The Chinese language book was left on his side. “I actually begged Hyoan-hyung to bring me there.”

MyungSoo snorted.

“Better stick to the lie,” WooHyun grinned before that gesture turned into a nostalgic look. “Even with all that scuffle going on, you know? It was pretty cool to see you there, you big idiot.”

SungYeol half smiled.

“Even if it sound corny, we miss you, promoting and everything, it’s just so different when—aish, all this things are making me sensible, shut me up before I start throwing hearts,” WooHyun shook his head trying to erase the chills. Even when the comment was meant to be playful MyungSoo got stiff.

“If things goes right, I’ll be able to be with you soon, guys,” SungYeol’s face barely hid the sadness brought by the older male’s words. “The lawyers told me the case was moving pretty fast so I’m just hopping for the best.”

“That’s good to listen,” WooHyun said truthfully.

“Why is it taking so long?” MyungSoo suddenly asked with his calm voice. SungYeol couldn’t see him for he was on the lower bed. “What did you actually do to them that’s making this so complicated?”

“You know there’s a life—”

“That’s not what I mean, Hyung.” MyungSoo interrupted before he went out from the bed. Now he stood right in front of the tall male. “What did you do to them, SungYeol? Why did they attack you?”

The male in question tried to break their eye contact but found it impossible, “Nothing.”  

“There must be something.”

“Why do you keep asking me this?”

“I just want to understand,” MyungSoo’s voice cracked showing his impatience as he reached for SungYeol’s knees. The touch didn’t last since SungYeol pushed him instantly before jumping out of the bed. The Chinese language book falling in the process.

“There’s nothing for you to understand.”

“SungYeol—.”

“Just stop it,” the taller male raised his voice before walking out of their bedroom.

WooHyun had stayed silent all the way. He had simply eyed them from the chair; it wasn’t the first time he ended up being an observer of the interactions between other members, especially the ones between those two. So, this conversation had happened before.

The strong exhalation from MyungSoo called WooHyun’s attention. Cautiously, he eyed how the younger male went back to his bed, the iPad thrown to the bureau.

Everyone knew how obsessive L was, and it was only natural for WooHyun to suppose that he was once again obsessed with getting the answer for that question. Why was it so important for MyungSoo? If WooHyun had to be sincere, he had started to feel curious about it too, but that didn’t mean he was going to press it on SungYeol. It might have been something irrelevant or something pretty touchy – seeing the tall male’s reaction, WooHyun went for the second theory.

One problem after another, big or small, they were now constantly present in the members’ lives.

“You and your obsessions MyungSoo,” WooHyun spoke clearly after he reached DongWoo’s bed. There was a peculiar pleasure that grew inside of him whenever he broke the slience. “Why do you keep on insisting?”

The answer never came. It might have been that L was ignoring the question or that once again MyungSoo had ended up trapped in his own big world. 

- Author's notes