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Niel was the third person in the group to have suffered the wrath of Lee Byunghun. They were jokingly cute on camera and known to be rather close from their pairing name given to them by their fans, and most of all, supposedly as popular as the Chunjoe couple. If Niel could roll his eyes right now, he would. Hell, he’d roll them all the way to South Africa, into the ocean, and right down into the Bermuda Triangle if he could. Byunghun was cute and charming in the eyes of their beloved Angels but off-screen known to the cruelest prick he’d ever come across. But that wasn’t really a secret. All of Teen Top’s not-so-subtle hints on television often narrated Byunghun’s temper and stubbornness, it probably seemed like they were so close that they all knew each other’s quirks and all things negative, but they weren’t kidding. Tiny but twisted, and a glare that was enough to actually burn holes through someone’s soul. He contemplated this while rubbing his sore cheek and aching limbs. For someone as small as Byunghun, the man certainly did pack a punch. Not that it surprised him considering how mean and glaring the man was with his exploding ego and temper, his punches matched his wickedness quite well.

However cruel their impatient midget was, Niel had a clue as to why the man was always so temperamental. It wasn’t because any of them were annoying in the sense that Byunghun disliked them out of nothing, but rather because of his feelings for a certain vocalist that did not go by the name of Ahn Daniel. Honestly, otherwise he wouldn’t be sitting and rotting away in a closet, fearing for his life – sort of. Niel wouldn’t put it past him if what he thought was true because he liked Chanhee just as much as Byunghun did. Heck, it probably wasn’t even just the two of them; he was pretty sure Jonghyun felt the same way. The singer groaned into his arm. Of all the people to like in the world and his two members had to like Chanhee. The thought of having to compete with two others – two other good looking members – made him feel blue. He didn’t think of himself as anyone ugly nor weird looking, but he was an honest person and he was pretty sure their manly maknae and charismatic lead rapper was ranked higher in terms of looks than him. Niel had his own charms, he was charming and handsome in his own way but when he was stacked beside Jonghyun or Byunghun, he paled in comparison.

The only thing he had that could appeal to Chanhee was his personality. They matched in that sense; Byunghun was mean, Jonghyun was quiet and had a cold appearance; Chanhee was bright and bubbly, just like Niel. They could always bond over their positions in their group as the vocalists, so that was always a plus. Yet, the uncomfortable feeling that was bubbling in the pit of his stomach told him otherwise.

It wasn’t enough.

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Be creative. Chanhee couldn’t even count how many times he’s heard that over the course of his career. It was frustrating to find out that after all the effort he put into his work, he had to be put down with insults and critiques that were enough to make a grown man cry. The frustration was already getting the best of him, hearing these harsh words after his numerous attempts was pushing him to the edge. Almond shaped eyes flickered to one of the rappers. Byunghun seemed to be doing well as always. There was just something about him that made the occasion fitting. Modeling, dancing, rapping, talking, just about everything, Byunghun was a jack-of-all-trades and Chanhee couldn’t help but be envious. Even if Byunghun’s temper wasn’t exactly ideal, at least he excelled in his work which was obviously enough. He could breeze through anything without fail and surface with a proud smirk and glory in hand. That was something Chanhee envied so much and it wasn’t because he was biased towards the other man either; he might’ve loved him but his attraction had nothing to do with his admiration towards the other in the workforce. Chanhee feared for the day his company decided to call it quits on him – he’d seen many artists leave the industry not for their own personal reasons but because their position in the company was no longer precious. Many had told him his personality was adorable but if he no longer made the cut to keep his position as Teen Top’s Power Vocalist, then what use were all the compliments?

Chanhee couldn’t think of any other job he’d like to take on. Singing was his life. Teen Top was his life.

“Hyung,” a voice cut through his thoughts as the honey-haired male looked up. The face of Ahn Daniel lifted his mood with a smile as Chanhee picked himself up from the makeshift seat. Though they were different in age, there was just something about Niel that calmed Chanhee. Perhaps it was because of their similar personalities; either way, for someone like Niel to be his friend was already more than he could ever ask for at this point. The pillar of support he found in a significant other was nonexistent and seemed it would stay that way for a long time. Chanhee couldn’t imagine the grief he’d be put through had their fans known about his dating life – not that it was existent to begin with, but the thought of having another body comforting his tired one was wonderful.

“What’s wrong? Did you finish filming?” Chanhee asked with a tilt of his head and a smile that was bright enough to dazzle the entire city. It caught Niel by surprise because while he knew how lovely his hyung could be, he hadn’t prepared himself for a smile worth living for – not that he expected any less from the Lee Chanhee, the beautiful boy who won his heart, of course.

“Yeah, everything went smoothly,” he chattered on with an equally bright smile. “Say hyung…”

So Niel had finished without fail either. As expected from their perfect vocalist, Chanhee couldn’t even come up to par. The idea that he was much more inferior tugged at his heartstrings. He wasn’t good enough, he failed to do his part countless of times, Chanhee was a failure. His smile fell for a moment but was quick to latch back up in the corners; he was Lee Chanhee, the smile of the group, he couldn’t be caught without one – no matter how fake it was.

“…okay?”

“Huh?” And like many a times before, Chanhee snapped out of his reverie with a blank stare and several blinks of confusion. Niel laughed.

“I asked if you’d come eat lunch with me, we have break coming up shortly, why don’t we eat together?”

Chanhee blinked but agreed to the offer with a nod of his head.

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Gaze after gaze, smile after smile, fake words after fake words, it was at that point in the day where Byunghun was ready to punch someone’s face in and he cared little if it happened to be a fan. As much as he was grateful towards them for supporting him, some of them just took it too far. There was a fine line between support and creepy stalking. He didn’t need fangirls and boys watching his every move as he entered the supermarket or even just strolled down the sidewalk for a midnight getaway from reality. Byunghun didn’t need to see the unnecessary signs that promoted his couple names with the other members; in fact, those annoyed him more than words could count. The man slid his fingers through his hair, each strand falling over his slender digits as he shot a murderous glance in his manager’s direction.

He didn’t need someone telling him what and what not to do.

“The fans are starting to wonder, you know; we can’t have them thinking you dislike your members.”

Bull. He loved s like they were his family, but they got on his nerves one too many times and that did not bode well with his short fuse of a temper and personality. He was picky, prominent in ways that most people would look past and forgive; Byunghun held grudges, especially when it involved someone he loved dearly. Despite the hidden love he had for s, however, he knew his place. Damaging his brothers was a sin and something he had repented over and over again in his lone silence. But he couldn’t help it; his possessive nature was hurtful but that was what made Lee Byunghun as a whole. He was a person with every negative parts he held dear to his heart. That was who Byunghun was, that was the real Lee Byunghun.

“So I’ll need you to get closer to them; it’d be nice if you were closer to them off-camera too, but that might be asking for a little too much. But for now, you’re happy and cheerful, playful even around your members. Hold hands, hug, get close, do whatever, just make sure the fans don’t start speculating again. I’d rather them pair you up with the others than assume you hate them,” his manager warned with a stern look. “We don’t want a scandal to break out.”

Byunghun really disliked his choice of career sometimes.

“Get close to Niel. He’s rather popular these days. It would do the media well.”

It really was too much.