“Stop.”

              “I’m not doing anything.”
 

              “Yes, you are. Stop it.”
 

Sungjong curses inwardly. He should have known it was only a matter of time before the other hyungs became concerned. If only Myungsoo had given up earlier. (Or Sungjong could have given up earlier, but he doesn’t consider that an option.)

              The fact that Sunggyu is the one who notices first strikes Sungjong as both bad fortune and inevitability. He doesn’t know what exactly Sunggyu thinks is going on, but Sungjong doesn’t want to talk about it anyway. All Sungjong can do is reply quietly, “You don’t get it. I’m not the one who needs to stop.” And then he turns around and walks away.
 

              He knows that Sunggyu doesn’t understand (Sunggyu’s eyes narrow almost imperceptibly) just like he knows that the rest of Infinite is wondering why Sunggyu called him to talk privately during a lunch break on the radio show they were recording.
 

Sungyeol has taken Sungjong’s seat which is next to Myungsoo (he isn’t quite sure how his seat ended up being next to Myungsoo in the first place); the two of them are talking in that quiet way that used to bother Sungjong. But this time, Sungjong tells himself, he doesn’t care. Before Sungyeol can notice him return from the little chat and offer Sungjong his seat back, Sungjong silently takes the other seat.

He picks up the rough outline of the script for the show and flips through a few pages before he notices that the continuous sound of unintelligible conversation that had previously surrounded him had ceased. He puts the script back on the table, wishing that they could all stare at him less obviously. Are they really this curious?

            “Yah, Lee Sungjong! That’s my chair!”
 

            Sungjong thanks the lord for the existence of Lee Sungyeol. The well-timed joke ends the awkward silence as chuckles fill the room, followed by the comforting sound of his hyungs returning to their ordinary chatter.
 

            His relief is incredibly short-lived as he realizes that either Sungyeol is being annoyingly clever or the world has just played a nasty trick on him. It doesn’t matter which because either way, Sungyeol bullies him out of the chair and Sungjong is sitting next to Myungsoo again.

            But then Sungjong sees Sungyeol’s smile fade into a secret frown and he thinks that maybe it does matter. Maybe Sungyeol is being clever.
 

            Sungjong stares down at the table. He doesn’t want his hyungs to try to fix anything. There is nothing to fix. All he needs is time. (And a less stubborn Myungsoo.)
 

            “Sungjong-ah, let me borrow that sweater some time, okay? It’s nice.”
 

            Sungjong shrugs at Myungsoo. He knows that this is why Sunggyu is squinting (or possibly glaring) at Sungjong every few minutes for the rest of the show. He knows that this is why Sungyeol’s smile is losing to a tight-lipped frown. Because this has been a routine for the past two weeks. For the past two weeks, Myungsoo has become desperate.

             It hurts Sungjong somewhere inside whenever he shrugs away Myungsoo’s never-ending artillery of questions and comments. It's obvious to everyone how Sungjong has been giving Myungsoo the cold shoulder. But Sungjong had relied on the fact that his hyungs would think it wasn't a big deal. And he has been able to rely on that until today.
 

            Myungsoo doesn't try to touch Sungjong anymore. All he does is talk. Even though Sungjong has gone so far as to blatantly ignore Myungsoo, he keeps talking like a radio station with no listeners. He keeps talking to Sungjong as if Sungjong is replying to him; as if the conversation never ends; as if the conversation had not ended two weeks ago.
 

            Of course his hyungs notice. Sungjong deflects their questioning looks, melting their worries with a cherry smile. He guesses that this isn’t going to work anymore. The hurricane that hits them whenever Sunggyu gets angry is coming.
 

            “-but I put on the wrong pair of shoes and tripped on myself.”

            The show is over and for quite a while now, Myungsoo has been talking to Sungjong, even as Sungjong is only hearing his own thoughts. They are still sitting in the same chairs, waiting for the staff to come in and take pictures before they can leave. When he catches the end of what seems to have been a very boring story, he almost forgets not to apologize for missing it. Sungjong wants to shrug again (was it the thirty-second or thirty-third time today?) until he matches Sunggyu’s hard gaze. Sungjong gives in.
 

            “Oh.” Sungjong hopes this is enough.
 

            Sunggyu doesn’t turn away.
 

            “You must’ve taken Dongwoo’s shoes.”
 

            Sungjong wonders how Sunggyu has been losing every staring match. Because Sunggyu isn’t losing this one.
 

            “That Dinosaur-hyung’s shoes are pretty big.” Sungjong forces the corners of his lips to pull upwards.
 

            Sunggyu finally blinks and turns away, pressing his lips together in a straight line. Sungjong feels himself relax, although he doesn’t remember being tense in the first place. Then again, he is always on edge around Myungsoo these days.

            Myungsoo must be ecstatic. This is the most that Sungjong has said to Myungsoo since last week, when Sungjong said, “Hyung, my water bottle is in the bag behind you.”
 

            Myungsoo laughs--a sound of excitement and uncertainty and suspense all wrapped up in one. “They must have been, since they were bright blue.”
 

            Sungjong can’t help himself but to reply, “Then how did you mix them up?!” . Stop talking to him.
 

            If Myungsoo was ecstatic before, he must be imploding now. He really must be because he leans into Sungjong’s shoulder and grins. After two weeks of progress, Myungsoo is touching Sungjong again.
 

            Back to square one.
 

No. He isn’t going to let himself lose it all so quickly. He does the only thing he can think of. He panics.

“Um, excuse me,” he says. He stands up rigidly and shuffles out of the room. Six pairs of eyes follow him out. It’s silent for a while. Three people blink confusedly. Two people sigh exasperatedly. One person stands up and slams a fist on the table.

            The hurricane has arrived.

welp it's time for the hyungs to meddle

the whole time I was writing this, I had this terrible urge to make fun of our precious leader Hamggyu, but I tried to hold back (let's all try not remember gyu's "charisma" face)

the next chapter is going to be the last one ' 3' ~ gomen for extreme choppiness but thanks for being super awesome readers!

So. In other news:

Peniel got lines.

PENIEL GOT LINES.

[MUFFLED SCREAMING IN THE DISTANCE]