A/N: I'm all about that Dynamic DuDong life, yanno? Heh. Belated happy 3rd birthday to Tingle! As always, thank you so much for all the subscriptions and reviews, and I'm so terribly sorry that I'm very slow at updating. This is the longest I have stayed with for any fic, period, and it's all thanks to you guys that I had the willpower to keep at it after so many things happened. I'm also writing this to celebrate my entry into a new job (due to some work issues with my bosses, I ended up resigning from my old workplace just a month before I hit 2 years, how unfortunate).

Beast may only be 5 members now, but we won't forget all the joy they brought us as 6, and we'll cherish even more the music that they bring us from here on out! That being said, this chapter is all about the DuDong (DooWoon), so if you're not a fan, feel free to press the back button. :)

Chapter XIII - Sound 3

His leader’s eyebrows scrunch up in intense concentration.

"Oh, he could pass for that trainee's sister here, though?"

After scolding him and Kikwang-hyung for openly speculating if their two bandmates had gone all the way (which may or may not have involved a violent noogie to the head), Dujun-hyung sits them down and asks--threatens, really-- them to spill everything they know.

Of course, this includes the fantaken photos of their main vocalist dressing up as a girl. (The issue of how they came to be saved on Kikwang-hyung's laptop reeks of something fishy going on behind the scenes, but it's a question he'll save for another day.) Yoseob-hyung looks surprisingly good, a short black skirt paired off with tights and high-heeled boots, the black turtleneck cleverly hiding his Adam's apple and giving off the illusion of narrower shoulders. Considering his narrow frame, Dongwoon doesn't doubt it was easy enough to find clothes that would suit him. He has to wonder, though, who was responsible for the makeup, especially since none of them have any knowledge of it extending past basic application of BB cream. He studies the picture displayed on the older band member's laptop carefully. Definitely eyeshadow and eyeliner, some blush on his cheeks, and lips painted a ruby red and shimmering with gloss... 

It couldn't be Hyunah, could it?

He mentally shakes his head and tries to refocus on their leader's comment. Yoseob-hyung resembling a trainee at Cube? He vaguely remembers being introduced to a new batch of trainees hoping to debut as the company's new girl group. Among them had been a petite girl with a small face and soft cheeks reminiscent of their visual maknae, a Thai girl who'd won a singing competition and was accepted into Cube as a result. 

He racks his brain for the information he knows is hidden away somewhere. "...You mean Sorn?" He says, finally pinning down the face to a name. Dujun-hyung gives him an overenthusiastic clap on the back for his efforts, and he suppresses a wince at the impact. "Now that you mention it..." Dongwoon trails off thoughtfully. 

"He looks like Park Shinhye, too," Kikwang-hyung interjects, but neither of them are listening. Dujun-hyung levels his gaze on Dongwoon, an eyebrow raised in silent inquiry. He’s never mastered the art of lying, and the split second he’d taken to pull himself together after Kikwang-hyung had flashed the picture was a split second too much, apparently.

Unable to refuse his leader, Dongwoon glues his eyes resolutely to the floor and mentally apologizes to Yoseob-hyung. “I spotted them in that café you mentioned a while back,” he mumbles. He doesn’t mention that their rapper has a project he’s working on; when Junhyung-hyung’s ready, he’ll be the one to give them the news.

Dujun-hyung’s face immediately goes sour at the word ‘café’. “I don’t trust that SHINee bastard,” he grouses. As he thought, the older man is still sulking over being left alone in the dorm, although it’s been over a month since then. It doesn’t help that he sees Kibum as a flighty person and Woohyun not much more than his faithful sidekick. He hasn’t bothered masking his disapproval that Dongwoon frequently hangs out with them. That grimace also means he’s put two and two together and didn’t like the result. “How sure are you that he’ll keep this under wraps?”

Kibum may do things at his own pace, but he knows perfectly well how rumors affect an idol’s lifestyle, being the unlucky recipient of more than a couple himself—Dongwoon’s personally impressed at how level-headed he’s managed to remain in spite of the rumors always pairing him up with one of the other SHINee members in a romantic scandal. He suspects he would have made a juicy target himself, if not for the fact that Beast has persisted thus far with little to no unsavory rumors and are considered the ‘neighborhood oppa-idols’ of the entertainment world. Flighty he might be, with an admitted flair for the overdramatic, but Kibum would never willingly subject others to that same horrible experience.

“A hundred percent,” he says with his most reassuring smile.

For some reason, Dujun-hyung’s expression darkens even further. Kibum and Woohyun’s presence having been concluded as a non-issue, their conversation gradually tapers off until their leader excuses himself to enjoy a game of football with some friends.

…

“Dongwoon, you’re a bona-fide idiot, aren’t you.”

It’s past 3 AM and Kibum’s room is completely trashed with soju bottles, dirtied plates and a half-melted tub of chocolate ice cream. While the 91-line is notorious for its nighttime proclivities, never let it be said that its central figure never knew how to throw a mean slumber party.

His vision is more than a little fuzzy at this point, but his brain is still mostly functional, so he loudly objects to the statement. Kibum hisses at him to be quiet because the old man is still here even if the others aren’t, and Dongwoon calms down once he remembers that it’s not good manners to be noisy at this time of night (or does it count as day already?).

He tries for a whisper. “Why am I an idiot?” Sharing stories had somehow led to Dongwoon sharing his leader’s befuddling reactions, which had in turn led to Kibum’s evil cackling and point-blank insult. His voice comes out in a strangled falsetto, cracking up his two friends.

“Was that supposed to be aegyo?” Woohyun wonders out loud, body convulsing in a silent fit of laughter from where he’s lying on the floor with Kibum’s lap as his makeshift pillow. The SHINee band member is not much better, tears in his eyes as he practically falls on top of Woohyun while giggling.

He feels hot all over and unbearably embarrassed, but he has enough sense of self-deprecating humor to laugh at his own antics. “My aegyo doesn’t sound like that!” He whines in the same nasal tone, making them laugh even harder.

Kibum holds up one hand in surrender after he regains his breath, though a last chuckle escapes him. “Enough. Looks like we have to spell it out for you.” Woohyun sits up, shifting his position so he’s leaning on Kibum’s shoulder. For someone who supposedly can’t hold his liquor too well, his eyes are frighteningly sharp when he meets Dongwoon’s bemused stare.

“It’s simple, Dongwoon.” The Infinite vocalist sends him a playful wink. “Your leader hyung-nim isn’t upset with you… he’s just jealous.”

The cryptic remark throws him for a loop. What would Dujun-hyung be jealous over?

Kibum jabs Woohyun sharply in the side. “How do you even botch this?” He sighs. “To rephrase.” An exaggerated cough for effect. “I don’t know if that good-looking guy is aware of it or not,” he pushes Woohyun’s face mouthing ‘I’m good-looking too aren’t I’ away from him, “but his unreasonable dislike of us appears to stem from one thing.

“He likes you, Dongwoon.” Kibum’s statement is a bucket of ice-cold water upended over his head. “Enough to be jealous of us.”