Setting: Monday, Woollim High

The news of L and Sungyeol's relationship at school spread like wildfire, making it the only talked about subject with all students alike. Even teachers started to get into the topic, shocked at how two polar opposites of personalities would end of dating each other. A lot of discussion included whether or not they felt that L and Sungyeol looked good together, some people grossed out that they would date, while others thought they were the most visual looking duo they had ever been graced with. Mixed opinions on their relationship was heard all over the halls, much to the dismay of everyone in Infinite.

What the Woollim students could not see behind the scenes was that each member was walking on pins and needles, and any slight movement would render them faint. A decision had to be made that would determine the fate of the group, and each choice would come at the expensive of someone's happiness. With the current mentality that each member upheld, no one would be a winner coming out of it.

Woohyun shoved some books in his locker, agitated by every newspaper article he had to read online and watch on TV after the report occurred about L and Sungyeol. Multiple classmates would pass by Woohyun, expecting him to turn around and service them by blowing a kiss or throwing a heart at them. That was the flirtatious Woohyun that every girl loved to see, but this time around he was not interested in any of their antics. 

"Woohyun!"

Woohyun turned to see Sungyeol running down the hall towards him with his hand raised. Giving him a cold look, Woohyun slammed his locker closed and proceeded to walk in the opposite direction.

"Woohyun!" Sungyeol sprinted forward to grab onto Woohyun's shoulder, but with fast reflexes Woohyun slapped his hand away before Sungyeol could even touch it.

"Get lost," Woohyun demanded.

"Can we have some time to talk about this?" Sungyeol begged, his watery eyes pleading him to give him some glimmer of hope to talk to him. "Like, maybe at my place or yours?"

Woohyun heard nothing from gibberish, letting out a groan before he pushed Sungyeol back and stomped down the hallway.

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!!" Sungyeol grabbed onto his hair and felt like pulling it out, never feeling so frustrated with Woohyun in his life. "What the !" Sungyeol yelled out, turning to Woohyun's locker and kicking it over and over again until he felt satisfied.

Hoya and Sungjong heard the banging of something and ran down the hallway to check what was happening, seeing their friend hopelessly kicking a locker repeatedly for satisfaction. Hoya and Sungjong ran as fast as they could, reaching Sungyeol before he took the next step by placing his palms on Woohyun's locker to set himself up and slam his head into it.

Hoya grabbed onto Sungyeol's long hair and pulled him back before he could hurt himself any longer, pulling it harder to snap him out of it.

"Stop it Hoya!" he begged, grabbing onto Hoya's wrists to resist his pull.

After watching his friend suffer a little longer, he finally let go, messing up his head of hair into knots. Sungyeol took a step back and ruffled his hair to try and fix it.

"Woohyun must be really getting to you, huh?" Sungjong asked.

Hoya crossed his arms, watching pitifully as his friend looked like he was tearing up. He felt a little bad for everything, stepping forward to help him out by standing him up and fix his blazer. Woohyun and Sungyeol's relationship had hit its final blow, and with a music career on the line things were picking up. "It's ok Sungyeol, he's going to talk to you eventually."

A single tear fell down Sungyeol's face, dripping off his chin and landing onto Hoya's gentle hands. He closed his eyes to try and stop himself from crying any more. "This is too much right now."

"I mean, there are too many things on the line right now, and we can't all get what we want. I'm sorry things have to be like this," Sungjong comforted, placing a hand on Sungyeol's shoulder to try and cheer him up. He understood the pain that Sungyeol was going through having to choose between the band and his relationship with L.

"Remember the days when we weren't trainees?" Hoya brought up, reminiscing on past times when he was still with Strawberry Fields.

"And we practiced when we wanted to, and we didn't have to stay up to midnight almost every ing day?" Sungjong added on.

"Except when we did stay up past midnight, it was to have fun," Sungyeol smiled for the first time in their meeting. Following his comment, he closed his eyes again and buried his face in his hands. He leaned against Woohyun's locker and slid down till he sat on the cold floor. "I'm sorry guys."

"Don't apologize," Sungjong said, sitting down with Sungyeol rubbing on his shoulder to ease him.

"Things might have been equally our faults for not trying to address this situation sooner," Hoya added, joining them on the ground. "I don't know what we were all thinking, but I guess we were just expecting all of this to come easy when it doesn't."

Sungyeol spent the whole weekend thinking the idol life over, thinking that his actions before would not have any consequences on anything or anyone. As well as his music career and friendships in jeopardy, so was his sanity and his love. "What do you honestly think I should do?" Sungyeol muffled through his hands.

Sungjong continued to rub on Sungyeol's shoulder, digging his thumb deep to massage and release the tension he felt for everything. Sungjong's muscles felt stiff, and Sungjong did not know what to say to make him feel any better. "I really don't know."

"I think you know how I feel," Hoya remarked.

Sungyeol nodded his head, continuing to cover his face with his hands. "Don't worry, I do."

Sungjong scratched his head, unsure what Hoya meant by that. "What does that mean?"

Hoya cleared his throat, preparing himself for a long explanation of his dreams. "I knew the first time that I started playing around with a plastic bucket, pretending I was a drummer, that I wanted to do something with music. After school, I would watch music videos on TV and imitate what they were doing, much to my parents' annoyance."

Thinking back to Hoya and himself when they were younger only made him laugh. Sungyeol lifted his face up and sniffed, feeling a little better than earlier. "We were such idiots back then. Well, we still are. But one time we tried to climb a fence to watch a Nell concert, and as we almost saw freedom Hoya fell on his ankle and fractured it. We were grounded for how many months?"

"Well I was grounded for half a year," Hoya chuckled.

"We all love music, but I don't know anyone who loves it more than Hoya," Sungyeol explained to Sungjong, nodding his head when he realized the decision his best friend would want him to make.

It seemed that Sungjong also understood what Hoya wanted. "Hoya, you want us to stay an idol band huh?"

Hoya nodded reluctantly, feeling terrible that in the end this is what he really wanted to do. He knew how much Sungyeol cared about L, but for his own selfish desires he also had to look after himself. "I'm sorry Sungyeol. You know that it's not related to the relationship at all."

"I know," Sungyeol nodded, patting Hoya's thigh. The two of them had gone through a longwinded struggle of Hoya finally accepting their relationship, and through it all Sungyeol knew that his best friend meant no ill-will towards him. Hoya made up his mind a long time ago.

"But you know." Hoya paused for a moment to his lips, taking a deep breath. "There are other people in the band to consider. Not just me," Hoya reassured, trying not to be the last and final dealbreaker of Sungyeol's troubles.

"Honestly, it wouldn't be the end of the world for me if we were no longer idols," Sungjong bluntly admitted, avoiding any eye contact with Hoya after hearing his endearing story. He raised his knees and hugged his legs together, resting his chin atop. "I thought we were fine the way we were before we became trainees. I wouldn't mind taking a step back to gain back that freedom we once had."

Hoya was not mad at Sungjong at all, because he knew himself how difficult the idol life would be when they started. "Even if I want music in my life, I knew from the beginning that the idol life would be too good to be true. I mean look at us right now. Hiding relationships? Endless practice? Rising popularity brings us more judgement? I understand where you come from. We already had music before all of this."

Sungyeol stretched his legs out sitting down and looked at his shoes. Lost in thought of everything, his blank stare focused on an untied shoelace. Sungyeol took a deep threat, trying to snap out of his gaze and focus. "A couple more days till d-day," he smirked, leaning forward to tie his shoe.

Setting: Tuesday, lunch at Woollim High

"Have you see Sunggyu yet?" Dongwoo asked, taking a sip of his soup.

"Nope." L took his spoon and played around with the broth, stirring it around in circles and dropping it in and out of the bowl.

Dongwoo and L sat outside for lunch that day, avoiding the usual table that Infinite would sit at in the cafeteria. L did his best throughout the week avoiding any type of interaction with Sunggyu, still startled by their night by the Han River that weekend and confused more than ever on what he should do. The situation had taken a toll on his appetite and his mental sanity.

"Do you want my soup?" L asked, pushing the bowl away from Dongwoo. As he gave his meal to him, he stretched his arms out and slammed his head on the table. 

"Everything is going to be ok," was all Dongwoo could say. Even though deep down inside, Dongwoo knew just as much that their group was in deep trouble. He could only imagine the trauma that L and Sungyeol had to go through, the ones affected the most. "I mean, there's not THAT much on the line. Just love and a music career."

L banged his forehead on the table.

"That sounded more pleasant sounding in my head..."

L lifted his head up and groaned, placing his fist under his chin and slouching in his seat. "It's not like we were gonna keep Sunggyu and Woohyun in the dark. There was never a good opportunity to bring this up. I was too optimistic."

"No you weren't." Dongwoo eyed the bowl of soup L passed him, grabbing it by its reigns and pouring it into his own dish to eat. He took a sip of broth before continuing. "I mean, yes. You and Sungyeol shouldn't have kept it a secret for this long. But we can't sit and mope about what we should have done. We have to think forward to the future, what we need to do now."

L nodded.

"And you need to figure that out in about 3 days."

Once again, L's head dropped to the table. 

Dongwoo snickered, taking another sip of soup. 

"Can I ask you something Dongwoo?"

Dongwoo looked up, noticing that L had lifted up his head to look at him and rested his chin on top of his arms. "Give it to me."

L sighed. "If I decided to choose the relationship over the band, would you be mad?"

Dongwoo dropped his spoon, contemplating the loaded question he had just received. Dongwoo was always the person to go with the flow, so long as he was around the people he cared about. He was never the person to know the most perfect answer to any question at the time. Everything he knew and believed in came from instinct, and what he knew in his heart. "I wouldn't be mad."

L felt a little comforted that at least one of his best friends would not hate him.

"From the beginning, I knew that being an idol wasn't going to be easy. We're an optimistic bunch, and we had our fair share of struggles. It was never about being famous with music. There was only one reason why I agreed to signing to become an idol, and it was because I would be playing music with my best friends. And more than anything, I care about my best friend's happiness. At the end of the day, I don't really need this life." Dongwoo leaned over to pinch L's cheek. 

L would hate when Dongwoo would like that, but he needed it more than ever in that moment. He let out a faint smile.

"You have to consider that I'm only one person, and not everyone would want you to choose Sungyeol over their own music careers."

L understood that. It was not the ending answer that L wanted to hear, but it was the truth that he had to consider. He had a lot of things to think about, and he had one leader who he had known since they were young to talk to. It was a rough week, but he still felt supported. "Thanks Dongwoo."

Setting: Wednesday night, L and Sungyeol's apartment

Sungyeol sat at the corner of his rooftop, plucking strings from his bass as he watched the sun fall into the night. The moon peaking out early to the Seoul skyline and from his distance he saw several stars in the sky. Sungyeol nodded his head to the bassline played, biting his lip as he got into the song. The weather was pleasant, not a single wind to chill him. It was a beautiful day, and Sungyeol only wished that everything else in his life was in order.

The elevator bell rang, marking the arrival of someone on the rooftop. Sungyeol was expecting L all day, needing someone to simply talk to hold in his arms. He was feeling lonely thinking about his d-day, but all he really wanted in that moment was to hold L in his arms.

The elevator doors swung open, prompting Sungyeol to put his bass down and turn around. To his surprise, his jaw gaped open. He blinked his eyes several times, making sure that he was seeing the right person. "Woohyun?" he called out.

Woohyun took a step forward onto the rooftop, looking straight at his best friend with hands shoved down his pockets. His posture was stiff, a little nervous being on the rooftop with Sungyeol. His bangs covered his eyes, so Woohyun gently pushed them off to the side to get a better look of Sungyeol in the corner. "Hey Sungyeol."

Sungyeol felt his mouth dry. "How, what..." Sungyeol stuttered his words.

"Hoya told me the address," Woohyun explained, walking forward towards Sungyeol. 

Sungyel was a nervous wreck, but standing his ground he stood up and waited for Woohyun to come to him.

This conversation was one that was a longtime coming, ever since Sungyeol's mom passed. Whenever something had gone wrong, the blame would always go to Sungyeol for being inconsiderate in some way. Woohyun finding out that L and Sungyeol were dating was the last straw between their troubled relationship, and Sungyeol knew it. At the same time, Sungyeol wished that Woohyun would be more understanding of his situation. Both friends needed this time to talk privately, and as Woohyun finally approached Sungyeol the two stared at each other intently. The silent pause only contributed to the tension brewing between the both of them. They stood on the roof together, and though they considered themselves best friends they did not consider it in that moment. 

After some time, the both of them spoke simultaneously.

"Sungyeol, I'm sorry."

"I'm really sorry Woohyun."

Both of them glared at each other, confused if the other said what they think they heard.

"What did you say?" Sungyeol asked, scratching his head.

"I said," Woohyun took a deep breath before continuing. "I said I'm sorry." Woohyun knew that deep down he was just as wrong to Sungyeol as Sungyeol was to him.

Sungyeol felt his heart drop, trying to comprehend what had just happened. He, he what? "I'm sorry too." Sungyeol looked down at his shoes, unable to look at Woohyun as he explained his story. "I've been acting recklessly, more than usual, ever since it happened. I'll never forget that one gig we had when I smashed a bottle and hurt my hand before we played. And the audience watching as I bled on my bass. Things were really rough Woohyun, but I tried to keep everything to myself. That was my fault."

Woohyun his lips. "I feel bad for not trying to understand harder. You know how self-centered I can be sometimes, and I gave you a really hard time when I should have sat you down and talked to you. That's what a leader should have done. That's what a friend should have done."

"And what's going on with L. I understand why you would be mad in every way. The timing was never right to tell you, though. And I was afraid to just bring it up, because I knew this would come out as another one of my 'outbursts'," Sungyeol continued, looking up to Woohyun to talk to him. "It wasn't though. It just happened out of fate. L... Myungsoo made me realize everything would be ok, and that there was one person in this world who would be able to listen to me."

Woohyun nodded his head. "I tried to push you away, so many times. I understand why you found comfort with L. I mean, he's a good guy."

Sungyeol smirked. He is a great guy. "You really think so?"

"Don't start me right now, I'm still upset I had to find out on a ing TV broadcast."

Woohyun playfully punched Sungyeol in the shoulder, and with that Sungyeol leaned forward to give a warm embrace for his best friend. Woohyun hugged him back, connecting with Sungyeol for the first time in almost half a year. The two of them felt like they had each other once again, and neither one of them wanted to let go of this cheesy moment. 

"You know that you always have Hoya and me to listen to you, also. Don't forget it," Woohyun whispered.

Sungyeol nodded on Woohyun's shoulder, touched that he would comfort him in such a way. He pushed his friend away, laughing at how ridiculously corny their hug was. "We're best friends for a reason, right?"

"Yes we are," Woohyun smiled, wiping his eye. "Like I said though, you're still on my list for not telling me about you and L. I'm just less mad now."

Sungyeol rolled his eyes. "I'm really sorry about that. I'm also sorry about, you know."

Woohyun nodded his head, remembering the decision that had to be made this week. Their lighthearted moment turned serious, remembering that it was because of their relationship that this unfolded. "It's rough, huh?"

"I would never purposefully do something like this to screw everyone over, especially screw everyone over into having a profitable music careers. It's a weird feeling, knowing that I brought the band together. And easily I can break the band apart. This all got ed up." 

"Don't worry, I know now," Woohyun understood. "Do you know what you're going to do?"

Sungyeol sighed. "I think I do."

Setting: Thursday night, company studio

Practices have been silent, every member harboring unsettled feelings about their future without saying a single word. Nights were dry. After something would end, everyone isolated themselves to different rooms to avoid each other. The morale of the group was stalemate, the scandal affecting everyone in the group.

It was the night of practice before a decision had to be made. Sunggyu sat in the middle of the band practice room putting away his guitar before heading out to go home. Sniffing his nose, Sunggyu locked up his guitar case and basked in the solemnness. His temper was at an all-time high, and without speaking to L at all this whole week he was concerned about what he would decide to do. Sunggyu wanted his career, the music, all of this to take off more than anything. 

At the same time, there was one moment that replayed in his mind throughout the whole week. It was the moment when L cried in front of him, showing no sympathy for his actions or understanding. Sunggyu remembered that moment vividly, ignoring his friend's needs and the fact that maybe he really needed Sungyeol like this in his life. Sunggyu was unsure who was being the selfish one in this situation.

Sunggyu stood up handling his guitar case, and as he turned towards the door he saw L standing at the entrance. L looked coolly, leaning against it with arms crossed. He looked like he had a lot of things on his mind, yet so did Sunggyu. Sunggyu knew that L was here to talk to him, and after avoiding any type of contact with each other throughout the whole week their practice room suddenly felt like it was a judgement day. The both of them looked at each other, unable to even say a word or start their discussion. Sunggyu opened his mouth, struggling to speak anything. 

Finally, L took a deep breath and started. "Hey Sunggyu."

His voice was soft, neither aggressive nor patronizing. 

"Hey," Sunggyu replied back.

L his lips and closed his eyes, feeling uncomfortable in the presence of one of his best friends. He almost felt like he was going to cry talking, pinching his wrist to snap out of it. He knew that he had to speak eventually. "Sunggyu, you know how much music means to me. Music is my life. It was the answer to every problem I've ever had."

Sunggyu nodded his head in agreement to everything he said. "I know."

"And, I would do anything for the band. I would do anything for my best friends. It's like what Dongwoo told me earlier this week: 'it was never about the popularity, it was about doing this all with my best friends.'"

Sunggyu nodded one more time. "Ok."

"But something happened along the way."

Sunggyu knew what was coming.

"I fell for Sungyeol, and all of a sudden my life was infinitely better. Because of him, I've grown in ways unimaginable. With life, music, how I treat my relationships. I feel like I've become a better person because of him."

Sunggyu stayed silent, biting his tongue from saying anything. In a more peaceful setting, he better understood where L was coming from. More than the past weekend.

"Sungyeol got me out of the depression I was in with my sister, and now I'm a happier and wiser person. Because of that, I think I can go on now."

What? Sunggyu furrowed his eyebrows, unsure what L had meant by that.

"Like I said earlier, I would do anything for the band, my best friends. Now that we're going to become idols, I need to consider the needs of the band." L ended his statement, his lips and nodding in front of Sunggyu before he took a step back to exit.

Sunggyu watched L as he exited, watching him as a single tear fell down from his face. Sunggyu was confused more than ever, his heartstrings tugging in different directions. When he almost lost sight of L's back, that was when Sunggyu called out. "Kim Myungsoo!"

L stopped in his tracks, turning around to peak out at the door. His nose was red, and his eyes started to water.

"What..." Sunggyu stuttered his words. "What does that mean?"

L looked straight at his friend, the emotions clouding his head as Sunggyu stood in the middle of the room. He wished that everything would have a happy ending. He wished that nothing would have to end. He wished that he could have everything he ever wanted to his heart's desires, but he knew he could only have one thing. He had to make a choice, and he finally made it.

"I'm going to break up with Sungyeol."

(((())))

Less than 24 hours.

In less than 24 hours, the fate of Infinite had to be decided. At the same time, the fate of L and Sungyeol's relationship also had to be figured out. L and Sungyeol were both home that night, tired from practice and their minds exhausted trying to figure everything out. The two of them sat by their front doors, both of them planning to leave soon to go next door and see their significant other to talk. L bit his lip, banging the back of his head against the door as he tried to talk himself out of breaking up with Sungyeol. Sungyeol leaned his head against the door, sick to his stomach that he had to make a decision like this. It was awful for the both of them, but they knew one way or another it had to happen.

L and Sungyeol got off of the floor of their apartments and opened the doors to leave, shocked as they saw the other person next door almost at the same time. They looked at each other, both of them struggling to say a word to each other. The two of them let the doors close behind them, stepping closer to each other for their own judgement day. Both of them were already on the verge of tears, wishing none of this had to happen. 

"Myungsoo."

"Sungyeol."

But deep down inside, they knew it had to.

"I think today is our expiration date," Sungyeol sobbed, tears streaming down his face. His heart was beating just as fast as the first time he kissed L, and now it would beat one last time at the realization that their relationship needed to end.

"I..." L swallowed his words, closing his eyes as he cried. "I think so too."

"I never wanted this to happen. I didn't think this would happen. Myungsoo, you have to believe me."

"No, I understand." L used his arm to shield his eyes from Sungyeol. "We have to do this for the band."

"I mean..." Sungyeol stomped on the floor in desperation, burying his face in his hands. "This . I'm sorry."

"Please..." L burst into an uncontrollable cry, wanting nothing but to rest in Sungyeol's arms. He walked towards Sungyeol and hugged him, Sungyeol holding onto him tighter than he ever had before. 

"We value our friends as much as this relationship, but we'll still be friends. We'll still be in a band together," Sungyeol assured, his lip wavering as he spoke.

"I know." L dug his head into Sungyeol's chest, wanting nothing more than his nightmare to be over.

"This is the end of one chapter, but some things don't work out. Some things aren't timed right, and we have to deal with it."

"I just wish we could all get what we want. It's going to be a different dynamic now." L could feel his body lifeless, pushing against Sungyeol and losing control. 

Sungyeol walked L over to his apartment door and pushed him against it, hugging tighter and giving L one last loving kiss. L pulled onto his clothes, never wanting it to end. Never wanting their embrace to end. Never wanting their relationship to end. With one last lingering kiss, they hoped that it would magically solve every problem they had. Sungyeol pushed his lips against L harder, indulging himself in one last taste before the two of them pulled themselves apart from each other. They were both out of breath, their foreheads touching as they accepted the truth.

"Myungsoo, you were my first love, and this really hurts. But."

L took a deep breath, biting his lip as he looked straight into his eyes.

Sungyeol closed his eyes, finally mustering his last words to him. "Thank you for everything Myungsoo."

First love. The love that hurts the most, and the love you learn from the most. Sungyeol was not L's first love, but it was the first of a different kind of love. A love he will never forget. "Thank you for loving me Sungyeol."

Setting: Saturday night, Itaewon-gu

"HOW ARE YOU ALL FEELING TONIGHT?" Sunggyu yelled out.

The crowd was going crazy, chanting for Infinite and individual members. Infinite was back at Heads Up, Sungjong's parents' bar. With a sold out show, including the people who could not get into the bar listening to the concert from outside, this highly anticipated concert was everything out of a dream. The members of Infinite could not believe how popular their band was, and with their first performance together as a group everyone was wanting more. The news of the concert had spread to every social networking website and news outlet. Everyone was having a great time.

"I am Kim Sunggyu, and this is Nam Woohyun. We're 2 of your 3 vocalists!"

Sunggyu put an arm around Woohyun, who shared a standing mic together. The crowd cheered. 

"On the drums, we got Lee Sungjong!"

Sungjong played a small drum solo to attract the crowd.

"Over here we have Lee Ho Won, the last vocalist!"

Hoya took the hand of a fan girl off stage, serenading her with a high note. Everyone in the bar cheered at how much charm he had.

"Jang Dongwoo on the electric guitar!"

Dongwoo strummed a little piece for everyone, smiling and giving a thumbs up to everyone who attended.

"On the bass, we have no other than Lee Sungyeol!"

Sungyeol smiled to the crowd, jumping in the air and plucking a few strings on his bass to stir up the crowd.

"And lastly, we can't forget the face, and our other electric guiarist! His name is Kim Myungsoo, and goes by the name L!" 

L smirked at the crowd, not even playing a note. He knew that all he had to do was smile to get the girls to scream.

Sunggyu looked behind him, everyone in his band getting to play their last song. They had originally finished their set, but the crowd cheered over and over for an encore, that Infinite had no other choice but to come out and play a few more songs for them. Being on stage, playing music together, was everything they had dreamed of. Infinite was on top of the world. 

The leader pointed at Sungjong, who was ready to clack his sticks together to start their final song. 

"WE ARE INFINITE!"