For xox_shomigomie_xox

Couple: Donggyu or 2woo (I chose 2woo)

Prompt: Where either Woohyun/Sunggyu get jealous of the other's relationship (or something like that)

Dongwoo felt the spot lights shift across the stage, zoning in on each of Infinite’s seven members in turn. It felt like an odd sense of exposure. Although he was onstage in front of thousands of people who were watching his every move with frantic obsession, and there were cameras zooming in and out to record footage so that the performance could be seen by even more people, it somehow seemed like the overpowering lights from overhead caused him to be the most...

Vulnerable.                                                                                                          

As he felt the other members moving around him, belting out the lyrics to one of their less-known songs, he suddenly felt like a show dog whose only purpose was to please others. It was not a warm and fuzzy feeling.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder and turned to see that it was Sunggyu. He suddenly became aware that the music had stopped, leaving the boys between songs so that they could entertain the fans for a bit.

He knew the drill and gave Sunggyu a goofy hug whilst smiling to the audience. It was common knowledge among idols that you were to appear to be the best of friends with your group mates, and, if it seemed right, the suggestion of a romantic relationship would be highly useful in pleasing fans.

His manager’s voice rang clearly in his head.

Fans want to be surprised, so surprise them.

Would Dongwoo have done this otherwise? Definitely not to Sunggyu, he thought, glancing back towards another member of the group, the one with whom skinship did not feel forced.

Woohyun.

But nothing could be done and he turned his head away. This was a job… Nothing more.

So he grabbed Sunggyu’s hand and made if form half of a heart, his hand making the other half. The crowd seemed to cheer even louder, clearly appreciating the fanservice. He then whispered into the leader’s ear, trying to make it look slightly provocative. It was uncomfortable and seemed highly forced.

“Help me out,” he said to Sunggyu in his ear, almost pleading. “I’m trying to make this believable. “

Sunggyu took the hint and gave Dongwoo a big hug from behind, saying to the crowd through his microphone, “Isn’t he the cutest dinosaur?”

The crowd cheered and Sunggyu pretended to give him a kiss, causing their screams to erupt. Their manager was right. Fans did want to be surprised. As Dongwoo gave a fake blushing grin, he turned away to get ready for the next song which was just coming on. On the screen behind him, he saw a huge photo of him and Sunggyu, locked in a very believable almost-kiss. His mind instantly flashed to the other boy, hoping he would understand. At first he was smiling, but when his back was finally turned away from the fans, Woohyun’s face morphed into a sullen frown. Dongwoo’s heart sank into his stomach.

It’s a job.

It’s just a job.

Just a job.

That’s all he could repeat to himself as “Be Mine” came on, and the show continued.

It’s a difficult feeling to describe. The only way Woohyun could put it into words was to say that it felt like being betrayed in a way that was completely justified, and therefore he could not actually be mad about it. But of course when he saw Dongwoo and Sunggyu flirting and feeding the crowd their relationship, it made his blood boil. Of course it was just fanservice, merely a way of pleasing the consumers of the product that was Infinite, yet he still wondered, if Dongwoo wanted to please the fans, why couldn't he have been the one on the receiving end of his advances? Or was that luxury reserved only for Sunggyu.

"Woohyun," he had heard a voice call after the show. It did not take a rocket scientist to guess whose voice it was.

"What?" Woohyun asked, knowing full well that his voice was gruff. It was the only way to keep his voice from being laced with envy, an emotion he preferred not to put on display.

“Are you really getting upset over,” he hesitated, “that?”

“I’m not upset,” Woohyun countered without meeting Dongwoo’s eyes. He pretended to be distracted with his microphone.

Dongwoo moved towards him with a look of concern plastered across his face. “Woo… It’s just fanservice.” He put his hand on Woohyun’s arm, urging him to look at him.

But Woohyun couldn’t pretend it hadn’t just happened, that Dongwoo’s first choice was not him, the “greasiest” member of Infinite, but Sunggyu. So pushed Dongwoo’s hand off his arm, gave him a curt smile and stalked off.

Two days later

“Welcome,” the voice of Woollim’s CEO echoed around the room, “to Woollim’s 2^nd Annual New Year’s Eve Bash! It has been an incredible year for the company and everyone has worked very hard in making everything run smoothly and maximizing our success as a unit. I hope that in coming years…”

Dongwoo zoned out partway through the CEO’s speech.

The change of year, though painful overkill for an annual event, was supposed to be a festive and cheerful time, yet Dongwoo felt no joy. Despite believing Woohyun's reaction was exaggerated, he couldn't deal with the cold shoulder much longer. There was no spoken or otherwise relationship between them, but there was understanding that the other was special, a notch above the other members on an emotional level.

"Why does it seem like Woohyun's been avoiding you?" Hoya, who had also decided not to listen to the welcoming courtesies, said as he appeared beside him.

"I wouldn't dream of boring you with an explanation when we're supposed to be at a party."

"Mmm," Hoya pressed his lips together, sighing. "I don't know if I'm the best candidate to go all party-animal but in the mean time, maybe you should talk to Woohyun. The best way to fix the problem of someone avoiding you is to prevent them from doing so."

Dongwoo nodded and said in his best 60 year-old professor voice, "Your wisdom is far beyond your years."

Hoya smiled, accepting the compliment, and went off to mingle with other company members.

Once Hoya left, Dongwoo found himself wondering what to do with the next 3 hours until the fireworks went off and signified the New Year. He didn’t feel much like socializing with dozens of people he had nothing in common with, yet insisted on exchanging pleasantries with him. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that these people’s paychecks were tied to his success and the success of his group, causing them to feel as though they needed to be in his good graces.

Eventually, he decided to go for a walk, hoping perhaps that the cool, fresh air would allow him to breathe normally. He went into one of the corridors where there were less people, found the coat room and eventually found his leather jacket. Once he put it on, he checked to make sure no one would notice his absence and then slipped out of the party.

The air outside hit Dongwoo’s face with a sharp coldness; his favourable complexion the only thing keeping his face from turning red. As he felt chills creep up his arms, he wished he had a better jacket to keep him warm.

Even outside the high rise, Dongwoo could hear the music and light leaking from the top floor, where all the idols, choreographers and managers were having their party. The street, in comparison, was a sadder sight, with emptiness and gloom. In many ways, he felt it was a more appropriate setting for him, as the eerie mood matched his own internal sadness. Inside, he wished nothing more than to make it up to Woohyun, to erase what had previously happened, despite feeling that he was not in the wrong.

Woohyun, despite himself, found his eyes scouring the crowded room in search of a particular face. Just moments ago, he had seen him talking to Hoya, yet now he was nowhere to be seen.

He let out an almost undetectable sigh, allowing only a bit of air to escape from in between his lips. He was not quite sure why he was trying to find Dongwoo if his brain was telling him that he was mad at the other boy.

Somehow though, he decided that was a lie. In a large room lacking in the number of couples that should usually be present at such a party, Woohyun realized that his jealousy was petty and unjustified.

Eventually, after an hour and no sign of Dongwoo, Woohyun decided it was worth asking if anyone had seen him. Spotting Sunggyu and Hoya in conversation by the window, he made his way over towards them.

"Have you seen Dongwoo?" He asked them, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Hoya answered, with a slight smile. "I was talking to him before but I haven't seen him in close to an hour."

Woohyun nodded, ready to leave, but decided to ask Sunggyu as well, in case he knew where his flirt-buddy was.

Sunggyu shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I haven't seen him since the party started."

Somehow, that struck Woohyun as odd. If neither of these two had seen him for a while, where could he possibly be? He tried to make a mental list of places he could check but by the time he had listed "The Ladies' Washroom" as an option, he figured he was just being ridiculous.

He went outside onto the balcony, realizing it was already very dark. One of the perks of being part of a company like Woollim was that their office was on the twelfth floor, at the very top of the building. This ideal location allowed him the luxury of an impressive view of the city.

Down on the street, Woohyun spotted something, or someone, that looked familiar. It was the shape of a tall-ish man wearing a leather jacket. Instantly, he recognized who it was, as it was a fairly familiar sight. Pleased with his luck, he left the balcony quickly to run downstairs and find the person he was looking for.

The elevator, when he got to it, was in use, so he decided to walk−or run−down the stairs instead. Somewhere in his brain, he realized it was ridiculous and melodramatic but he just really wanted to see Dongwoo, to apologize for getting upset. When he reached the bottom of the many, many stairs he went into the building lobby and dashed out the door, right into someone else. Recovering from almost falling over, he looked up, only to find that it was Dongwoo who had been walking into the building.

Dongwoo backed up and reached a hand up to steady Woohyun. When he looked in his face, Dongwoo could see his reaction to realizing that it was him. Luckily, he didn’t seem upset. On the contrary, he seemed happy to see him.

“I was just looking for you,” Woohyun said, exhaling. When he breathed out, he could see his breath in the air.

Dongwoo smiled faintly. “Oddly enough, I was coming in to find you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Woohyun figured now was as good a time as any and made the first attempt at an apology. “I’m sorry I overreacted about you and Sunggyu,” he said finally. “I know it’s just part of the job and it was unfair of me to get mad at you over it.

“That’s the thing though; there is no me and Sunggyu,” Dongwoo replied. “There’s only one person in Infinite that I would want my name grouped with.” He looked Woohyun pointedly in the eyes. “And I should have thought about how that person would feel if I acted that way. “

Woohyun looked at the ground, unable to meet Dongwoo’s eyes as a blush spread across his face. “I always wondered... If you could have done fanservice with anyone, why didn’t you pick me?”

“Because I didn’t want anything I feel for you to be perceived as staged or fake.”

After he said that, Dongwoo stepped forward and gave the other boy a hug, taking him in his arms, the leather of his jacket wrapping around him like a blanket. After a moment, Woohyun lifted his arms too, reciprocating the embrace.

Pulling away a bit, Woohyun looked into his face. He knew Dongwoo could tell what his intentions were.

“It’s not midnight yet,” Dongwoo said. “The custom says you’re supposed to kiss to symbolize the knew year.”

Woohyun smiled. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

And there, together in the cold empty street, Woohyun pressed his lips to Dongwoo’s mouth for the very first time, as he had dreamt of for a very long time.

A/N: I hope this is what you were expecting! I think writing this may have turned me into a 2woo shipper. Happy Holidays!

Visinel: Tbh, this Secret Santa event made me ship everyone lolol Great story!! ♥♥

StarlightSpirit: LOL at visinel's comment. Me too :P This was so adorable, I just love how fluffy and cute and real it was – they must get so annoyed at fanservice sometimes :(