Sungjae shifted around uncomfortably in his seat. He was in the waiting room along with the other members, waiting for their manager to pick them up and drive them to the salon. He was sitting in front of the tv but he wasn't paying any attention at all. All because his Donggeunie hyung was on the other end of the long sofa, wrestling Minhyuk, with Hyunsik nearby keeping his eyes on them. Of course, Hyunsik didn't know about their relationship and it was only natural for him to want to stick around and ward off anyone trying to steal Minhyuk. Then there was Ilhoon and Changsub taking selcas and filming themselves for the BTS on the company's YouTube channel, and finally Eunkwang next to Sungjae. The leader was unaware of Sungjae's discomfort, as he was too busy laughing at the comedy show on TV. Sungjae peeked at Peniel who was carrying Minhyuk on his back, and let out a little sigh. They've been keeping a distance while other members were present to shake off any suspicion from Ilhoon. Sungjae hated this. It just didn't feel right avoiding his Donggeunie hyung on purpose.

"Woohoo!!" Minhyuk yelled excitedly as Peniel spun around in attempt to disorientate Minhyuk. Sungjae couldn't help but smile at his adorable hyung, but he quickly wiped it off his face before Ilhoon shot a glance his way. He pretended to be sleepy and sprawled out across the couch with his head on Eunkwang's lap. Eunkwang's eyes were glued to the tv and he was so absorbed in the show he paid no attention to the maknae. It was so hard for Sungjae to not look over at Peniel. All he could do was grit his teeth through the sudden laughs and giggles coming from the other end of the sofa, resisting the urge to peek. He observed Hyunsik instead. The tanned man was sitting on the arm of the sofa, tugging at the hem of his shirt while he watched Minhyuk and Peniel goof around. He didn't look unhappy, but he was clearly uncomfortable with the fact that Peniel was holding Minhyuk so close. To be honest Sungjae wasn't either. He didn't like it when Peniel and Minhyuk held hands, when Minhyuk cuddled up to Peniel and put his arms around him from behind, when Peniel carried Minhyuk in his arms like a princess and when Minhyuk blew kisses at Peniel. But he trusted Peniel, and he realized he was just as close to Ilhoon as Peniel was to Minhyuk. Sungjae decided to be Hyunsik's relationship advisor in his head. He got off the sofa, casually walked over to Hyunsik and plopped down on the sofa again next to him.

"Hyunsikie hyung is with Minhyukie hyung right?" Sungjae said with a low voice so Changsub and Ilhoon wouldn't hear. Hyunsik turned to look at Sungjae with wide eyes, and just as he was about to confront Sungjae about it, Sungjae grabbed Hyunsik's hand quickly and shook his head slightly with a frown. He darted his eyes towards Changsub and Ilhoon, who had now moved over to watch tv with Eunkwang, but were still close enough to hear Sungjae and Hyunsik if they spoke at normal volume. Hyunsik nodded slightly and his face grew red as his eyes returned to Minhyuk and Peniel, who were having a play fight.

"If you're worried about Peniel... You don't have to be." Sungjae shot a quick smile up at Hyunsik and blinked innocently.

"I wasn't worried." Sungjae smiled as he watched his hyung punch the arm of the sofa absentmindedly with a pout on his red face. Hyunsik was always so unsubtle with his feelings, and anyone could tell right away what he was thinking.

"Come on hyung, I saw it. Sometimes it's okay to be jealous, but it's important to trust your partner, and it's definitely not okay to want to control him, or who he hangs out with. You get what I'm saying right?" Sungjae leaned over and placed his elbow across Hyunsik's thighs, supporting his own head with his hand while he watched his hyungs goof around.

"Since when did you become a theoretical relationship advisor?" Hyunsik scoffed and flicked a finger at Sungjae's forehead. Sungjae immediately gave Hyunsik a mean stare while he rubbed the red spot on his forehead. He was only trying to help, and Hyunsik was being y for no reason. Well, it wasn't exactly no reason, because clearly Peniel was too close to Minhyuk for his comfort and he didn't want to admit it. Still, it wasn't cool to take it out on the maknae.

"Hey, I was trying to help you. And also, it's not theoretical. That man there, the one you're having jealousy issues over, is my boyfriend. And you don't see me standing here watching him like a celebrity bodyguard." Sungjae hissed, narrowing his eyes at Hyunsik. He felt a little smug as Hyunsik raised his eyebrows and gave Sungjae a "are you serious!?" look.

"I'll keep your secret if you keep mine. And if I were you, if I'd listen to myself and take my advice." Sungjae flashed Hyunsik his cheeky grin before leaning back on the sofa and singing his favorite song out loud. He felt carefree and relaxed. He hadn't just taught Hyunsik how to deal with jealousy, he'd taught himself too.

Peniel was always the first one to have his hair done, as his hair didn't need much styling and looked perfect enough with a little hair wax. He stood around and waited for everyone else to finish. He frowned a little at the sight of the floor. There were wires laying around everywhere from all the hair styling equipment. Eunkwang was getting his hair straightened,  Minhyuk was having his blow dried, Changsub was getting a haircut,  Hyunsik was dyeing his hair black, Ilhoon was having his hair permed and Sungjae's hair needed dyeing, straightening and blow drying. Peniel was sure someone was going to be tripped up by the wires. Then as if on cue, Ilhoon stood up from his chair and had his foot tangled up in the wires. Peniel rushed immediately to Ilhoon and took his hand.

"Ilhoon-ah, be careful." Peniel held Ilhoon's hand up high and led him out of the wire maze on the floor. He studied the younger man as he did. Ilhoon looked distracted, like something really big was on his mind. Peniel would understand why. If Sungjae told him he didn't like him, he's feel like isolating himself from the world too.

"If you trip up and smack your head you won't be clever anymore." Peniel said as he led Ilhoon to the sofa at the back of the room, attempting to lighten the mood. Ilhoon looked a little surprised, then smiled, looking slightly embarrassed. Peniel always saw Ilhoon as his close friend as they hung out a lot in the maknae line, but he knew Ilhoon respected him because he was his hyung. He wished he could be closer to Ilhoon emotionally and physically so he'd understand the younger man's mind.

"You can tell me what's on your mind you know. I don't like seeing you like this." Peniel didn't have any idea how Ilhoon would react when he was planning to say this, but skinskip was the last thing he expected. Ilhoon had slung his arm around Peniel's shoulder, so in return he reached over and held Ilhoon's waist. He remembered the first time Ilhoon hugged him out of the blue. He was happier than the other members who received hugs too, partly because he liked skinskip, but mainly because it was Ilhoon. He hated skinskip with people who weren't close to him. That hug meant a lot to Peniel.

"Peniel hyung... I like one of our members, but I won't tell you who. If you had to guess, who do you think I like?" Ilhoon laid his head on Peniel's shoulder. His head felt tiny and light on Peniel's shoulder compared to the big maknae. Peniel pitied the poor young man in his head.

"Sungjae." Peniel moved his gaze over to the boy in the far end of the room, chatting away happily with the hair stylist noona and Hyunsik who was next to him.

"He's not the one I like." Ilhoon said quietly after a long moment of silence. Peniel could sense the sadness and disappointment in Ilhoon's voice. He wanted so badly to help Ilhoon out. He always kept quiet about most things and if he had any thoughts he usually kept them to himself. But when he felt like he should voice his opinion, he would, and it made people listen. He decided to give Ilhoon some advice.

"Ilhoon-ah... I said Sungjae because you two are close. You are very close friends, but I don't see any spark in you while you're with Sungjae, or any of the members." Peniel was slow with his speech, but he knew Ilhoon was listening by the way he held his breath on his shoulder.

"What do you mean? What spark?" Ilhoon was clever, but he was inexperienced with relationships. Peniel knew he hadn't even kissed anyone.

"You care and love every one of us, but there's no one you really like that I can see. You may have a favorite member, but I can't see any difference in your body language, your facial expression, the way you look at them or the things you say." Peniel laid his hand on Ilhoon's knee and squeezed a little, causing the younger man to look up at him. 

"What I'm saying is, even if you reckon you like one of us, you don't like like him." Peniel wanted Ilhoon to know how much he cared about him, but he couldn't lie to him. He was genuinely concerned, and he had to let him know the truth.

"Are you saying... it's just a crush?" Ilhoon was finally getting it, and Peniel saw his face fell a little.

"Yes, and it's one that'll pass. One simple task for you, watch the way Sungjae interacts with every single one of us, and see if you can tell who he likes." Peniel asked and got up from the sofa, leaving Ilhoon alone to think. He walked over to the middle of the room where Minhyuk and Changsub were, and started making small talk with them. He could see out of the corner of his eye Sungjae was gazing at him, even though he was giggling with Hyunsik. He was a little relieved that Sungjae was demonstrating exactly what he wanted to show Ilhoon. He was sure the maknae was looking at him with the same look that he always did. A little while later, Peniel walked back over to Ilhoon to check on him. The young man was hunched over on the couch, looking shameful and wary.

"Peniel hyung, I... I think I understand now." Ilhoon said softly, looking down at his shoes. Peniel nodded for him to go on and patted his knee.

"I saw Sungjae watching you even though he wasn't beside you. But he wasn't anxious, demanding or upset. He looked... happy and comfortable. Like he appreciated you, the happiness you felt even though you weren't with him and he wasn't the one making you happy." Ilhoon looked as if he wanted to dig a hole in the ground and jump in it. Peniel was glad that he understood, but he felt that he boy had no reason to feel ashamed.

"But for me... I hate it when Minhyukie hyung is with anyone other than me. I hate it when he isn't near me and when he looks so happy with other people. I... I..."

"Ilhoon-ah, it's okay. You don't have to feel bad, it's okay to have crushes. But you need to come to terms with the fact that it's just a crush. You have total control over it, and you can stop it before anyone gets hurt, especially when the other person is already in a relationship. You're very clever Ilhoonie, you understand this right?" Peniel desperately hoped so. It's the best for everyone, including Ilhoon. If he didn't understand, Peniel was sure the person who would get hurt the most was Ilhoon and he would hate to see that. Thankfully, Ilhoon nodded and bit his lip. Peniel felt so relieved that he pulled Ilhoon into a tight embrace.

"Thanks hyung... You never judge me." Ilhoon's voice was shaking a little. Peniel patted Ilhoon's back and smiled to himself. He could already feel the bond between them growing stronger, and he was glad he got a little closer to Ilhoon. Peniel looked up and met Sungjae's gaze in the reflection of the mirror in front of him. Peniel felt all warm and fuzzy inside as Sungjae smiled brightly and nodded at him. Sometimes it's not so bad being the hyung in the maknae line, Peniel thought. 

Anyeong viewers!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas :)

I did which was why I didn't upload a new chapter yesterday D: sorry!!!!!!

Hope you all liked this chapter!

RTOTD: Hands up people who can rap Ilhoon's part in Noghtmare :P I'm getting there hahaha

KThxBai