"Hey, you're Minki's leader right?" 

Jonghyun looked up to the blond giant towering over him, "Kris ssi," he said politely, "it's been a while." 

"I’m sorry I don’t remember your name…" the tall Chinese man said awkwardly. 

"Kim Jonghyun," Jonghyun said, smiling easily at the elder boy. 

"Can I join you?" 

"Of course." Jonghyun patted the ground beside him with a grin while inwardly wondering what the intimidating boy wanted. 

"I wanted to apologise to Minki," Kris said after a few log beats of silence, "my behaviour towards him was awful and I'm really sorry about it but no one's letting me near him, probably for fear that I'll start yelling at him again, and I guess I can't really blame them." 

"You had a fight with Minki?" Jonghyun asked, trying to make sense of what the older boy was saying. 

"Yeah, I was really harsh on the kid. He didn't mention it?" 

Jonghyun shook his head, "I didn't even know he was so close to you guys until the car ride here." 

Kris frowned, "It was a while ago," he said "right before we left for China the last time." 

"He never mentioned it." Jonghyun said, "Was it about Jeonghwa? Minki ah said that's how he met you guys." 

"Yeah… I wasn't as…understanding of the situation as I could have been I guess." 

"Minki said you didn't like him very much, guess you're pretty close to Jeonghwa huh?" 

Kris stared at the younger boy in what looked like confusion, although he could just be constipated. "What are you talking about?" 

Jonghyun blinked up at him, wondering if the older boy's Korean was failing him again, "Minki said you didn't like him," the Korean repeated slowly, "so I guessed that that's because you're close to Jeonghwa and so you don't like her boyfriend." 

There was a long moment of silence as the two boys traded looks of bewilderment. 

"Minki said.." Jonghyun started again but Kris cut him off. 

"Minki is Jeonghwa." 

-SceneBreak- 

"I think I pulled a muscle." Dongho complained, limping away from the track. 

"You deserved it." Minki said, smiling and waving at the fans before taking a sip from Aaron's water bottle, "oh look there's Jonghyunnie." 

Jonghyun was hurrying towards them with a determined look on his face. 

"Jonghyun ah," Minhyun called once they were close enough to talk without actually shouting, "did you see Minki? He actually ran!" he laughed, dodging Minki's kick. 

"Hyung's looking for you Minki ah. I think he's by the long jump." Jonghyun said, ignoring Minhyun's joking. 

Minki shrugged, said his goodbyes and went off to see their manager, keeping his hold on Aaron's water bottle even when the older boy tried to snatch it back. 

"Did hyung say what he wanted to see Minki about?" Dongho asked Jonghyun. 

"Jeonghwa doesn't exist." Jonghyun said quietly but shortly, "He was just saying that so that he could date Tao from EXO without us catching on." 

The other three members exchanged long looks. 

"Does it really matter?" Minhyun asked finally causing Jonghyun to look at him in surprise, "I mean, Minki's happy right? And it's not affecting work and no one's found out yet and it's been months already so I don't get why it's a problem?" the boy shrugged at the looks the others were all giving him, "Love is love right? So what does it matter if the person Minki loves is a Chinese boy? Shouldn't we as s support him as best we can anyway?" 

"I like this one," a soft voice said from behind Minhyun, "can we keep him Xing? He can take over the world with us and Minki ah once the boy comes to his senses and dumps Zitao for us." 

"Um, I don't like boys." Minhyun said awkwardly to Lu Han. 

"That's okay," the elder boy said, smiling brightly, "we can use you to seduce all of the women, it'll be great." 

"We needed a token straight boy," Yixing added straight faced, "you will be perfect. Please join us." 

"Why can't you just use Lu Han to seduce all the women?" Minseok asked, absently on the straw of a juice pouch, "he likes girls just as much as he does boys." 

"You're the biual one Minseokkie," Lu Han explained with the air of someone who has said the same thing many times before, "you like both boys and girls. I am panual and like all the beautiful people. Minki ah is the gay one, Minhyun goon will be our straight boy and Xingxing is aual so people will not feel threatened by him." 

"That's great and all but what about the boys who like girls? Or the girls who like girls? And I never said I was going to join your little club. I'm pretty sure I actually said that I wanted nothing to do with it." Minseok commented casually. 

"But when Minki asked the other day you said you'd think about it!" Yixing said, looking upset, "Hyung, you have to join us. Please?" 

"Why don't you just ask that one?" Minseok said, gesturing with his juice pouch at Dongho, "Minki said he suspects that he might be bi right? So he can be your bi boy and you can leave me out of it. I only said that to Minki so that he would spend more time out of Zitao's room when he's at our dorm anyway. You still need to think about the people who like girls though." 

"f(x) already agreed to join." Lu Han said sullenly. 

"I thought Amber liked Henry?" 

"She does." 

"So who's gay then? Actually, who is what? I feel like I know nothing for certain about anyone's ualities anymore." 

"Even your own? Am I so enticing you're beginning to think you don't like girls after all?" 

"I'm going to take over the world with Jongdae and Kyungsoo before you manage to even get your group together." Minseok threatened with a bright smile before turning to the NU'EST boys, "As your sunbae I have to advise you to keep well away from these two before they lead you to ruin. That said, if anything bad happens to Minki or one of my members because of anyone I will crush the person or persons responsible with a wrath unlike anything you have ever seen before. Please remember that I'm Kim Heechul sunbaenim's current favourite." he said cheerfully, still with the bright smile on his face but with a hard glint in his eyes that hadn't been there as he threatened his own members. 

"Yes Sunbaenim." the younger boys said choppily, sketching hasty bows to their elder. 

"Excellent, now, what does your manager want with Minki and will he regret it?" 

"I just said that so Minki would go." Jonghyun confessed. "Hyung said as long as there's no real scandal about it he doesn't particularly care who Minki dates." 

"Good, good. You can go now." Minseok said brightly, gesturing vaguely with his juice pouch. 

The NU'EST members bowed quickly again before running off and Minseok watched them go with his smile never wavering even as the glint slowly fade from his eyes. 

"And you say we're devils." Yixing said, nudging Minseok reproachfully as Lu Han stole his juice pouch. 

"Only when you're together," Minseok reminded the younger boy even as he kicked Lu Han's leg, "otherwise you're complete angels." 

"Not what you said last night." Lu Han grinned before running off with the juice pouch still in hand. 

-SceneBreak- 

Kris found Minki sitting on some steps far out of anyone's way while searching for the bathroom. 

The younger boy was staring blanking at the water bottle held loosely in his hands, his head bowed and shoulders hunched. 

"You okay?" Kris asked as gently as he could, trying not to scare the boy. 

Minki jumped anyway, his head jerking up so he could stare at Kris with wide eyes. 

"What are you doing here?" Minki asked, his voice raw with some heavy emotion Kris couldn't identify. 

"I uhh, got lost looking for a bathroom." Kris admitted sheepishly, "somehow I don't think that's why you're out here though." he added when Minki nodded blankly, sinking back down from his instinctive defensive position into the same defeated slump from before. 

"I just needed somewhere quiet where I could think." Minki said, staring back down at the waterbottle. 

"Are you okay?" Kris asked cautiously, carefully sitting down on the step beside Minki albeit far enough away that he hoped it didn't seem like he was crowding or trying to intimidate the boy. 

Minki laughed, the sound harsh and cracking, "I don't know." He said honestly. "I didn't tell them. I didn't tell anyone. Except Dongho. And now they all know anyway. Am I really that transparent? Are these secrets just that hard to keep?" 

"They are when some people don't realise they were secrets." Kris said, grimacing at his own stupidity. 

But Minki just waved a dismissive hand, "I don't blame you. Or Sehunnie hyung. Or anyone else for that matter. It's just...Manager hyung said he was glad I was happy and as long as the fans were okay with me dating someone and didn't become not okay with it then I would have his full support and he could even give me a lift to your dorm or whatever if I needed one and he was just so nice." Minki's voice cracked on the last word and Kris could see his shoulders trembling with suppressed emotions. "But Jonghyun." Minki cut himself off but not before Kris heard the catch of a sob in his voice. 

Not knowing what to do, he carefully reached out a hand and put it on Minki's shoulder. When the boy tensed but didn't move away Kris left it there, wordlessly offering comfort in the only way he knew how. 

"I don't know," Minki whispered, "I don't know what to do. This isn't like when you were pissed at me and Tao hyung. You were worried about the fans finding out and was worried that it would all blow up in Hyung's face. I get that. But this isn't- His face when he talked to me Kris ssi. He looked....betrayed or something. How could I-? What am I supposed to do when one of my best friends who I live with is a ing homophobe?" Minki's voice had trailed off into a hoarse whisper that Kris couldn't figure out how to respond to. If it were yelling or screaming he might have known how to deal with it but this, the quiet, resigned despair of it. How was he supposed to comfort the boy when he was like this? 

"You can call me Hyung." He said after a pregnant silence, "you know, if you want. I'm really sorry about the way I behaved and the things that I said. But I really just want Taozi to be happy. And nothing makes him happier right now than you being happy. So if there's anything I can do for you. A place to crash, a listening ear, anything. Just let me know okay?" 

Minki turned his head to face him, shoulders finally relaxing under the elder boy's hand as he smiled shakily from under the tears streaking his face, "thanks Hyung." 

-SceneBreak- 

It was Yixing who saw the two first, waved at them with a juice pouch he had found somewhere. 

Lu Han followed his gaze to see Kris and Minki walking across the field, talking quietly. 

More surprising was that when the strange pair reached the mixture of EXO and Nu'est members, it was Lu Han who Minki immediately walked up to, wrapping his arms around the elder's waist and leaning his forehead against his collarbone. 

"I have no idea what's going on but should I be worried?" Lu Han asked Kris, raising an eyebrow at the Canadian. 

"'m okay hyung. Just wanted a hug from my second favourite hyung before I go off and ignore you for Tao hyung again." Minki said, a hint of a smile in his voice. 

"How does it feel to have your boyfriend hanging all over another man?" Chanyeol asked Tao, shoving a water bottle at the younger boy's face like it was a microphone. 

"Minki and I have discussed the possibility of bringing someone else into our relationship but I cannot at this time disclose the identity of this person." Tao said seriously. Which was ruined when Minki started giggling into Lu Han's shoulder. 

"Stop saying things that make me want to kiss you while we're in public." Minki ordered sternly as he slid out of his hug with Lu Han. 

"I'm sorry." Tao said, not looking sorry at all. 

"You two are actually ridiculous." Minhyun said from where he was sitting under a large umbrella with Sehun, "can we go back to the part where I don't know so you don't do this in front of me please?" 

"Hey Minhyunnie, remember that time you asked me what cup size I thought Jeonghwa was?" Aaron asked nonchalantly as he IMed with Amanda about stupid band mates who were all idiots. 

"You told me that Minki liked her because she really liked him and was really nice and stuff!" Minhyun protested immediately as everyone else laughed, "you didn't mention the awesome even when I mentioned it!" 

"Are you sure he doesn't like boys?" Lu Han asked Minki seriously, "because we can still work with it if he does." 

"I'm sure and Hwang Minhyun, stop checking out my boyfriend's before I tell all the fans in that radio interview we have tomorrow that you befriended Sehunnie hyung today so that you could get to all of his attractive hyungs." 

"I swear you know our schedules better than Jonghyunnie." Minhyun grumbled, leaning back against Sehun defiantly. 

"Of course I do." Minki rolled his eyes, "Jonghyun doesn't have to organise dates around the schedules. I do." 

"That...makes a lot of sense." 

"Of course it does. I honestly don’t know why people think you're the smartest member." 

"It's because you're so pretty no one would believe you're actually smart." Dongho said easily, draping himself over his best friend's back. 

"Aaron hyung's the one who got into that fancy university in New York though." Minki pointed out. 

"But then he gave it up to become an idol. Just like Xiaolu. That's not very smart." Tao chimed in, smiling at his ge. 

"Excuse you!" Dongho protested loudly before anyone else could say anything, "Luhan hyung studied at Y dae in a foreign language. Just because he decided to become an idol instead of a grad student means nothing." 

"This one's cute too Xing. Can we keep him? He could be our mascot. Or our pet." Lu Han said, smiling brightly at his friend. 

"Why don't you just use him in my place?" Minseok complained, "then you could have your bi boy and stop bothering me about it." 

"We can't take over the world without Seokkie hyung." Yixing protested, his eyes wide, "it won't work without you. Please Hyung, stop saying things like this." 

"Minseokkie hyung, I thought we were going to join them together?" Minki said, "does this mean I don't have to join them either?" 

"You can join me and Jongdae and Kyungsoo ah while we save the world from that lot." Minseok grinned, "you can even bring your friends and your boyfriend over with you." 

"Yah Kim Minseok!" Lu Han yelled, punching his friend's arm roughly, "stop poaching my people. I called dibs on both you and Minki and also Minhyun first so you're not allowed to steal them from me." 

"It's not my fault they obviously like me better than you." Minseok said, eye-smiling. 

Yixing slung an arm around Minki's shoulders as Lu Han chased Minseok around with a water bottle. "Minseok will give in to us eventually," he said confidently, "so you may as well just join us now."