The seven members of Infinite gathered in their living room to watch the broadcast of their third guesting in Weekly Idol.

 

“Are you ready to see yourself being embarrassed again, Sunggyu hyung?” Woohyun asked his hyung playfully as he draped his arm on the leader’s shoulder.

 

“I will hit you,” Sunggyu replied, his two perfect hands covering his face.

 

Sungyeol, who’s sitting on Woohyun’s other side, couldn’t help but let out a loud chortle. “Woohyun hyung, I think you should just accept the hitting since you had a good laugh the entire time.” He high-fived with L who’s sitting on his other side.

 

∞

 

“I think we should change our line of work—from idols to comedians,” Hoya suggested with a smile in the midst of the group’s laughter during Sunggyu’s Eye Talk portion, and Dongwoo laughed louder than he usually does as a sign of his agreement.

 

“Oh, look, Mingsoo!” Sungyeol elbowed his boyfriend and said with a tone of surprise, “you looked like you were really crying.”

 

“I know. I’m that good in acting,” Myungsoo replied, forgetting the concept of humility.

 

“Hyung,” Sungjong said while tapping his Woohyun hyung’s shoulder from behind. “Wasn’t your hand supposed to be on L hyung’s back, not on Sungyeol hyung’s hand?” Sungjong suddenly noticed after seeing the part where Woohyun and Sungyeol were trying to comfort ‘crying’ Myungsoo.

 

“What?” Sungyeol blurted out.

 

“It’s unintentional, Sungjong” Woohyun explained, “I was going to put my hand on his shoulder, but I didn’t see Yeollie’s hand was already there.”

 

“Just noticed,” their maknae said without much care. “I wonder if WooYeol shippers also noticed that.”

 

Sungyeol threw a pillow at Sungjong and said, “Stop talking nonsense, Sungjong! There’s nothing to notice.”

 

Woohyun followed suit but then continued watching with unggyu, Hoya and Dongwoo. They were so immersed in laughing and praising their comic that they didn’t even notice how Myungsoo’s expression got fifty shades darker.

 

∞

 

Sungyeol was drinking his morning coffee while staring at his boyfriend sitting in front of him, eating cereals and acting like he’s alone.

 

“Ya,” Sungyeol finally called his attention after he finished his coffee; he had let L have his little moment for a while, but now he’s had enough.

 

Myungsoo looked at him with cold eyes while chewing his food.

 

“Am I not tall enough to be noticed?” Sungyeol asked him rhetorically.

 

The other ignored Sungyeol and brought his attention back to his food.

 

“YA!”Sungyeol yelled, utterly frustrated from how his lover was treating him.

 

“What?” Finally, the moody one had spoken.

 

“What? WHAT?! Ya, Kim Myungsoo. What the is your problem?”

 

“Nothing,” Myungsoo replied and shoved cereals from his bowl and dumped them to his mouth.

 

“Put more cereals in your mouth and I’ll ing kick your balls.”

 

“What the—I think you’re the one who has a problem, Yeol.”

 

“‘Yeol?’ Did you just call me ‘Yeol’?” Sungyeol asked, flabbergasted. Myungsoo had consistedly insisted in the past that he wanted to call Sungyeol ‘yeobo’ in private, and Sungyeol had always reminded him that it annoys him, but lets him nonetheless. And now he would just abruptly stop calling him that. This signals a problem. “Yes, I have a problem and it’s you!”

 

“What did I do?” Myungsoo asked defensively. “I told you I would never call you ‘hyung’ and you said it was fine.”

 

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about!You seriously don’t know?” Sungyeol scoffed, not believing any of this. “Well, I’ll tell you one by one.

 

“First, you slept on your bed last night. Second, you started ignoring me right after we watched that show yesterday. Third, you slept on your bed. Forth, you know that I’m a light sleeper and you freaking went down from that top bunk earlier like you were carrying an elephant! And lastly, you slept on your bed! How could you sleep on your own bed?! Why would you sleep on your own bed?!”

 

“Since when could I not sleep on my own bed?”

 

“Since the day you told me that you never wanted a bunk bed and you always wanted to sleep beside me which, I think, was almost two years ago.”

 

This, of course, was true and Myungsoo did not even try to deny it. He just looked down at his food and played with it before he answered his irritated best friend.

 

“I kinda ignored you yesterday because I was tired.”

 

“Since when have you ignored me because you were tired?”

 

“I wanted to sleep on my own bed because I was tired.”

 

“Since when have you wanted to sleep on your own bed because you were tired?”

 

“I forgot to go down carefully from the top bunk earlier because I was tired.”

 

“Since when—” Sungyeol replied unthinkingly and realized, “You were tired after waking up?!”

 

Myungsoo looked at Sungyeol like he was being difficult for no apparent reason. “Are you really not going to accept my reasons?”

 

“Since when have I accepted your stupid reasons?”

 

“Ugh, Sungyeol! You’re driving me crazy!” Myungsoo yelled exasperatedly and suddenly got up from his seat.

 

Sungyeol did the same with more unintended force, causing his chair to topple over and add more noise to their bickering. “So, I’m the one at fault now? You’re the one who’s been acting like since yesterday!”

 

“Kids!” Sunggyu suddenly appeared in the kitchen. “It’s too early for all these noise! What is it now, huh?” The leader looked from the one to the other.

 

Myungsoo and Sungyeol looked at their leader then to each other.

 

“Yeah, it’s too early for this,” Myungsoo affirmed, his intense stare fixed at their tallest member, before he walked away from the kitchen.

 

And Sungyeol was left in the kitchen with the leader, his mouth agape and his breath hitching from the squabbling with Myungsoo. 

 

Sunggyu walked towards Sungyeol and placed a hand on his shoulder, “You should talk when you’re both calm.”

 

“How can I calm down when I don’t even know why he’s been acting like that?” Sungyeol said, holding back his tears of extreme frustration. “He's just so cryptic sometimes I want to punch his face but I can’t because he’s too handsome and Boss Woollim will get mad!”

 

∞

 

“I heard Myungsoo hyung and Sungyeol hyung fighting earlier,” Sungjong stage-whispered.

 

“Oh, yes; I woke up because of that,” Hoya said.“Quite some yelling.”

 

“Lover’s quarrel, huh?” asked Dongwoo.“What do you think was it about? Maybe we could help?”

 

“I don’t know. But I heard that Myungsoo hyung has been ignoring Sungyeol hyung since Weekly Idol yesterday.”

 

“Right after we watched?” Woohyun, who’s been listening quietly, suddenly joined the conversation.

 

Sungjong nodded. “That’s what I heard.”

 

“Eavesdropping is not polite, Jongie,” Sunggyu—unexpectedly appearing behind Woohyun—reprimanded, “and so is gossiping about a member or members between practices.”

 

“But hyung, I was just—”

 

Sunggyut threw the maknae a look of warning, and Sungjong understood immediately.

 

“Come on! Let’s continue,” Sunggyu ordered with a clap of his hands. L, who was sitting in a corner with his head between his two knees, heard the clap and stood up to join the others.

 

“Where’s Sungyeol?” Hoya looked around the practice room, as if the choding was hidden somewhere in the four-cornered practice room. Myungsoo felt relieved that someone else finally noticed.

 

“He told me he’d just get a patch at the dorm. I think his back is hurting,” Dongwoo told them.

 

“What?” Myungsoo snapped out of his glum mood in an instant. His Sungyeol is hurting? “Why?”

 

“Omo! What happened to hyung?” Sungjong asked, totally concerned about his hyung’s condition. “He must be having such a hard time.”

 

“He’s been rolling like L’s car last night in his bed. I don’t know why,” Dongwoo answered, and then laughed uncontrollably at his pun.

 

“His back must have been aching because of that rolling, then,” Hoya said bluntly while stretching his arms, laughed because of Dongwoo’s, and busied himself with freestyle dancing.

 

“This is not funny, Dongwoo hyung!” Sungjong reproved.

 

“Someone should check if he’s okay,” Sunggyu ordered. “We need to resume our practice.”

 

L was about to move towards the door when Woohyun raised his hand and volunteered, “I’ll go.”

 

“Excuse me?” Myungsoo asked him, skeptical if he heard him right.

 

“I’ll go check on your boyfriend,” Woohyun replied. “You guys fought, didn’t you? I don’t think a sore back and cold shoulders given by someone actually go well together—the middle-schooler might snap totally.”

 

“Thanks for your concern for my boyfriend, hyung, but I can actually do it myself,” Myungsoo said coldly, “And I will.”

 

“Oh. No,no. It won’t be a bother to me. I’ll put the patch gently on his back, don’t worry.” Woohyun gave L one of his greasiest smiles whilst acting like he was being the most considerate hyung anyone could find. “I can even give him a massage if he needs it.”

 

“Hyung!” Sungjong exclaimed, unable to believe what his hyung was doing. “What.”

 

Sunggyu crossed his arms, his trademark blank face activated; Hoya stopped to look at Woohyun, smirked, shook his head, and faced the mirror to continue dancing. They both grasped what Woohyun was doing, and possibly why their dongsaengs fought, too. Dongwoo, who was still at a loss, just stayed quiet and alert so he could stop a dreaded physical fight any moment.

 

Myungsoo clenched his fist tightly but took a deep breath to calm himself. “I said I will do it.”

 

“Alright. If you say so,” said Woohyun dismissively.

 

Myungsoo didn’t wait for another second and walked out of their practice room.

 

“Why did you have to do that?” Sungjong, who had been holding his breath the whole time, whined.

 

“I thought you’d hit each other or something.” Dongwoo, obviously relieved, cackled right after he was sure that no fight would happen.

 

“L is overly sensitive today. And Woohyun hyung went out of his way to piss him off.” Hoya shook his head and resumed, “Heck, hyung, he could have hit you and I wouldn’t hold it against him.”

 

“I know that,” Woohyun answered pompously. “I was just testing his patience and egotism. And,” he looked at all of them conspiratorially, “a jealous kid is always nice to tease—especially if his reason was so petty.”

 

“But it’s not helping, Woohyunnie,” Sunggyu enlightened him liberally, “and you were convincing.”

 

“He was convincing?” Sungjong queried, evidently perplexed, “of what?”

 

He was completely ignored as the greasy tree pranced to their leader and latched his arm around the other’s shoulders.

 

“Did you believe it, hyung?” he asked teasingly.“Are you jealous, too?”

 

“Stop it or I’ll hit you,”Sunggyu warned as he faced Woohyun who ran away and laughed in response.

 

“Oh, I get it!” Dongwoo exclaimed, finally grasping the entire situation.

 

“Get what?” Confused maknae is still confused.

 

“It’s you and your nonsense comment yesterday, Jongie” Hoya pointed out.

 

“What did I do?”

 

∞

 

Sungyeol took his shirt off and looked at his back from the mirror’s reflection. After removing the cover of one patch, he tried to reach for the part that throbs… and failed.

 

“. Why does it have to be so far?”

 

“You should have told me your back is hurting,” Myungsoo nagged whilst leaning on the doorway frame.

 

“Yes. I should have told you small things like a throbbing back while you are busy ignoring me and I don’t even have any idea why,” Sungyeol retorted without as much as a look to the younger man even though he almost had a heart attack from surprise; hell, he had to reach what he’s trying to reach.

 

Myungsoo snatched the patch from Sungyeol. “Can’t really sleep without me, huh?” he teased while putting the patch gently on his lover’s back.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Done.”

 

“Thanks,” Sungyeol dead panned and put on his shirt.

 

“You really have no idea, Yeol?” Myungsoo asked.

 

“Yeol,” Sungyeol mocked and faced his boyfriend. “Do I look like I have?”

 

“Isn’t it obvious that I ignored you right after we watched that show?”

 

“It is obvious, alright. And then? Why did you just—” Sungyeol stopped. “Stupid maknae!”

 

Myungsoo heaved a sigh, wondering why it took so long before his choding got it.

 

“But didn’t Woohyun hyung say it was unintentional?” Sungyeol asked, nonplussed. “I didn’t even notice it.”

 

“You didn’t feel his hand?” Myungsoo asked, still dubious.

 

“I was busy acting like I was comforting you! My attention was on you! You were the lead! How would I— Ugh!” Sungyeol grabbed his hair in frustration. “Really, Myungsoo? You’re ing at me just because of that?”

 

“You two were flirting behind my back! Literally behind my back! And you call it ‘just because of that?’ ”

 

“We were not flirting for Christ’s sake! We were in a recording! It was a little accident!” Sungyeol stopped and looked at his favorite member with raised eyebrows. “You know this is a very trivial thing to be fighting about, right?”

 

“No! This is not. That’s Weekly Idol; every time we’re on Weekly Idol it’s like you forget I’m there with you—it’s like some kind of a WooYeol paradise or something. And don’t even let me start ticking off the times you two were caught having moments together; you let him play with your hair and you two are always too cozy for comfort! That touch to your hand on my very back just drained my tolerance. And you even defended him when Hoya hyung badgered him for farting all the time,” L let out in one breath. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

 

“Okay, let me get this straight: First, I just said the truth. Second, you don’t trust me, is that it?” Sungyeol asked him. “You have been awfully cozy with the others for years and I never said anything—well, except that one time about Woohyun hyung, but that’s not the point. The point is I never got mad about it and I never ignored you. I didn’t, did I? Because I trust you, but it seems like you don’t trust me. And why the hell is our issue always Woohyun hyung!”

 

Myungsoo didn’t look at him and just huffed as he ruffled his hair violently. He didn’t look at Sungyeol because he couldn’t, and Sungyeol was so hurt and stressed and frustrated that he decided to let it go and walk away before tears enter the scene.

 

He was almost out of their room when Myungsoo grabbed his wrist. “I’m sorry, Yeollie,” he finally apologized. He could drive Sungyeol crazy until the other got so mad, but he knew that when he let him turn his back, it would get harder to patch things up. “I trust you. Seriously, I really do.”

 

“Then why are you acting like this?” demanded Sungyeol. “You are being immature. I am the one who’s supposed to be the choding here.”

 

“Because…”

 

“Because you’re jealous,” Sungyeol continued, deciding whether he finds this sweet or disappointing.

 

Myungsoo released Sungyeol’s wrist and denied vehemently, “I am not jealous!”

 

Sungyeol rolled his eyes.“Of course you’re not.”

 

“I’m seriously not!”Myungsoo asserted. “I just don’t want you to be too cuddly with others! You can only be like that with me.”

 

“Ah, I get it. So, you’re just selfish?”

 

“I have every right to be selfish. I’m your boyfriend!”

 

Sungyeol scoffed, still undecided about what to feel about this. “I don’t think you’re really sorry, L. Let’s just talk again when you’re right in the head,” he said and turned to the door again.

 

But he stopped in his tracks when a pair of arms from behind circled around him, and lips nuzzled on his neck. “I’m sorry for ignoring you, Yeobo. I’m sorry for not telling you what the problem was. I’m sorry for making little things such a big deal. I’m sorry for going down from the top bunk like I was carrying an elephant. I’m sorry for sleeping on my own bed. And I’m sorry for making you angry like this.” L turned Sungyeol so they were facing each other. “I love you and I’m not perfect; I’m your selfish, jealous boyfriend. Please forgive me.”

 

Of course you’re forgiven, you adorable, jealous boyfriend, Sungyeol almost blurted out. Good thing he stopped himself just in time because he would not let L get away with this with no stipulation.

 

Trying to stifle a smile that was threatening to form on his lips, Sungyeol said, “On one condition.”

 

“Anything.”

 

“Don’t you ever sleep on your own bed again.”

 

L, relieved that Sungyeol’s condition was something more than beneficial for him, smiled and kissed the tip of Sungyeol’s nose. “Of course, love. I sleep best when you’re next to me. And I don’t want you to hurt your back from missing me again,” he couldn’t help but add to tease the taller one.

 

“Good,”Sungyeol approved, ignoring the last part since it was true and he wouldn’t admit it to smug Mingsoo, who suddenly had an idea.

 

“Should we ask Dongwoo hyung to sleep at Sungjong and Hoya hyung’s room tonight?”