When Youngjae arrived at breakfast the next morning, pretty much everyone was already there. He braced himself when he saw Himchan and Daehyun sitting close together, whispering about something, and quickly took a seat next to Yongguk, who greeted him with a friendly smile. He couldn’t help but return the gesture and managed to wish everyone a good morning without sounding insincere. Well, everyone except Junhong, who was predictably not here yet.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he heard Daehyun hiss, the vocalist turning to him with a smile afterwards, though Youngjae could tell it was forced. A spark of enjoyment went through him when he realised there was trouble in paradise, followed by guilt that he could dare to be happy about that. A glance at Yongguk, who was eyeing Himchan worriedly, made him look down at the table. The older would probably be disappointed if he knew what Youngjae was thinking, but as unfair as he knew it was, he couldn’t help it. Part of him still wished Daehyun would choose him, though another part told him he deserved more than being second choice. Besides, Daehyun deserved more than that too.

For a moment he wondered if he should offer Daehyun a listening ear, but the thought of having to listen to their relationship problems and then having to give advice made him feel sick.

“What’s that on your neck?”

Himchan’s question to Jongup, who quickly clasped a hand to his throat, made Youngjae lift his head. He nearly jumped when he saw Daehyun’s eyes fixed on him and, cheeks flushed, he turned his face in Jongup’s direction in time to see Himchan raising his eyebrows at the flustered dancer.

“There’s nothing there, but interesting to see you so worried,” the visual mused. “Is this why you’ve been running off so much lately?”

“No, hyung. I just thought I hadn’t washed properly, that’s all,” Jongup replied with a sigh. He reached for his hot chocolate, which reminded Youngjae he should really get up and grab something to eat (and drink, of course).

“And what could’ve been on your neck that you’d need to wash off, I wonder?” Daehyun chimed in, shouting in pain when Himchan slapped his chest and scolded him for suggesting such things about his innocent Jonguppie (who merely looked very confused).

Youngjae found himself grinning at the interaction and noticed Yongguk staring at him with a smile of his own. The leader got up and nodded for Youngjae to follow him, which he did quickly. As they walked off to the food and drinks area, they could hear Himchan loudly greeting Junhong and asking him about any girls – or boys – he might’ve seen Jongup with.

Yongguk chuckled and grabbed two plates, handing one to Youngjae. “Poor Jongup. He’s going to be questioned till the end of time.”

Youngjae nodded and loaded his plate with as much food as he could possibly carry, knowing from experience that they might be too busy later on to eat something properly. “At least it gives them something to do, I guess.” He paused to add a cup of yoghurt to his plate and, after a moment’s hesitation, to Yongguk’s as well, before speaking up again. “Do you think they’re okay?”

Yongguk sighed and poured himself a glass of juice. “You noticed them earlier too?” He shook his head and shot Youngjae a reassuring grin. “It’s probably nothing. Every couple fights sometimes, and those two might be worse than anyone else.”

That wouldn’t be a surprise if it were true. After all, the first ones to protest when they disagreed or when things didn’t go their way were Daehyun and Himchan, so it was easy to imagine them bickering over, well, everything, really. But what if it was more serious?

Yongguk clasped his shoulder and gave him a knowing look. “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s their problem, not ours. As long as it doesn’t affect the rest of us, there’s no need to get involved. For all we know Daehyun is annoyed because Himchan was talking in his sleep again, so stop thinking about it, alright?”

Youngjae smiled sheepishly and shrugged as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “I know it’s none of my business, but…”

“You want it to be,” Yongguk added, smiling back and looking too understanding for Youngjae’s tastes. Though of course he’d understand, because he was probably going through the same thing with Himchan. And it was true. Part of him truly hated that he was no longer the first person Daehyun went to when he needed anything, even if it was just to ramble on about his daily problems. It almost felt like a break-up, without ever actually having the pleasure of being with him.

“Tell you what,” Yongguk said, interrupting Youngjae’s musings, “why don’t you and I do something later? I think we could both use a distraction.”

“Wh- just the two of us?” It wasn’t that Youngjae minded the idea – it would probably help, to be honest – but they never really did anything together. If Yongguk went off with someone alone, it was either with Zelo or… well, Himchan.

Yongguk shrugged. “We don’t have to, I just thought it might be good for the both of us. Inviting Himchan and Daehyun would ruin the point, and earlier Jongup said he and Junhong already made plans themselves. So yeah, just us two.” He raised his eyebrows questioningly. “Unless that makes you feel uncomfortable?”

Youngjae quickly shook his head. “No, of course not.” At the moment Yongguk was the person he actually felt most comfortable around. “We usually don’t do that, though, so I was surprised.”

“First time for everything,” Yongguk grinned as he led them back to the table. “We could figure out where we want to go later, if that’s okay with you.”

Youngjae readily agreed, happy that someone was looking out for him and hoping Yongguk felt he was doing the same for him. The leader hated asking for anyone’s help and Youngjae knew that, no matter how often he offered, it would never happen. It was almost sad how kind Yongguk was. If Daehyun were to come up to him, he’d probably push any ill feelings he might have towards him aside, something that would – and did – cost Youngjae much trouble still when he was alone with Himchan.

Then again, he didn’t truly know what went on in Yongguk’s mind. For all he or anyone else knew, the rapper was throwing darts at Daehyun’s face in his head. He snickered at the mental image and shook his head when Yongguk looked at him curiously before sitting down again.

“You guys took a while,” Himchan pointed out.

Youngjae didn’t miss how Daehyun rolled his eyes at this, but chose to ignore it. Yongguk was right: their problems were not his, and it was about time he started to at least try to acknowledge that. Instead he forced a smile and added some sugar to his coffee. “That’s because we were discussing what to do later. Yongguk hyung and I are actually thinking of heading to that museum of obscure art we passed yesterday.”

Those words caused Himchan to raise his eyebrows, Daehyun to frown and Yongguk to shoot him a surprised yet pleased smile, while the two maknaes just nodded, focused more on their food than on the conversation. Of course they hadn’t talked about the museum at all, but Youngjae hadn’t failed to notice how Yongguk’s eyes had been drawn there, and he thought it would be good to do something the other enjoyed. Besides, it lessened the chances of anyone else joining them.

“I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing,” Daehyun eventually said, trying – and desperately failing – to sound casual.

Youngjae wondered more and more what he and Himchan had argued about and if it had had anything to do with Yongguk or with him, since their attitudes towards them had been strange all morning. He shrugged. “I don’t mind it. Besides, I’m sure hyung will explain it to me. Right?”

Yongguk nodded, seemingly pleased. Not too strange, since hardly anyone ever listened to his ramblings about the art and artists he so adored. “Of course. And we could get something to eat after.”

Youngjae was sure he heard Himchan mumble something about a date, but couldn’t be entirely sure. Not that it mattered anyway, he thought as he finally started on his breakfast. It looked like it was going to be a good day, thanks to Yongguk’s idea, and that was really all that was important. He needed one for a change.

Daehyun had known it was going to be a terrible day as soon as he woke up. His dreams had been nothing but nightmares and things hadn’t gotten any better at the breakfast table. As soon as Yongguk had appeared, Daehyun had only been able to think about his and Himchan’s argument last night. And when Youngjae appeared, he unfortunately had to admit Himchan had had a point. His best friend looked exhausted and sad, and he knew he was the reason for that, which admittedly didn’t make him feel very good about himself.

Now he was back in the hotel room with Himchan, waiting for the other to finish getting ready so they could go out somewhere.

“Do you think there’s something between Youngjae and Yongguk?”

Daehyun had to stop himself from rolling his eyes again, tired of how those two always ended up being the topic of their conversations. “Don’t know. Probably not, I think they’re just trying to cheer each other up.” Admittedly they had both looked a lot happier after they returned to the table, but that could’ve been for any number of reasons. “Why, would you mind if there was?”

He wanted to kick himself as soon as he said it, especially when he saw Himchan’s face. Although he was fairly sure Himchan wouldn’t be with him if he wanted Yongguk instead – he had turned him down, after all – he couldn’t help but compare himself to the leader. He was as different from Yongguk as was possible, and he knew the things Himchan admired in the other weren’t traits he himself possessed. He wasn’t quiet, or shy, usually didn’t bother keeping his opinion to himself, and although he was all for charity work, he wasn’t nearly as involved in it as Yongguk was.

He was younger, more inexperienced, and the worst part was: he didn’t know Himchan as well as Yongguk did. Those two had known each other the longest out of all of them and knew how to handle each other perfectly. Apart from yesterday, when he had snuck into the shower, he hadn’t properly seen Himchan in a state of undress. He always seemed to approve of Daehyun removing his shirt and loved to run his hands over the vocalist’s abs, but whenever Daehyun tried to do the same in return, his wandering hands were shoved away (or lower). Yet, Daehyun knew for a fact that Himchan hadn’t minded Yongguk doing the same.

It was probably silly, but it was as though Yongguk had privileges Daehyun didn’t have, despite being the boyfriend. Not that he thought Himchan would allow Yongguk to touch him that way now, but knowing that, had they ended up together, he would’ve been able to didn’t make him feel better.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked the other way when Himchan appeared in front of him, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed over the entire situation. It didn’t last long, since Himchan placed his hands on Daehyun’s cheeks and turned his face so they were looking into each other’s eyes.

“What’s going on, Daehyun?” Himchan asked softly. “If you don’t tell me, I can’t make you feel better.”

Daehyun chewed on his lip before taking a deep breath and finally releasing his frustrations, his ears turning red as he spoke because he didn’t like exposing himself like this.

“And now you keep talking about him, which really doesn’t help,” he eventually ended his outburst, wanting nothing more than to hide in the bathroom for the rest of their time here. Too bad they had to practice tomorrow and hold their concert tomorrow; that kind of put a dent in his plan.

“Yeah, I know, I’m stupid,” he grumbled when he didn’t get a reply.

“You’re not,” Himchan replied, leaning in to place a small kiss on Daehyun’s jaw. “I’m glad you told me. But… I don’t have any romantic feelings for Yongguk, honestly. The reason I talk about him a lot sometimes is because I still feel guilty.” He played with Daehyun’s collar as he sighed deeply. “Yes, he knows more about me, but that doesn’t mean he knows me better. And you have plenty of time to learn all he knows anyway. I want you to.”

Daehyun closed his eyes when Himchan kissed him. What the other said made sense (and he quite enjoyed hearing that knowing more didn’t mean knowing better), and at least he wasn’t angry. He wrapped an arm around Himchan’s waist loosely and raised his free hand to brush his fingers over the visual’s cheekbone. He wanted to speak, but Himchan stopped him by speaking up himself.

“As for… the other thing…” Himchan was now as red as Daehyun was sure he himself was. “It’s not because I don’t trust you. It was easier with Yongguk because he doesn’t care about looks, at all.”

“And I’m shallow, is that it?” Daehyun asked, feeling annoyed again at that suggestion.

“No,” Himchan said firmly. “You’re not. But, well, my body isn’t exactly like yours, you know. You might be disappointed, I don’t know.”

Daehyun did roll his eyes this time and tugged Himchan closer. “You’re an idiot. I saw you last night, in case you’ve forgotten, and disappointment was definitely not one of the things I felt.” The sight of Himchan’s flushed face made him grin and he quickly wedged a leg in between the other’s, his fists curled in the back of Himchan’s shirt and lips brushing his ear. “If you’d like, I could show you what your body does make me feel, though.”

He laughed when he was pushed backwards, though it was more because of the relief that he had spoken up and been reassured than because of how flustered his boyfriend was (although he still wasn’t sure how he felt over Himchan’s last confession… he’d just have to make sure the other knew how gorgeous he really was and that he’d never judge him for a lack of a six pack or something ridiculous like that).

“Just talk to me from now on, okay?” Himchan mumbled, turning away to continue getting ready.

Daehyun hugged him from behind and kissed his shoulder. “I will,” he promised. He wanted to say more, but that was when Himchan’s phone rang. Daehyun frowned when he heard Jongup’s voice coming through clearly as soon as Himchan answered; Jongup rarely called, and when he did, he certainly didn’t yell. He couldn’t quite make out what was being said, only really being able to follow Himchan’s side of the conversation (which consisted mostly of “calm down!”, “slow down” and ended with “we’ll be there soon”).

Himchan looked paler than usual when he hung up, prompting Daehyun to hug him close again. “It’s Junhong,” Himchan eventually managed to say, his voice shaky. “He was hit by a car.”

A/N: Don't worry, I love Zelo too much to seriously hurt him. It seems all dramatic, but he's fine, really! Well, mostly. But hey, Youngjae and Yongguk are growing closer, and Daehyun finally spoke up, so there's that! Not that this means their problems are over, of course.

Anyway... Thank you for reading, and thank you to the subscribers/upvoters/commenters too. :)