It was something Leo tried to ignore, because he didn't like it much. Whevever N hugged him, he desperately pretended that he was somewhere else, or the whole ordeal wasn't even happening. Skinship was awkward and embarrassing, ESPECIALLY if there were cameras around, capturing every second of it.

 

So he was a little surprised, to say the least, when Ravi's new co-lyricist/composer, Chloe, started being the object N would cling to instead. The poor girl was about Hyuk's age, though she was only 1 month younger than VIXX's maknae. She came from Canada on a work visa to intern with Jellyfish Entertainment. She followed VIXX around, from practice in their dance rooms, to their dorms, and even to the various activities VIXX attended like fan signs, concerts, talk shows, and more.

 

N, Ravi, and Ken treated her like the group's precious baby; they constantly showered her with the affection that loving, doting parents would show to their children. They were constantly hugging and hanging onto the girl, and she struggled with the concept of skinship, that much Leo could tell. It didn't bother Leo much because it kept him from the spotlight. But then Chloe starting to initiate the act of skinship herself.

She would suddenly hug N from behind, or lay her legs on Ravi's lap as the two worked on songs together; she would even use Ken and Hongbin as her personal body pillows when she was sleepy. Hyuk wasn't left alone either—in fact, he and Chloe shared the most skinship, regardless of their surroundings. Many fans began to wonder if Chloe and Hyuk were dating.

 

"It's because they're the same age," N tried to reason out loud one day. But Leo could tell by his leader's pout that he was CLEARLY not convinced with his own words.

 

"Don't act like that...You started it, letting her think it was fine," Leo pointed out. N blinked in utter shock at Leo's harsh words before shivering over-dramatically.

 

"Oh~! Leo scolded me! Ken, Ken!" N gushed, running off in search of the vocalist in question. Leo could only roll his eyes in response, knowing N would share this event with the other chatterbox of VIXX.

 

Leo mentally shook himself as he began to look over the latest lyrics Ravi and Chloe had come up with. Those two have been working well together, Leo admitted to himself. The song was a love song, about a boy who started to see his childhood friend as something more. The song was filled with a sweet, pure love. It was one that Leo couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach every time he read the verses.

 

He was too immersed in the lyrics that he didn't notice someone sit down beside him. It wasn't until he felt a weight on his shoulder that Leo realized he wasn't alone. He looked down and froze slightly when he saw Chloe's head resting on his shoulder, eyes closed.

 

"Ken oppa and N oppa are being loud in the other room," she explained matter-of-factly, as if that were a sufficient enough of an answer to suddenly engage in skinship with Leo.

 

Leo couldn't understand what was happening. If anything, he was suddenly worried; Chloe hardly ever tried to touch him, aside from the occasional pat on the back or quick, one-armed hug. It was as if she purposefully went out of her way to NOT have physical contact with him.

 

A soft sigh suddenly escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered open slowly.

 

"Oh, you're reading the latest song," she realized. She lifted her head slightly so she could look Leo in the eye. "What do you think?"

 

The bright innocence in Chloe's childishly large eyes threw Leo for a moment. He cleared his throat awkwardly before saying, "I like it. It's very pretty."

 

"Really? Ravi wasn't too sure about it, but I'm glad you like it," Chloe said with a smile. She rested her head back on Leo's shoulder, adding, "I was thinking of you when I wrote it."

 

"Me?" Leo asked, surprised.

 

Chloe nodded, closing her eyes and sighing contently. "You have such a beautiful voice, so I wanted you to use it more in songs like this. It's supposed to be a ballad kind of song."

 

Leo could feel his whole body begin to warm at Chloe's words. The praise and recognition she gave him for his talents made Leo extremely happy. A light smile touched his lips.

 

Chloe continued to stay by his side, resting comfortably against him. Her weight against him became greater as she actually dozed off for awhile. Her cheek rubbed against Leo's shoulder, her breaths gently tickling Leo's thin shirt across his skin.

 

And for some reason, Leo didn't mind.

 

He liked the warm, soft feel of Chloe against him. She wasn't throwing herself at him the way N would, and she wasn't being hesitant and awkward about it the way Hyuk would go about performing skinship with Leo. It was a natural, familiar feeling. It was like Leo had been experiencing this all his life.

 

N came back into the room after half an hour had gone by. The leader of VIXX instantly stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. He pointed an accusing finger at Leo, but Leo glared at N before a single word could escape his lips.

 

But a loud and obnoxious Ken entered the room mere seconds later before booming in his loud voice, “OH?! So Chloe's finally admitted that she likes you, huh? She’s liked you for awhile now, too...I’m happy that you’ve accepted her feelings hyung!”

 

Leo just blinked like an owl in response. What? was all that ran through Leo’s mind as N his heel and smacked Ken upside the head.

At the sound of Ken’s loud, fake sobbing, Chloe stirred in her sleep. She groaned before lifting her head from the comforting spot on Leo’s shoulder, half-peering/half-glaring at the person responsible for the noise. “Ah, Chloe~! N hyung is a meanie! He hit me!” Ken ran to the other side of the girl before grabbing her arm and whining some more.

 

“Who do you think you are?” N questioned, playfully giving chase.

 

Ken yelped and screamed, “But HYUNG! I was just asking if Chloe had told Leo~!”

 

“Told Leo what?” Chloe questioned, confused.

 

Ken and N froze, Ken out of surprise, and N out of dejected fear for the wrath he knew was coming. “Y-You mean you DIDN’T tell Leo hyung…?”

 

“Tell him what?” Chloe repeated.

 

Ken gaped like a floundering fish for a moment. He suddenly scrambled away from Chloe and out of the room as fast as he could, screaming, “I DIDN’T MEAN TO!”

 

Chloe, still clueless, looked around the room for a moment. N was slowly backing out of the room too, before chuckling awkwardly. “Well, your stupid Ken oppa MAY have let a certain...cat out of the bag…”

 

“Cat? N oppa what are you talking about?” Chloe whined, clearly still too tired to think. Leo cleared his throat then, giving N the chance to slip out of the room still with his life.

 

“Ken said that you...have feelings for me,” Leo explained softly; he felt like his voice was softer and smaller than it had ever been as he said these words.

 

But Chloe was clearly able to hear them anyways. Leo didn’t doubt that, judging by the way her eyes widened suddenly and her face turned a scarlet red in the blink of an eye. She averted her gaze from Leo, who watched her every movement.

 

She fidgeted under his gaze, twisting her hands nervously as she stuttered simply, “O-Oh.”

 

“So he wasn’t lying?” Leo asked.

 

Chloe’s lips pressed in a thin, unbreakable line. She shook her head, and Leo watched as she slowly tried to scoot herself away from him. “Hyuk noticed it first…” Chloe said, still red in the face. “He said he thought it was weird that I never h-hugged you or anything, even though I did that with everyone else…”

 

Leo nodded once, suddenly curious. He thought back to the past few months Chloe had been with VIXX, and realized that she was indeed telling the truth. It was the reason her sudden skinship had been so surprising, after all.

 

“It was because you liked me?” Leo asked, raising his eyebrows.

 

Chloe nodded quickly, and a waterfall of words came spewing from . “I really, really like you, so it makes me nervous to be around you sometimes. A-And I know you aren’t really a touchy-feely kind of person, because of how you act when N oppa or the others hug you and stuff. So I thought I should respect your space, even though I really want to be close to you; I just didn’t want the guy I like...I didn’t want YOU feeling uncomfortable because of me...”

 

Leo blinked silently, unsure of what to say. But he knew he had to say something, and he did.

 

“I thought it was because you didn’t like me,” Leo admitted.

 

“N-No! Nothing like that!” Chloe argued quickly. She looked into his eyes then, and Leo smiled warmly.

 

“That’s okay then,” he said.

 

Chloe stiffened slightly, eyes wide with questions. Leo held in a sigh, realizing that he needed to actually use words to convey what he was thinking. “I don’t mind if you say you want to hug me...I just mind when N does it. He’s annoying.”

 

Chloe giggled at Leo’s bluntness. It was clear she was still flustered and embarrassed, but was much more relaxed than she was moments before. Leo could feel his heart warm as Chloe scooted back to her original closeness. She bumped her shoulder playfully into Leo’s, smiling brightly like a happy child.

 

She’s going to be a handful...but it’ll be worth it. Leo thought, still smiling.