for _Like_A_Star_;; (4142 words)

Sungyeol considers himself to be a pretty intelligent guy and - without trying to sound too full of himself - the best businessman in the bunch. There’s a reason that his restaurant is the busiest, he makes sure to stop by in person, to monitor operations and take a couple pics for the fans every so often, just to keep the buzz alive.

It’s not that he’s greedy, or that he has a fascination with money, it’s just… nice to be able to buy whatever he wants, for himself or for his loved ones, without having to worry about the price tag. Furthermore, he knows how fickle the public can be when it comes to idols, and he seems to be constantly aware that there is ticking clock on Infinite’s popularity - not that they would ever break up, somehow he knew deep down that the seven of them would never get rid of each other, would always continue to make music even after their army days, but there was no guarantee that the fans would stick with them, would stay loyal when there seemed to be a new boy group debuting every other week. Even now their own company was grooming what they hoped to be the next big thing, his brother even signing up to be one of the members, the traitor.

He sighed, things like new debuts and schedules and the group’s future were out of his control, but this - this idea was entirely his own, and to say it was a success was an understatement. He straightened out the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, his special working glasses, which only added to his good luck charms. His previous negative thoughts dissipated into nothing when he saw the clock wind down to zero; the bidding war was over and once again, he came out victorious.

Sungyeol patted himself on the back, sending off the confirmation e-mail to the winning bidder with an earnest smile; another fan’s day had been made and his bank account had gotten just a tad bit bigger. He wrapped up the plaid shirt nicely, tucking it into the plain cardboard box to be shipped off in the morning; Myungsoo would never know the difference.

Perhaps that’s why this whole thing had started, after one of the many nights crashing in the visual’s room, Sungyeol had realized just how cluttered the space was. While being the most popular member in the group had its perks, like presents literally stacked to the ceiling on Myungsoo’s birthdays, it also meant that after every so often all of the clothes and the gifts started to pile up. Myungsoo wasn’t a materialistic type of person, so things like letters and personal gifts were the things he cherished the most from the fans. Which meant that he had an abundance of very nice, lightly worn designer items that were just going to waste. Items that he barely noticed were missing, because he hardly even remembered them.

Which is exactly where Sungyeol came in.

At first, when he offered to straighten up his boyfriend’s room a bit, he thought he’d just get rid of the things that Myungsoo would never wear; pieces that had gone out of the trends or that didn’t suit Myungsoo’s style, and of course, the wretched plaid button ups. But then his business instincts had kicked in; these clothes were not only barely worn, but Kim Myungsoo’s personal possessions. Surely they had to have some worth.

And thus, his eBay secret identity was born.

He came up with a pretty over the top bio on his store page to explain how he got access to the items; naturally he couldn’t tell the truth… Hello, I’m Infinite member Lee Sungyeol who has no moral qualms about stealing my boyfriend’s, fellow idol Kim Myungsoo’s, clothing behind his back because he’d never be the wiser… enjoy!

No… it was more along the lines of close friend with one of Infinite’s premier managers who has exclusive access to Myungsoo’s wardrobe and personal items. It was almost too easy to sell the goods, all it took was a picture from one of Myungsoo’s fansites of him wearing the item in question, along with the date, price, and quality of the piece, and the bidding war would be on. It was crazy how much the fans wanted these items, how much they were willing to pay in order to be able to say that they owned something that used to belong to Myungsoo.

At first he just posted a couple small things, like a bracelet or t-shirt every week or so, but now, with his shop’s increasing popularity, he was posting a new item almost every other day. Hell, he didn’t even mind the lapse in schedules for him lately, his new online venture was keeping him plenty busy - and his bank account more than full.

He taped up the box, humming a cheery tune as he pondered the next item he would put up for sale; the plaid shirts seemed to sell extremely well, fans were always nostalgic for those early debut days, he couldn’t even imagine how much he’d get if he was daring enough to sell some of his boyfriend’s underwear-

“What are you doing in here? And why are you wearing those ridiculous glasses?”

Sungyeol abruptly dropped the box, a yelp of shock escaping him when Myungsoo’s voice suddenly boomed in his ear. “Er- nothing! What are you doing in here? And these glasses make me look hot and smart, thank you very much.” He retaliated, trying to shift the focus away from himself as he discreetly shut his laptop and slid it underneath the pillow.

Myungsoo looked at him weirdly, plopping down next to him on his bed. “This is my room, you know.”

“Of course I know that, that’s why I’m here. I was... waiting for you! Yes, I was waiting for you. But I didn’t think you’d be here for awhile. What are you doing back so early anyway?”

“Drama shoot got cancelled because of the rain. We tried to make it work but the PD didn’t like the way things looked. I’m just glad to be out of those stuffy suits, they’re the worst- especially when they’re wet.”

“Ah, I’m sure that you looked cute; all wet and pouty, my adorable Secretary Gil.” Sungyeol teased in a sing song voice, making Myungsoo blush. The younger boy looked around, a slight grimace on his face, peaking Sungyeol’s interest. “What?”

“My room looks like a mess…. weren’t the cleaners supposed to come by today?”

Sungyeol spared a glance at the messy closet, courtesy of his quick shuffle through for new items to sell, and did his best to look innocent.

“Erm… I think so! My room was pretty bad though… maybe they just didn’t have time to come by yours-”

“No, they were in here.” Myungsoo stated firmly, getting up from his spot on the bed to look through his closet. “I definitely didn’t leave my closet doors open, and you know I hate clothes on the floor. Someone went through my stuff.”

“Maybe Sungjong wanted to borrow a shirt or something?” Sungyeol tried helplessly, not wanting to admit that he was the culprit in question.

“No way. Sungjong would rather die than be subjected to my fashion; his words, not mine. And we both know we haven’t been the same size for years. I hate to say this but… I think the cleaning lady has been stealing my stuff.”

“What?”

Myungsoo nodded sadly, sitting on the edge of the bed with a disturbed look. “Ahjumma has always seemed so nice when I’ve met her, she even fluffs my pillows just the way I like it before she goes and sometimes she even leaves me a little chocolate candy but… over the past couple of months I’ve noticed a few things start to go missing. At first I just chalked it up to forgetfulness or just losing things when I moved from one room to another but… it’s been too many items and too coincidental.”

He sighed, stalking towards his closet again to shuffle all the clothes to the side, clearly looking for something in particular. “This was the final test and if it’s gone…” Myungsoo ducked down, riffling through the closet until he found the box in question. He carried it back over to the bed, opening up the lid almost as if he was hesitant to see what was inside. The moment he peered inside his face fell, a sad groan escaping. “It’s not here.” He pushed his fingers through the assorted jewelry, looking for the item in question but still coming up short. “It’s not here.” He repeated sadly, dropping the box on the bed without a second glance.

Sungyeol leaned over to pick it up, looking worriedly at its contents. “What’s not here? What are you looking for babe?”

“It was a bracelet. It was our bracelet.”

“Our bracelet? What are you talking about?”

“You know.” Myungsoo mumbled, his hands gesturing wildly. “It was old, like really old. Like debut days. It was special.”

“Myungsoo, you don’t even like jewelry. Was it expensive? I’m sure we can get a replacement-”

“There is no replacement! It wasn’t special because it cost a lot of money; it was special because you gave it to me. Remember? You bought it for me with the first paycheck we got from the company. The black leather one with the black rhinestones… you said that you saw it and that it made you think of me. It was the first gift you ever bought me…”

Sungyeol felt the blood drain from his body, the amount of guilt he felt now increased tenfold. He knew exactly which bracelet Myungsoo was talking about now that he had described it, and he had sold it just last week. At the time he didn’t even think about it, he hadn’t seen Myungsoo wear it in years. He felt like the worst boyfriend in the world for not recognizing its significance.

“Myungsoo… I didn’t even realize that you remembered that. I didn’t even think you liked it that much since you hardly ever wore it-”

“Well at first I thought I’d never take it off. I wanted to wear it everywhere, a constant remind of you, of us. But then I didn’t want it to get damaged or lost… with all of our outfit changes and running around for schedules… it just made me too worried. But I liked having it, knowing that it was always there. And now it’s just... gone.” Myungsoo said slowly, his shoulders hunching in defeat.

He looked liked the picture of sadness, and Sungyeol couldn’t hate himself more than he did in this moment. He moved in front of Myungsoo, falling down to his knees and bowing in apology. He took off the silly business glasses, feeling horrible that he had let something as dumb as boredom and desire for money hurt his boyfriend like this. “Myungsoo…