Sungyeol wondered if Sungjong would even be able to read the paper’s headlines with his hands trembling so much. Taking advantage of his height, he peered over Sungjong’s shoulder. Exactly what had shaken everyone so much? Surely nothing could be more important than their new MV?

Sungyeol’s first impulse was to laugh at the bowlcut hairstyle Sungjong sported in the photo. Despite the high school uniform, Sungjong looked like he still belonged to middle school. The other face of the other boy in the picture couldn’t really be seen, but Sungjong’s face was completely clear.

“Yah...this must be photoshopped,” Sungyeol said with a nervous laugh. “Right, Sungjong ah?”

Sungjong didn’t say anything but his shaky breathing and alarmed wide eyes confirmed the opposite and Sungyeol felt as though someone had thrown a bucket of ice over him. Sunggyu grabbed the paper from Sungjong’s hands, his eyes opening wide as he read the article with the other older members.

“Yah, Sungjong ah! What is this?” Woohyun’s face twisted into one of outrage.

“Jongie – how? What? Why? I don’t – what? ” A stream of unintelligible words came from Dongwoo’s mouth, the shock making him even harder to understand than usual.

 “Yah! Are you even listening to me?” Woohyun strode to Sungjong and shook him by the shoulders. “Yah!”

Sungyeol felt as though he couldn’t breathe as he walked through the corridor. His face burned at the whispers that instantly surrounded them. He stuck close to Sungjong, unsure as to whether he was mad at the youngest or not, but just sure that Sungjong look as though he would faint at any second and if he did, Sungyeol had to be there to catch him.

Other groups’ idols had been lounging around but their conversations instantly stopped as soon as they saw Infinite. Sungyeol noticed the phones in their hands and the answer was obvious as to what picture was being displayed on the screens. He tried to smile at some of his friends but their attentions were fixed on Sungjong.

 They were just reaching the more empty corridors when a tall man with greying hair and a hook like nose came rushing towards them. Sungyeol recognised him instantly. EXO’s manager, Jungsu. Behind Jungsu were a few more of SM managers, their faces set grimly.

“Manager – nim,” Sungyeol muttered as he bowed with the rest of the group. He had seen the EXO manager plenty of times before, even joked with him occasionally at the Idol Olympics. But there was a new glint in Jungsu’s eyes that sent chills down Sungyeol’s spine.

“Sungjong – shi comes with us,” Jungsu spoke directly to Youngjun manager. “The CEO wants to see him.”

Sungyeol felt Woohyun stiffen instantly, even as his thoughts collided into a jumble. Why on Earth was SM’s CEO asking to see Sungjong? He looked at Youngjun’s face for answers but was instead surprised at the guardedness in his manager’s jaw.

“Hyung, we were just on the way to see Woolim’s CEO,” Youngjun said politely. “I’m sure we can arrange a meeting with SM’s CEO sometime soon.”

Jungsu laughed and the bitterness in it made Sungyeol shift closer to Sungjong. “Sometime soon? You think this is a small matter that’s going to settle down by tonight? Matters involving...dirt like this needs to be dealt with.”

Sungyeol looked up sharply, hackles raised at the old man’s reference to Sungjong. Dirt? He opened his mouth furiously when a warm hand coiled around his wrist and squeezed with a firmness that left Sungyeol with no doubt as to whose hand it was. He breathed heavily and taking note of Sunggyu’s signal, clamped his mouth shut. A glance to the side showed the Leader watching the manager’s altercation with a blank face.

“We need to congregate at Woolim and have a meeting of our own first, hyung,” Youngjun said carefully. “Then, we can discuss matters with SM.”

Jungsu clenched his jaw. “Like it or not, the merger between Woolim and SM is affected by this ersion too. Your CEO has been contacted and he is being driven to SM’s headquarters to discuss too.”

Sungyeol bit his tongue so hard, he wouldn’t be surprised if blood started leaking out. ersion? Sungjong - the purest, most innocent boy he knew - a ersion? He stared at Jungsu manager, biting back the curses in his head, Who are you calling a ersion, old man? I saw those magazine you had inside your jacket during the festival, you no good hypocritical frog-faced –

“Lee Sungjong, come here,” Jungsu said and Sungyeol was alarmed to see his own Youngjun manager resignedly nodding for Sungjong to go.

“Jungyeop sasagnim will be there,” said Youngjun and Jungsu moved forward determinedly.

Sungyeol griped Sungjong’s wrist in an instant and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Myungsoo subtly do the same. In front of them, Woohyun, Dongwoo and Hoya seemed to have moved to stand in front of Infinite’s three youngest, as though they were a battlefield shield.

A headache was building up behind Sungyeol’s temples at the absurdity that seemed to have befallen the group within the hour. He didn’t know what to think. But if there was one thing he was sure of, there was no way he was going to let his youngest dongsaeng go with a bunch of people currently looking at him as though he was nothing more than a piece of gum at the bottom of their shoe.

“Let’s go,” Jungsu repeated with an undercurrent of anger in his voice. Sungjong didn’t react, standing as though he was a statue despite the fact that Sungyeol was probably squeezing his hand so tightly that it had to hurt.

“No.”

Sungyeol startled at the calm voice that sounded near his ear. He turned his head to stare at Sunggyu, who was gazing directly at Jungsu. The Leader smiled – only it wasn’t the warm, affectionate smile that usually creased his eyes and brightened his face. It wasn’t even the smug, arrogant smile that he sometimes wore when he won something. Instead, it was what Sungyeol usually referred to as a cold smile; one Sungyeol was used to seeing when a journalist asked pointedly troublesome questions. A smile reserved for the enemy.

“Sorry, hyungnim, but Sungjong is too shocked right now to go to a meeting. I will go in his place.”

Sungyeol would have sighed in relief if he didn’t feel as though the tense atmosphere was suffocating him.

“The CEO asked for Sungjong,” Jungsu bit out. Sunggyu’s politeness probably annoyed him even more.  

“As Infinite’s Leader, I represent every member,” Sunggyu replied and he walked forward purposefully as though that solved the matter entirely.

Jungsu glared for a few seconds and with another glance at the human shield around Sungjong, he snorted. “Why am I not surprised that a group with this sort of scandal is so troublesome? Fine. Let’s go.”

With that he grabbed hold of Sunggyu’s upper arm -  Sungyeol having to grit his teeth as he saw Sunggyu’ fleeting wince at the sudden grab – before marching down the left corridor, as though he was a prison warden hurrying a prisoner. Presumably, they were going to go through a quieter route where no press people were present.

Silence reigned among them for a few seconds. Sungyeol was the first to move. He let go of Sungjong’s wrist and bounded forward, eager to get to the shelter of their car where he wouldn’t have to listen to the malicious whispers surrounding him. It was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine. Their Leader would have a meeting with Jungyeop CEO and SM’s dictator, and they’ll come up with something that should make this scandal rubbish die down.

“Come on guys!” Sungyeol turned to see why the others weren’t following. The first thing he saw was Woohyun staring at Sunggyu’s retreating back with clenched fists and a fearful expression on his face. Sungyeol frowned confusedly but his questions were dismissed as the manager, prompted by Sungyeol’s actions, hurried them forwards. 

They went down a series of empty corridors before arriving in the parking space behind. Sungyeol was relieved to see that there were no reporters or fans around. They all got into the car, the absence of their leader highlighted by the empty front seat by the driver. Sungyeol sat at the very back, guiding Sungjong and Myungsoo to sit next to him.  

The car ride was one of the quietest journeys Sungyeol could recall. No one spoke, not even manager Youngjun, who concentrated on manoeuvring through a huge traffic jam. Sungyeol fidgeted endlessly with his seatbelt. He hated the silence. Even when the members were asleep, he’d hear Myungsoo’s sleep talking or Dongwoo’s occasional snigger. Or the music emitting from someone’s headphones.

Sungyeol kept sneaking glances at Sungjong, who seemed to have glued his eyes to the car’s floor. Sungyeol caught Myungsoo’s eye and hated the helplessness he felt at the redness in the younger boy’s eyes. 

What was going to happen? Sungyeol sighed and closed his eyes, the events so far seeming to have sapped at his energy.

He was eventually shaken awake by Woohyun, who pulled him out of the car. The sky was dark with the stars out, and a glance at his watch showed the time to be nine at night. The ride home had taken three hours, Sungyeol realised blearily. He dimly realised that the manager must have taken much longer routes to avoid tailing reporters cars.

The walk to their flat was blurred by the aftermath of his sleep but he was very aware of the reporters being held at bay by the apartment’s security. He looked around for Sungjong but Hoya already had him under his arm, shielding him from the reporters’ cameras.

They reached their flat in record time. It was a new flat, twice as big as the one they used to have, which meant that all the members could live together and still have their own bedrooms. Sungyeol opened the door and they all trailed inside. Sungjong went straight to his room, while everyone else stood around in the living room, waiting for instructions from the manager.

Youngjun looked at them before sighing and looking away. “Kids...just stay here, okay? Don’t go out and don’t go near windows. Try not to go on the Internet. Just stay safe here. I’ll bring Sunggyu here as soon as I can.”

Before they could say anything, he was gone.

Sungyeol sank onto the sofa with a loud groan. He stretched his sore limbs, muscles aching from the days and weeks of dancing practice they had done for this comeback. And for what? The fans hadn’t even seemed to care today.

“Argh, this is so frustrating!” he moaned. He felt the seat sink as Myungsoo sat cross legged next to him.

“Hyung,” Myungsoo looked at Woohyun. “Hyung, what do we do?”

Woohyun clenched his jaw, his eyes steely as he stared at a picture of them hanging on the wall. Seconds ticked by before he was striding towards Sungjong’s room and battering at the door.

“Sungjong ah! Open up!” Woohyun yelled.

There was no response and Woohyun uttered a curse before trying the door handle. It was locked.

“Leave him,” Hoya said. “He probably wants to be alone.” Sungyeol’s heart dropped to see the tiredness already marking Hoya’s face; a far cry from the beaming bright eyed boy in the morning.

Woohyun cursed again before aiming a kick at the door that made it smash open. Ignoring the startled yells from Sungyeol and Myungsoo, he went into the room and manhandled Sungjong out with him.

“Get off me!” Sungjong screamed, battling with Woohyun’s arms. Sungyeol gasped to see that Sungjong’s face was red and blotchy with had tears streaming down. Evidently the boy had been crying in his room.

“You need to give us some answers, you brat!” Woohyun bellowed and he dragged Sungjong to the sofa.

“Hey, hey, hey! Woohyun ah!” Dongwoo shouted. “Don’t be so rough!”

Hoya rushed with Dongwoo to pull Sungjong from Woohyun’s grasp before manoeuvring him to sit on the sofa. Sungjong was crying so hard that it was like moving a ragdoll. Sungyeol hastened to go grab some tissues while Myungsoo immediately went to Sungjong’s side, rubbing his back and hugging his shoulders.

“Why is there a picture of you kissing a guy?” Woohyun yelled, and Sungyeol shrank back. He had forgotten how scary Woohyun was when he was angry.

“I don’t know!” Sungjong screamed back. His voice was scratchy and hoarse from the crying, but a part of Sungyeol was just relieved that Sungjong was actually showing signs of life now. “I don’t know, okay! It was from years ago – when I was sixteen! Someone must have taken a picture when I kissed him!”

“Who’s “him”?” Woohyun asked darkly.

“My...” Sungjong faltered and glanced at the faces around him before setting his face. “My boyfriend at the time...he was just a classmate...I broke up with him a week later anyway because he cheated on me.”

Silence fell in the living room for a while as they absorbed the new information. Sungjong’s cries turned into quieter, hiccupping sobs.

“So you’re...” Hoya cleared his throat and continued. “So you’re really...gay?”

Sungjong in a deep breath before speaking in a wavering voice. “Yes...Yes...” His face twisted into one of horror and harder sobs were wrenched from him. “Oh my god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry! Hyung, I’m so sorry! I’ve ruined us!”

Sungjong cried as though someone was torturing him with a burning stick and the pain in the cries brought tears to Sungyeol’s own eyes. He moved without even being aware of his own actions and found himself hugging Sungjong from the side.

“Don’t cry,” Sungyeol gulped. “Please stop crying. Hyung’s here.”

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Woohyun rush to Sungjong and hug him from the front while Myungsoo and Dongwoo hugged Sungjong’s other side. What a peculiar sight they must have looked like, Sungyeol thought. Four young men hugging a sobbing man while one more Sungjong’s hair from the back.

“It’s okay,” Woohyun said in a teary, thick voice. “It’s okay. Hyung’s not mad at you.”

“Shh” was all Dongwoo said while Myungsoo babbled about something amidst his own cries.

Sungyeol didn’t know when he fell asleep but he must have sometime during the hugging pile up. A warm weight rested on his lap and another weight rested on his shoulder. Without opening his eyes, he could only presume that it was Woohyun who was sprawled over his lap and Sungjong leaning against him. They’d all fallen asleep on the sofa.

Which made Sungyeol wonder what it was that had actually woken him up. He was in the middle of pondering it when the soft sound of footsteps reached his ears. He stiffened as someone gently lifted his head, but relaxed again as a pillow was put under his head. A few sleepy seconds later, the same hands shrouded him in a warm blanket.

Sungyeol had a good idea as to who the hands belonged to but he cracked his eyelids open a tiny bit to check. The first thing he saw was the clock on the wall that read 2.00am. He then noticed that Woohyun was indeed lying on his lap. Sungjong was snoring lightly on his left with Myungsoo draped around him. Hoya was sleeping on the floor while Dongwoo slept with his back against the sofa. Someone had brought the quilts and pillows from the bedrooms and made the members comfortable, while also dimming the lights.

A flicker of movement caused Sungyeol to look directly in front of him. On the sofa opposite, sat their Leader. Sunggyu wasn’t doing anything. Just watching them sleep with a soft look on his face. A rush of warmth for him blazed through Sungyeol.

“Hyung.”

Sunggyu jumped, making Sungyeol snigger.

“Sungyeol ah! I thought you were sleeping.”

“Mhmmm,” Sungyeol said sleepily. “When did you come back, hyung?”

“Just now,” said Sunggyu quietly. “I didn’t want to wake all of you. Everyone must be shattered, huh?”

“Mhmm,” Sungyeol nodded, feeling Sungjong’s hair tickle his cheek. “How was the meeting with SM’s CEO, hyung?”

Sunggyu sighed and leaned forward slightly to clasp his hands together, bringing him in line with the glow of the tableside lamp. Sungyeol gasped, only remembering at the last minute not to shout.

“Hyung! What happened?” Sungyeol hissed. He stared at the red palm print adorning Sunggyu’s right cheek and the finger-patterned bruises around Sunggyu’s neck. He saw red and it was only the fact that if he moved, he’d wake the other members up, that kept him still.

“It’s nothing, Sungyeol ah,” Sunggyu said. “Go back to sleep.”

“But hyung – “

“Sleep.”

Sungyeol kept quiet, knowing that he couldn’t force Sunggyu to tell him anything without another member to back him up. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before –

“Hyung...I’m scared.”

“Don’t worry, Sungyeol ah. We’re all going to be fine.”

Sleep was coming back to Sungyeol slowly and he laid his head back onto the pillow. “And we’ll stay together, right?”

The answer took longer than usual to come, but once it did, Sungyeol allowed sleep to take him with ease.

“We’ll stay together. For infinity.”

Hope you liked this chapter! Thank you to all who suscribed! Please do leave a comment behind about what you thought, criticism is fine too! =) It'd really love to hear some opinions about this fic. 

Next chapter explores what happened to Sunggyu!