Hoya was desperately trying to ignore the soft whispers coming from the bunk above him, but it was impossible not to. Not even Sungyeol’s loud snores downed Sungjong’s voice out and Hoya found each word seeping into his ears.

“I’m fine, ma. Really. We’re just so busy practicing for the performance tomorrow that I didn’t have time to call you.”

Hoya cleared his throat loudly and turned to sleep on his side. His leg muscles and lower back screamed in protest, reminding him just how hard he’d worked that day. The awards day performance was tomorrow and as the group’s main dancer, Hoya had taken it upon himself to make sure he was going to be perfect.

“Mum, I’ll call you back. Just ignore those headlines please, ma. I’m fine...yes, I love you too ma.”

Hoya sighed in relief as Sungjong clicked his phone close. The bunkbed creaked loudly as Sungjong shifted position again.

“Hyung, haven’t you slept yet?”

Hoya startled. He considered pretending to be sleeping but he knew that Sungjong would be able to tell instantly. They’d shared rooms plenty of time enough to know each other’s breathing rhythm when sleeping.

“No,” Hoya replied. “But go to sleep, Jongie...it’s a big day tomorrow.”

Sungjong hummed in assent. “We’ve worked hard for tomorrow, haven’t we, hyung?”

Hoya rolled his eyes. “More like we’ve been slave driven by a cranky leader for a week now.”

“Hyung, you’ve been just as bad as Sunggyu hyung.”

Hoya smirked. Sunggyu had asked for his help in making sure that Infinite was ready for anything SM could throw at them, and oddly touched by the leader’s faith in him, Hoya didn’t spare anyone of his lecturing. They had to prepare for everything after all, being completely in the dark about how SM’s CEO planned to ruin their performance.

“It’s good that your parents are supportive of you,” Hoya said after a while of silence.

“They always knew,” Sungjong said. “When I was eight, I told them I had a crush on the guy in the Titanic instead of the girl.”

Hoya laughed and to his back. He raised his leg and nudged at the mattress above him. “But why didn’t you tell me anything?”

Sungjong sighed. “I just had no reason to. We’re always so busy with work and...I guess, I didn’t know how you’d take it.”

“I played that gay role once,” Hoya said, trying to ignore the slight sting of Sungjong not trusting him enough.

“I know you’d still love me the same, hyung,” said Sungjong warmly, as though he knew how Hoya felt.  “But I didn’t want to add to your worries. To the team’s worries.”

Hoya smiled up at mattress above. “Doesn’t matter now, huh?...At least you’re not crying nowadays.”

“I’m not going to cry anymore.” Sungjong’s voice had changed, sounding deeper and firmer. “I’ve cried enough about this whole mess. It’s time I stood up for myself and for all of you.”

 “Wow. Looks like we don’t have to worry anymore with you to look after us.”

“I’m being serious, hyung. I won’t let you all get hurt anymore.”

Hoya wondered if the blaze of warmth through his chest resembled the same pride a father would have to see their son all grown up. He paused and kicked at the mattress again.

“Hey, get some sleep. We’ll need it for tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, hyung.”

Silence reigned for a few minutes, broken only by Sungyeol’s snores and the distant sound of Myungsoo rolling on the floor. Hoya bit his lip but couldn’t suppress the urge anymore. “But Jongie...if we rank the other members, how handsome am I?”

“Last place.” The snap in Sungjong’s words almost made Hoya jump.

“But come on! I’m definitely better looking than Sunggyu hyu – “

“Hyung. Go to  sleep,” Sungjong seemed to speak through clenched teeth.

The warning growl in Sungjong’s tone made Hoya grin and he slept easily for the rest of the night.

“You look anxious,” Hoya commented.

“Anxious? I’m not anxious.” Sungyeol drummed his fingers on his knee while tapping his feet repeatedly. A small frown was beginning to make its way across Sunggyu’s brow and Hoya knew that the oldest boy would snap soon.

“Calm down.” Hoya leaned across to clasp Sungyeol’s hand. “We’re going to be fine. Think about it – we know our dance moves inside out.”

“But not what they’ll do to us,” Sungyeol said through gritted teeth. They were sat in the limousine heading for the awards’ hall, and the high air con wind seemed to have heightened Sungyeol’s nerves.

“They’re hardly going send assasins to murder us in the elevator, are they?” Myungsoo said with an eye roll.

“Now that would be wrong on so many levels,” Hoya quipped and he laughed awkwardly at the groans that followed.

Hoya felt his stomach churn as the car reached the red carpet, where thousands of fans seem to be gathered. He could see movie and tv stars already posing for the cameras on the red carpet, and caught a glimpse of MBLAQ heading into the giant hall.

“Time to go,” Sunggyu said, straightening his tie. “Just keep your heads up and walk with a straight back. Remember to smile and – Sungyeol, for God’s sake, put those sunglasses away!”

“It’ll make us look cool!”

“Only jerks wear sunglasses at night.” Woohyun said solemnly and yanked the glasses away from Sungyeol.

They got out at the front of the red carpet, and Hoya was relieved to hear some cheering for them – though it did feel significantly less than before. The press swarmed around them, kept at bay by the beefy bodyguards. Hoya straightened his back and walked behind Sungjong, who had his head held high.

As instructed by the managers, Hoya ignored all the questions aimed at him, focusing on posing and smiling for the cameras instead. He noticed that the show presenter, Hodong, was just ahead of them on the carpet. He smiled at the older man, who he’d kept in contact with after the “Cool kidz” filming. An ugly expression crossed Hodong’s face and the presenter quickly glanced away. 

“Hoya,” Sunggyu hissed, “stop it with the -face.”

“I didn’t even know I was doing it.”

“When do you ever?” Woohyun murmured, garnering a giggle from Dongwoo.

“I just want to get on stage,” Hoya said back, squinting at the countless camera flashes. He hated this wait, he hated the disapproval that seemed to surround their every step, he hated that his once friends were turning their backs on him.

Some of the Running Man cast smiled at them as they got into their stage positions. Hoya tried to smile back but his mind was already racing through their dancing steps. The stage was huge and well lit. Right in front, were clusters of tables seating the celebrities. The audience stands surrounding the space in the middle seemed to stretch on for miles. They were shrouded in gloom but Hoya felt his heart lift to see the occasional Infinite hand-sign glowing.

Hoya took his position behind Sunggyu and felt his shoulders relax as the music started.

It was time to shine.

The first verse went smoothly, though the physical exertion was already starting to take its toll on Hoya’s body. He gulped in air in the short seconds where he was stationary but the tightness of his chest remained.

Then the second verse began and Hoya could immediately tell the difference.

Ah, Hoya thought, it’s starting.

The background music wavered and jumped a few beats ahead. That was okay. They’d anticipated that, and Hoya smoothly slid into the routine for that particular beat. The other members mimicked him and their dance steps flowed into one.

The music jumped ahead again. Cleverly this time - at a part where no one sang, so that the audience wouldn’t be able to pick up the deceiving error. Hoya grimaced, internally mourning that tiny routine of the dance where he’d jerk his hip, but like the other members, transitioned smoothly into the next sequence. 

Hoya glimpsed SM’s CEO’s darkening expression and fought back a wide grin. You’d have to do better than that to beat us, Kim Parksoo.

It was Sunggyu’s turn to sing and as always, Hoya felt a thrill surge through him to hear his leader’s powerful voice. Sunggyu’s vocals were on point tonight and as Woohyun joined in, the duo together sounded nothing short of perfection.

Hoya couldn’t hide the rasp of his throat as he sang his line, but he still sounded good, he thought and he saw some approving faces in the audience as he belted out the rap lines.

It was a powerful song after all. “Attack”. And Hoya could feel the members’ anger and resentment being translated into the powerfully sharp dance moves, into the words they sung with venom in their voice, into the dark faces they put on. Hoya worried slightly as to whether they were intimidating the audience, but from what he could see, most looked mesmerised instead.

The acrobatic part of their routine started and Hoya found himself internally praying that nothing would happen. It was difficult enough to do this bit under normal conditions.

He was paired with Sungjong and the maknae seemed to be on fire, radiating fierceness and absolute confidence. Hoya hid a smile and caught Sungjong as he dropped backwards before placing the maknae onto the floor and doing a handstand over Sungjong’s head, revelling in the audience’s gasp.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Woohyun and Sungyeol doing the same with Sunggyu and Myungsoo, while Dongwoo did a complicated solo at the front. Hoya gritted his teeth as his muscles strained and sweat poured into his eyes.

They did a few more acrobatics in the same vein until they finally gathered in the middle of the stage to do their scorpion dance. It was choreographed to be a throwback to the old times – a way to remind both the fans and everyone else just why Infinite were the renowned dancing idols. 

Hoya made sure he was in sync with the others as he laid himself prostrate on the floor before lifting a leg up and bending the other, and using his arms to push himself off the floor. He was just halfway into raising himself to his full height when the ground shook.

Someone cried out in pain – the sound horribly amplified and distorted by the mic. Hoya lost his balance and fell to the floor, gasping as the breath was slammed out of him. The ground hadn’t moved, Hoya realised as he hastily picked himself up. The actual stage they were on had moved – someone had purposely pressed a button to cause that violent shudder of their platform.

Stifling the ire rising in him, he carried on the dance. To his relief, his fellow members had recovered quickly too and joined him with the moves. They were nearing the closing of their song but Woohyun was singing instead of Sunggyu.

Hoya glanced back quickly and clenched his jaw to see Sunggyu’s face, pale and contorted into a mask of agony. The leader was still dancing in time with the others but there was no mistaking the wince each time he had to move his feet .

Right ankle, Hoya quickly diagnosed. It must have sprained when the stage moved.

Hoya willed the song to end. The last two lines seemed to last forever and it suddenly felt as though the number of dance moves had tripled. Just a little longer hyung...He could see the tenseness and worry he felt mirrored on his teammates’ faces.

The performance finally came to an end and Hoya breathed a sigh of relief. It took a while for the pounding in ears to die down so that he could actually hear the thundering applause. Hoya panted hard, trying to get his breathing under control and stop his heart from hammering so hard against his rib cage. Most of the applause seemed to be coming from the girls sitting in the audience stands. He smiled widely and waved at the Insprits who were cheering louder than ever, probably trying to drown out some of the jeers Hoya could hear from the far side of the hall.

The celebrities right in front of the stage sat stony faced – probably having been warned by their agencies not to show their support. Hoya barely gave them a glance. It didn’t matter. Infinite still had some of their fans on their side, and that was enough for now.

He did notice A-pink’s Bomi and Sistar’s Hyorin and Bora smiling at the stage warmly. And Hyungdon – despite his refusal to let them on Weekly Idol – had an intensely proud look on his face.

It was time to leave the stage and Hoya hurried to join the others as they made their way backstage. Sunggyu was limping heavily, an arm wrapped around Woohyun’s shoulder for support. But despite the pained grimaces, Sunggyu seemed to be in high sprits.

“We did it!” Sunggyu said excitedly. He high fived Hoya and wrapped an arm around Sungjong’s shoulders. “We beat them!”

Dongwoo laughed hysterically and hugged Myungsoo tightly, lifting the boy off the ground. “We did it!”

They went into the changing room and was greeted by loud, enthusiastic cheers. Hoya grinned widely at the clapping managers and staff and hugged a few of them warmly.

“Everything went smoothly,” Geonam was telling Sunggyu as he saw to the boy’s ankle. “Even when the stage shook and you all fell – it was obvious that it was the technical crew’s fault and you showed how quickly you recovered too.”

Hoya took a deep breath and sat down. His muscles felt as though someone had branded them with a hot iron and his lungs felt as though they were on fire. But the performance had gone so well, and that settled everything for him. It was worth it – all their hard work had finally paid off.

Now, surely no one could imagine a kpop world without Infinite in it.

They dressed in casual clothes when the time came for them to leave. Though in a lot of the members’ case, casual clothes meant clothes that had cost a smaller fortune than the usual clothes they had. Hoya rolled his eyes at the grey sweater Sunggyu pulled on. It had cost the leader over a thousand pounds.

“Don’t you feel weighed down from all that money?” Hoya asked Sunggyu.  

“At least I’m dressed for the event,” scoffed Sunggyu as he pulled his sock over his freshly bandaged ankle. “You’d fit right in at the backstreets of a night market.”

Hoya  resisted the urge to stick out his tongue, his emotions greatly buoyed by their success. Instead he went over to Sungjong, who like him, had dressed modestly. Hoya supposed that for once, the maknae didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

“Let’s go,” said Hoya and Sungjong nodded with a surety Hoya approved of.

The seven of them left the coordi noonas to pack up the rest of the things and headed into the maze of backstage corridors with just the managers. Other idols were leaving too, and Hoya thought he saw some thumbs up and encouraging winks. He couldn’t stop the wide smile that spread across his face, though the smile quickly vanished to see the other idols’ scathing looks and angry glares.

“Sunggyu!”

Hyungdon was hurrying towards them, causing all of Infinite to stop in the middle of the corridor. Hoya sighed and leaned against the table by the fire exit stairwell.

“Hyungnim,” Sunggyu said coldly as he bowed.

“Ah kids, that performance was brilliant!” Hyungdon gushed. “You were all perfectly synchronised! Ah, it felt so good to watch.”

Sunggyu bowed again. “We’re happy to match your standards, hyungnim.”

Hyungdon’s face fell at the roboticness of Sunggyu’s voice. He glanced at the others but Hoya couldn’t bring himself to even smile at the older man. Despite Hyungdon’s praises, he had shown where he stood regarding Sungjong, and Hoya wondered if he’d ever be able to forgive that.

An awkward silence lingered wherein Hyungdon fumbled for something to say and Sunggyu kept his face impassive. Clearing his throat, Hyungdon took out his car keys and wave them.

“I’m going to head home now, do any of you want a lift with me?”

Hoya would have sniggered if Sunggyu wasn’t just next to him. It was almost amusing to see Hyungdon try so hard to get back into Infinite’s, and most likely specifically Sunggyu’s good graces. Hoya glanced to the side and could see Sunggyu's face had softened.

“We don’t live at the apartment anymore, hyung,” Woohyun said lowly.

“What?” Hyungdon frowned. “Then where are you staying now?”

Hoya opened his mouth to reply when a loud commotion from further up the corridor distracted him.

“Everybody stay where you are! This is the police!”

Hoya watched, open mouthed, as a small group of suited men headed straight for them. The leader of the gang, a tall beefy man with sly eyes and a cruelly crooked mouth, stopped just in front of Infinite and pulled out his badge.

“Lee Sungjong. I am Detective Inspector Xioumin and you are under arrest for the hacking of secret and sensitive governmental data.”

Hoya gaped at him, repeating the sentence in his head to make sure that he had heard right. “What?”

The managers surged forward quickly, putting up a sort of barrier between the detectives and Infinite’s members. Hoya stared at Geonam’s back blankly. This couldn’t be happening...

“You can’t be serious,” Geonam said with a scoff. “Why the hell would Sungjong hack into government data? He doesn’t even know how!”

“We have all the evidence we need,” said Xioumin with a dark smile. “Lee Sungjong will be placed under arrest and put in prison under the set date for his court jury exactly one month from now.”

“This is a joke,” Jungryoul manager said with a disbelieving laugh. “This is a joke! Which one of you set this up?” He glared at the people around but the celebrities looked just as dumbstruck as Hoya felt. Shinee and Super Junior were watching the scene with their jaws dropped, some Girl Generation members looked ready to cry and the Running Man cast wore confused expressions.

“The court date is set for a month from now,” Xioumin repeated. “Sungjong will now follow us to prison.”

“But what about bail – “

“The evidence is so strong that the possibility of bail has been rejected,” interjected Xioumin smoothly.

Geonam strode forward, his expression more livid than Hoya had ever seen him. “You can’t be serious! What do you think happens to a male idol in jail?”

“Lee Sungjong should have thought of that before hacking into unauthorised information,” said Xioumin. “Now move. He’s under arrest.”

Was this what falling was like? Hoya wondered. It felt as though the ground had been ripped from under his feet and he was in freefall, coming down from the happiness that had previously filled him. Not even horror or shock welled up in him. Everything just felt unreal. This couldn’t possibly be happening.

A firm touch to his hand startled him back into reality, and Hoya became conscious for the first time of just how quiet his team had been. None of them had moved from their positions, as though they had been rooted into the ground. But their heads had turned without the detectives noticing. Their eyes were on Sunggyu, and Sunggyu’s hand, Hoya realised, was what was gripping his own hand tightly.

Sungjong was stood on Sunggyu’s left, and Hoya felt a chill go down his spine to see the sheer terror on Sungjong’s face.

It’s going to be okay, Hoya wanted to say. But the words got stuck in the lump embedded in his throat. Instead, he could only watch as Sunggyu slowly joined his and Sungjong’s hands together.

Sungjong’s hand was clammy with sweat but Hoya gripped it tightly anyway. He looked into Sunggyu’s eyes and found that he could understand the message the leader was trying to convey.

Take Sungjong and run.

Hoya breathed out deeply. The fear and anger gnawing at his insides didn’t go away, but the cloudiness in his head was starting to dissipate. Of course. Sungjong needed to run. But the youngest would never survive out there by himself, which was why Sunggyu had placed the responsibility of looking after Sungjong firmly on Hoya’s shoulders.

Hoya felt as though his knees would buckle with the sudden burden but his body straightened instinctively as he felt Sungjong’s hand shake. He could do this.

The managers and detectives’ voices rose as they yelled at each. Xioumin seemed to find a erse pleasure in listing exactly why and how Sungjong will be carted away. Hoya dulled the voices out, in favour of looking at s faces.

Woohyun’s face was tight, as though a storm was raging within him. Dongwoo looked like a young child lost in the market. Myungsoo seemed about to throw up and Sungyeol was visibly shaking. But their eyes all stared at Sungjong and Hoya and the sadness Hoya could see in them broke his heart.

They always said they could get through anything together. What would happen now that they had to part?

Hoya forced himself to look at Sunggyu and the grim calmness and trust on the leader’s face settled Hoya’s nerves.

I’ll look after him, hyung, Hoya tried to say with a nod.

Sunggyu nodded back and he might also have smiled, before he cocked his head to the side and signalled for Hoya to follow the direction of his gaze. It led to the car keys loosely held in Hyungdon’s hand, as the MC’s complete attention rested on the detectives.

Ah, Hoya thought tiredly, that’s the way out.

“Hey!” Xioumin’s voice cut through the bubble that had shrouded Infinite’s members. “What’re you lot doing?”

The detective’s glared was focused on Hoya and Sungjong’s interlocked hands. Hoya took a deep breath in –

“NOW!” Sunggyu yelled.

The phrase “all hell broke loose” would have fit the situation aptly, was Hoya’s last thought. Sungyeol and Myungsoo moved as a unit and upended a nearby dining table straight at the incoming detectives. Woohyun and Dongwoo rushed forward, rugby tackling the other detectives who were beginning to draw out their guns.

Hoya quickly grabbed Hyungdon’s car keys off him, ignoring the startled yelp that followed. He hurried Sungjong towards the exit door, already held open by Sunggyu.

“Hyung, wait! You’ll all get in trouble - ” Sungjong gasped, reaching towards Sunggyu.

“Go!” Sunggyu yelled and Hoya obliged, dragging the younger boy behind him. They went through the door and raced down the empty stairs. Hoya heard a loud slam from behind him and a half glance back showed that Sunggyu and Woohyun had shut the exit door and were using their bodies to prevent the detectives from going through it. Furious yells and screams, combined with loud banging, reached Hoya’s ears.

“Come on,” Hoya said through clenched teeth. Tears prickled at his eyes but he refused to let them fall.

“We can’t just leave them!” Sungjong exclaimed tearfully.

“They’ll be fine,” said Hoya. They reached the bottom of the stairs and he kicked down the old rusting door leading to the car park. “You, on the other hand, won’t be if you land in the police’s hands. Come on!”

Get to the car, get to the car, get to the car, Hoya repeated the mantra. He could see Hyungdon’s car in the far end of the car park and he run as hard as he could, all the while pulling Sungjong along. From the corner of his eyes, he could see uniformed men closing in on him from the sides. Hoya gritted his teeth and ran faster, all his already aching muscles now on fire.

Get to the car, get to the car, get to the car -

“Sungjong, quickly!”

Get to the car, get to the car, get to the car -

“Hyung!”

“Come on!”

Get to the car, get to the car, get to the car –

BANG

“HYUNG!”

Pain exploded in Hoya’s shoulder. He staggered back in time to Sungjong’s scream of horror, but he didn’t let go of Sungjong’s hand and kept moving forward. He couldn’t understand why his shoulder was suddenly damp with something thick or why Sungjong wouldn’t stop crying. Ignoring the stabbing pain, he kept running.

Get to the car, get to the car, get to the car –

Please...

So what do you think about the new development?! As always, my motivation to carry on rests in your comments so please do share your opinions! =) Huge thank you to those who already do so! xxx

Next chapter: Sungyeol - Interrogation