Seungyoon and Jinwoo immediately looked up at Mino’s grandparents dumbfounded, their heads still trying to process the sudden information.

“First …. Love…..” Seungyoon mumbled. “Like, you guys were already familiar with each other already since the very first day?”

Taehyun who was still shocked at the sudden revelation looked at Mino blankly. Everything happened too suddenly and he didn’t even have time to react. Both Mino and Taehyun were shocked themselves, even though they know they will have to reveal this one day.

“Oops, did I say something wrong?” Mino’s grandmother innocently asked.

“No no, grandmother, thank you for telling us.” Seungyoon replied politely, glancing sternly at the two lovers. “Heol…”

“You two have a lot to explain.”

Jinwoo looked up at Taehyun who was fumbling with his hair in confusion. “I knew from the start that there was something going on between those two.” he mumbled.

“Uh.. Yeah…” Mino muttered in distraught. He suddenly became confused, feeling guilty that he hadn’t come clean to s earlier.

The situation became tense, with the members who were unsure of how to react to the sudden revelation. Seunghoon, who was the only one who knew about them cleared his throat to ease the tension in the air.

“Let’s settle this between ourselves in a while, shall we? I mean, Mino’s grandparents are here too and they came from far away.” Seunghoon whispered to Seungyoon.

“Hyung, you knew about this too, don’t you?” Seungyoon felt betrayed.

“Sorry, Yoon ah. They weren’t planning to reveal it just yet, so I had to respect that.”

Seungyoon sighed again. He didn’t know why he felt so betrayed when he should not be affected at all. Maybe because he thought there weren’t any more secrets within the team, especially after they had gotten closer recently.

“A… Anyway, have you been well?” Taehyun approached Mino’s grandparents as he changed the topic and tried to drop the topic.

“Yes, hyunnie ah! We’re even healthier now that we see the two of you together again! Aigoo Mino yah, why didn’t you tell us that you found Hyunnie?” Mino’s grandfather praised, holding the younger boy’s delicate hands and expressing his excitement of seeing Taehyun and Mino together again.

Mino patted his grandfather on his shoulders, signalling to him to drop that sensitive subject in front of the members who are clueless about their situation. No doubt, the lovers wished that thier past would not be brought up again because it was something very sensitive to the both of them. Inevitably, they have to face the fact that they will be asked about their past some days, as there were people who were with them during their hard times and the bits and pieces of their painful memories were finally coming together, forming a complete puzzle.

To be honest, between the two of them, they have decided to leave that topic behind. None of them wanted to remember or talk about those depressing years. They knew how much each other have suffered during that period and they do not want to talk about it ever again, but it seems like there were many things that they still are unaware of during that painful period where they were separated for four years.

“How long have you been here?” his grandfather asked Taehyun. “By any chance, since you left Mino that night?”

Mino cleared his throat and Taehyun looked up at Mino. Seungyoon and Jinwoo looked at the lovers blankly. What the hell are they talking about?

“Yes.” Taehyun answered with his voice full of regrets. “Four years.” Sensing the sadness in Taehyun’s tone, Mino’s grandfather carefully patted Taehyun’s back, just like how he would pat his precious grandchild’s back.

“You’ve been through so much Hyunnie ah. What’s important is that you’re happy now right?”

Taehyun nodded sincerely with tears welling in his eyes. Of course, he was happy by Mino’s side now.

“Grandma, how long would you be here, though?” Mino asked out of the blue, interrupting his grandfather from asking the maknae further questions.

“Guess.” Mino’s grandmother quizzed her grandson.

“A week, a month?”

She shook her head.

“A year?”

She shook her head again.

“Ayy, 3 days?”

“Forever.”

Mino covered his mouth to stop himself from screaming. “What do you mean forever? You mean you’ve decided to move here?”

His grandparents nodded with a smile.

“But how? I mean, where will you stay?” their grandchild could not help but to wonder. Mino had always wanted his grandparents to move to Seoul with him, but he is still saving up his money to buy a house for them in Seoul.

“Mino yah, do you think we will move here if we don’t have anywhere to stay? Of course we have it all ready.”

“No wait, but .. How…?”

“Aigoo, you’re still the same old Mino who never stops questioning your elders.” His grandmother teased, making the members laugh at the sweet family interaction.

“I told your uncle that you're here training in Seoul so he wanted us to move back to Seoul. After all, it’s been over twenty years since the accident and you look so much happier now.”

Mino’s grandparents took him to Australia years ago after their parent’s death, fearing that their grandchild might be traumatized from the after effects of witnessing his parent’s death right in front of the young child’s eyes. They did not want Mino to grow up in his home country where it holds many painful memories. Moreover, Mino’s grandfather was sent to a firm in Australia when Mino was young so they had decided to bring that little child over and let him grow up in another country.

At first, they were shocked to hear that Mino and Seunghoon wanted to move to Seoul to pursue their passion for rap. They were afraid that his childhood memories would hinder his work and it would be difficult to recover. However, after months of endless convincing by Mino, they eventually allowed their grandson to return to his own home country.

Every single day when he first moved to Korea, their grandparents kept asking him how he was doing and were worried if Mino feels uncomfortable staying in Seoul. Now that Mino seemed to be adapting well in Korea, they finally made a decision to pack their bags and move back to Korea, together with their beloved grandson where they will feel at ease.

“I have uncles here?” Mino asked his grandparents, totally unaware of his relatives’ existence in Korea. After all, it has been twenty over years since they migrated.

“Yes darling, you do. Let’s meet them one day, alright?” his grandmother patted her grandson’s head.

Their chat went on as the members interacted with Mino’s grandparents, leaving the slight tension earlier on at the back of their heads. The topic about the two was never brought up again during the short conversation with the other members. They were busy chatting happily with Mino’s grandparents until they realised that it was only 5 minutes before their first schedule starts for the day.

Mino’s grandparents stood up and bid goodbye to the members, promising to come again with good food for them. After greeting Mino’s grandparents, Seungyoon and Jinwoo hurriedly ran to the equipment room to prepare the things that they need for their vocal lesson.

“You guys go ahead, we will take the things out today.” Seungyoon shouted to the members as the rest were busy sending Mino’s grandparents out to the main gate.

“Take care, alright?” Mino’s grandmother adviced. “I will send you your uncle’s address so you can come and visit once for a meal when you are free.”

Mino nodded, and hugged his grandparents tightly.

“Take care of Hyunnie too.”

“Of course, I will.” Mino smiled sincerely, making Taehyun blush slightly.

“Hoonie, keep a look out for our grandson too alright. You know that we can always count on you.” Mino’s grandfather patted Seunghoon’s shoulders. They have always trusted Seunghoon ever since they met him for the first time back in Australia. Mino relied a lot on him and they could see positive changes in Mino ever since the best friends know each other.

“Oh, it almost slipped my mind again. Does Mino still bathe with you, Hoon ah?” Mino’s grandmother asked Seunghoon.

Wait, even Mino’s grandparents know that they bathe together? Taehyun could not help but to wonder.

“Ah, no he doesn’t anymore. His condition is much better, these days he's bathing on his own already, so don’t worry.” he convinced Mino’s grandparents.

"Good to hear that." Mino's grandmother was relieved. "Do keep a look out for him okay? Especially in the toilet."

"Grandma, I'm a grown up now already, I know what I'm doing. Quick, the cab is here already!"

With that, they say their greetings and waved to Mino’s grandparents as the three boys watch them hop on to the oncoming cab they flagged.

On the way back, Mino realised that Taehyun was a little quiet, causing him to stop his steps. He had already sensed that Taehyun had something bothering him, especially they sent his grandparents out.

“Hyung, you go first.” Mino waved to Seunghoon who was already far ahead.

Taehyun stopped abruptly when Mino pulled his hand to a halt.

“Hey.” Mino held Taehyun’s shoulders and slightly bent his back to look at the younger.

Taehyun, who had his head looking down the whole time, looked up. He was busy thinking that he didn’t realise that his lover was observing his actions. He couldn’t make eye contact with Mino because he did not know how to phrase the messy thoughts in his head.

“What are you thinking about? I know it might be a big blow to us now that the members already know about it, but we’ll get through this together okay?” Mino convinced his lover, unsure of what Taehyun was thinking about. His eyes made contact with Taehyun as he gazed into his lover’s confused eyes.

 “Hey. Look at me.”

Taehyun cowardly looked into Mino’s eyes, with a single question in his mind.

“Why did you and Hoon hyung..” Taehyun stopped and looked away. He finds it hard to bring up the fact that the best friends used to bathe together.

“Hm?”

“How does your grandparents know about you and Hoon hyung bathing together?” He wasn’t jealous, absolutely not at all. He just sensed that all these while the lovers bathed together was not because they want to, but because they had to. Like as if to protect Mino from something.

Now that I think about it, it might be a serious condition, considering that Mino’s grandparents are concerned about it too.

 “I thought you guys bathed together to save water. I mean, like you guys enjoy bathing together, no?” Taehyun reasoned mindlessly.

Mino went silent for a while, his eyes darting away from Taehyun’s confused gaze.

“Hyunnie ah.” He spoke after the silence. “I think it was probably just a passing phase and the phase is over now. Besides, I don’t bathe with Hoon hyung anymore. So don’t worry, alright?” he straightened his back and patted his lover’s head.

“Let’s not bring this up again, alright? It’s really just a passing phase. Puberty changes I think.” Mino laughed awkwardly.

That wasn’t exactly what Taehyun meant to hear. He wanted to know why or how they started to bathe together. He was curious, wondering if it has ever got to do with their past.

It can’t be just a passing phase if Mino’s grandparents are still concerned about it even now.

“You okay, love?” Mino asked his lover again with full of love.

Taehyun nodded and forced a smile on his lips. He could feel that Mino was hiding something from him. Something that Mino didn’t want him to know.

The lovers walked back to the practice room, hand in hand. They stopped right outside the door and Mino gave Taehyun a peck on the lips again. This time, Taehyun was already expecting it, because they do this almost every day before their practice starts.

“Let’s just tell the members the truth okay? They have known too much already.” Mino convinced his lover.

“Your grandparents… Let out the secret that we have been protecting for months.”

“I know right? I am not inviting them over after this. Who knows what other secrets they might reveal” Mino laughed.

Mino and Taehyun entered the practice room and the members were all ready on their seats with the vocal teacher playing a couple of keys on his piano.

“Mino, I heard your grandparents came over?” their vocal teacher asked.

“Yes, I just came back from sending them home.” he answered as he takes a seat beside Seunghoon as usual.

“The two members are interviewing you guys for one hour during the lunch break. You better get ready.” Seunghoon, who was there when Seungyoon and Jinwoo were busy discussing about the lovers, whispered to Mino

“Okay let’s start….”

~~

Vocal practice ended with the members going over the vocal chords repeatedly. Their trainer left them with some homework and dismissed them for lunch. The boys busily moved their things over into the equipment room and get themselves ready for lunch.

“Mino, Taehyun come over.” Jinwoo demanded in a stern voice. He and Seungyoon were already seated on the tall chairs, waiting for the two lovers to come to them.

“Seunghoon you too.” Seunghoon thought he was excluded, but he was called out too.

“What do I have to do with this?” Seunghoon whined like a small boy.

“Just sit”

“Explain yourselves.” Seungyoon commanded in an authoritarian tone.

Mino and Taehyun looked at each other, trying to hold their laughter. They know they were in some kind of trouble but seeing Seungyoon and Jinwoo acting so stern and serious makes them cringe. The situation was funny itself because the members were never this serious, even during practice.

“You want us to ask you or you want to come clean?” Jinwoo asked.

“Ah hyung! I thought we agreed?” Seungyoon nudged Jinwoo. “Let them talk.”

“Oh? Okay okay.” Jinwoo quickly acknowledged and went back to serious mode again.

The other members were still trying to hold their laughter because it was too funny. Being serious is really not their kind of thing.

“Okay let me come clean…” Mino put his hands up before putting it down again. “What my grandparents said was true, we dated years ago and…”

“And…?” all eyes fixated on Mino.

“And still dating now.” Mino locked his fingers with Taehyun’s delicate fingers and lifted it up arrogantly to show the members.

Seungyoon and Jinwoo’s mouth fly open. They had somehow expected it already, but they were still shocked to hear the confession from Mino’s mouth personally.

“Yup, you heard it. We’re still dating. So we hope to get some kind of blessing from you two.” Mino repeated in a joking manner.

“But what’s with your expressions though?” Mino tried to ease the tension, even though there was none. Seungyoon and Jinwoo were still beyond shock, digesting the sudden surge of information.

“Still dating means there is still love going on in the air, correct?” Jinwoo clarified. “How long already?”

“Well, we dated for 3 years and then I flew over to Korea to train.” Taehyun took turns to answer.

“You dated for 3 years then trained for 4 years… So you guys dated for 7 years? That long?” Jinwoo fiddled with his fingers, counting the number of years they have been dating.

Taehyun looked up at Mino. 7 years? Well, not exactly 7 years, right?

“If you count that hiatus period then well, 7 years I suppose.” Mino replied coolly.

Did we even break up? Not that we officially declared a clean break up, didn’t we? He looked at Taehyun blankly.

The lovers discovered yet another mystery about themselves as they discussed the number of years they have been together. “We didn’t exactly break up, right?” Mino whispered to Taehyun.

“But we lost contact for 4 years, does it still count?”

“I suppose so? Because I’ve never told you that I would let you go, didn’t I?”

“But still? I thought you said we would start over?”

Oh, right.

Seungyoon cleared his throat, interrupting the two lovers who were busy whispering about their small crisis.

“So let me sum it all up for you guys. You guys dated in the past, and are still dating now?” Seungyoon asked.

Mino and Taehyun nodded.

“What happened in the middle while Taehyun was with us though?”

“Hmmm,” Mino smirked. “Personal affairs.” he did not exactly want to reveal their whole love life to the members at that moment. Maybe one day he would.

“Okay okay. I shall respect that”

“So we know what we need to know already. That you two dated and are still dating.” Seungyoon clarified again.

“What if YG wants to know?”

Seunghoon got up from the floor. “If he wants to know, then cover it up for them. We’re a team, remember?”

Even though it was funny, the conversation was getting frustrating, especially when talking to the two dense members. They’re not usually like this but they were probably taken aback by the whole sudden situation that they lost their ability to think for a while.

“I’m hungry. You guys have gotten what you guys needed to know already right?” Seunghoon complained. “Mino yah, let’s go!”

“O...Oh okay, let’s eat.” Seungyoon answered s mindlessly. He was still out of it, digesting the information that was thrown to them suddenly since morning.

“Yoon ah, let’s go.” Jinwoo offered Seungyoon a hand. “What happened to the fierce image we were supposed to have though?” he laughed. “Now we look like some lost idiots.”

“Tell me about it hyung. Right now I’m just so confused about the whole thing.”

“What’s there to be confused about? We just need to support their relationship. Look at Taehyun, he’s so much happier now that Mino is around, don’t you realise?”

“Yeah, I realised that too. But I don’t expect them to be dating, like now. I thought they were just close, like Taehyun and Yunhyeong.”

“I’ve noticed that from the start. Taehyun has been staring at him all day long. Maybe we haven’t paid much attention to him, which is why he doesn’t find it comfortable to open up to us. Like you know, sharing these kinds of things?”

Seungyoon and Jinwoo looked at each other with full of thoughts about the two lovers, while making their way to the cafeteria. They have got to admit that they haven’t really shown much concern over Taehyun’s personal life, which is why Taehyun probably never discussed about such matters to them.

“Do you think Yunhyeong knows about this?” Jinwoo asked Seungyoon.

“I don’t know. But it’s better if he doesn’t know though. I mean, this is our group’s personal matter, I’m sure they don’t want this to spread around the company?”

“Let’s leave that to them then. We’ll just keep our mouths shut.” The two members discussed while they queued for their food.

The boys took their seats on the cafeteria bench as usual. Taehyun took a seat beside Mino today, drawing watchful eyes from their two members who had found out about the truth minutes ago.

The cafeteria was especially empty today, without the camera crew who would only come in after 7pm and the Team B members who were on their gift vacation. It feels like they were the only ones in the building, with the exception of the cafeteria aunty who keeps encouraging them to take more food.

“Maknae yah” Jinwoo whispered, loud enough for the other members to hear.

“Hyung, what’s the point of whispering? We all can hear you.” Seunghoon teased the oldest member.

Taehyun took a mouthful of rice and looked up at his curious hyung, waiting for his next sentence.

“How come you’ve never once told us about this? I mean about your relationship and stuff?”

Taehyun hesitated. It’s not like he wanted to hide things from s completely, but he felt like there wasn’t any need to. He isn’t the kind who would go around burdening the people around his with his problems, so he kept it to himself.

“Well, I just don’t feel the need to?” Taehyun replied.

“Why? Aren’t we family?”

“Yeah, aren’t we a family already Taehyun ah?” Seungyoon butted in.

Taehyun looked down, he didn’t know if it was a good decision for the members to know about their relationship or not. It might be a little too soon, and besides, he doesn’t like it when too much people know about his personal affairs. That’s just how he is.

Mino looked at his quiet lover, he figured that the younger must have a lot of things going on in his head. He patted his lover’s back secretly, giving him some strength. Mino, on the other hand, didn’t mind at all. The only reason why he has been holding back from revealing their relationship was because of Taehyun. He knows his boyfriend needs time to accustom to all of these, especially when it concerns his personal privacy.

“Anyway..” Mino broke the silence, directing everyone’s gazes away from Taehyun and focused on him instead.

“Aren’t you guys mad after finding out about us? I mean, I expected you guys to start throwing the tables and chairs in the practice room, though.”

Seungyoon thought for a while, not realising that Jinwoo was looking at him. Jinwoo was thinking too, unsure of how they actually feel after finding out the whole truth.

“Well to be honest I was a little mad, considering that we have been family and you guys hid something so big from all of us. But then again, when I think about it, why should I be mad? I mean, it’s your personal affairs and besides we’ve been working well together despite not knowing that you guys are dating. So we’re good I guess?” Seungyoon reasoned.

“You, hyung?” Mino asked Jinwoo.

“For me, of course I am very happy for you guys. I’ve closely watched our maknae grow right from the start when he came in. I feel like I have a soft spot for him and I am the happiest these days because I see him smile very often compared to the quiet and grumpy little boy who came in four years ago., To be honest, I kind of suspected that you were the one who is changing our maknae recently. Even though he doesn’t open up to us much, I actually care for him a lot.”

Taehyun was touched by the oldest hyung’s words. All these years, he realised that Jinwoo has always been taking care of him. Maybe because he is the oldest in the group so he has more responsibility, but Taehyun always feel comforted knowing that there is always someone watching over him.

“Thank you, hyung.” Taehyun admitted, he has always taken Jinwoo’s kindness for granted. Now he realises how much love he has been receiving from the two original members by his side.

“Maybe because I have been the longest here and I’ve watched the other trainees come and go, that’s why I naturally have that protective instinct towards all my members. I want us to debut, the five of us.” Jinwoo continued with tears forming in his eyes.

The members looked at their oldest member with sympathy. Although they did not physically witness what he had went through during his entire trainee life, they could feel his passion for what he doing now through his determination he has shown in practices.

“Yah why are you guys making our Jinwoo hyung cry?” Seungyoon raised his voice playfully as he patted Jinwoo’s shoulders.

“Aww hyung! You’re making me cry too!” Mino exclaimed.

“Why are we crying during lunch time?” Seunghoon asked the members with his mouth full, wiping his tears away. The members were getting teary and they were laughing at the situation. It was an emotional lunch, and they were glad there weren’t anyone around, besides the cafeteria aunty who was busy playing with her phone.

“I’m so thankful you guys came in this team.” Jinwoo confessed again, in between his tears and laughter.

“Ah hyung!” Taehyun slammed the table playfully. “Stop making us cry!”

The members laughed and cried together over lunch that afternoon. It was an unforgettable lunch that day which made them feel the closeness between one another, sharing their happy days and sad days together.

“Let’s have a ramen party tonight!” Seunghoon announced excitedly. “And celebrate the new couple!” he whispered the last part.

“Call!” the members answered excitedly as they cleared their plates and get ready to return to their practice rooms once again.

The members entered the practice room together, with mixed feelings. They were sad but happy, worried but relieved at the same time.

“Guys” Jinwoo called out cowardly. “Let’s have a group hug, shall we?”

The members laughed awkwardly at their hyung’s sudden request but they all gathered and cuddled each other anyway.

“Let’s be stronger after this, okay?” Their leader encouraged the team, probably still affected by their defeat the day before.

The members nodded. Yes, we won’t be beaten again after this.

“No more secrets after this, okay? Who else is holding secrets please spill it now” Jinwoo joked.

“I still don’t change my underwear in 2 days though.” Seungyoon playfully joked, making the members laugh in disgust.

“How can you even be so proud of that?”

Training started after lunch break and the members were united more than ever. They continued on for the rest of the day as they worked on their vocals and a couple of new dance steps which Seunghoon had creatively invented for the team.

The camera crew came into their practice room slightly after 7 to start filming the rest of their practice. They have been instructed by YG to start their filming late to give the boys some space for themselves to recover and build on their teamwork behind the scenes.

It was almost 10pm and the boys were pretty much satisfied with practice that day. They felt the most productive today, having conquered many new dance steps and having composed some new songs which would be useful for them for the future battles.

A staff comes in a few minutes before 10pm as usual to paste their schedules for the next day on the mirror. “Boys.” She called out.

“Schedule’s out, do take note that training will start at 12pm tomorrow because the other team’s starting at 12pm as well after they are back from their trip.”

“Assa!” the boys cheered at their given chance to sleep in the next day. For as long as they remembered, they have never woken up beyond 7 am every single day. Trainee life was hard, so this was a precious opportunity for them all.

 “If there is anything you guys need to ask, just ask any of us at our seats.” The staff informed the boys. “PD-nim, I’d like to speak to you,”

The boys stood up and bowed as they watched the staff walk out of the door with the producer. They pack their equipment as the camera continues rolling to record all of them. It was only 10pm and they were already done for the day. Even though they had lesser things on the schedule that day, they were more than satisfied with their practice session that day.

The producer comes in and called out to the members, attracting their attention once again.

“I have just been told by the staff that there will be no recording going on for the next two week as instructed by your president. So we will be taking away the cameras in your room today and we’ll install it back two weeks later. Same goes to the VJs, they will not be recording you guys starting from tomorrow for a week.” He explained.

The members looked at each other, wondering why they will not be recorded. They were probably too used to having cameras around that they find it weird not to have anyone record them for two weeks.

“Is it just us or, the other team as well?” Seungyoon asked.

“Both teams.” The PD replied. “They will film tomorrow morning before they take their vans home. Then the crew will take our own vans and filming will end. Yours will end tonight after we follow you back to the dorm.”

“Do we still record our attendance?”

“Yes yes, the video diary attendance is still unaffected. Sign in and sign out as usual.”

The members understood the instructions given and nodded. They made their way to the waiting room to record their video while the crew packed their equipment and waited outside the building for them.

“10pm and we’re done. Pretty early huh?” Taehyun said to the camera as soon as he switches it on. “Today was a very emotional day for us and the team. It was emotional but I kinda liked it?” he fumbled with his iPad in his hands.

“Well, I expected the worse for our situation but I guess things went perfectly fine. The members were all laughing and crying together, accepting everything that this team will go through together. Viewers, see you tomorrow afternoon! The PD said we won’t film for 2 weeks, so you can only see my face at 12pm tomorrow when I mark my attendance. Till then, please pray for Team A. Fighting!” he ended with his usual toothy smile which captivates his female fans.

The members took turns to record and waited for each other outside, knocking the glass door playfully and distracting the other members while they record their video diary. Once the final person finished recording, they walked out of the building together, greeting the security guard and whistled on their way out.

The camera crews were already waiting for them outside as they happily sing a couple of songs to the camera. Everyone probably felt the same way that night with their hearts feeling full and contented. They casually joked around in front of the camera like it was the most natural thing to do. Well after all, they were told to ‘pretend’ to do their daily things like as if the camera isn’t around.

The boys chirped happily as they reached their unit and entered their door lock password, cheekily covering it from the camera and showing the viewers the ‘You can’t see my password’ face.

“Whoww what is this?!” Taehyun, who entered first, exclaimed.

“What what is it?” The members curiously asked, quickly entering the house to find out why their maknae sounded so excited.

They switched the lights on and immediately gaped when they see a sumptuous spread of food on their dinner table all laid out for them.

“Wow” the members were touched. It has been a long and emotional day for them and it was all they needed at times like this. They dropped their bags and gathered round the table, studying the contents of the table and feeling contented at the thoughtful gesture.

“The soup’s still hot, guys get bowls and stuff.” Seunghoon commanded.

On command, the members scrambled to the kitchen to get their bowls and utensils, earning laughter from the camera crew who were watching the boys hurriedly preparing for their meal.

“Oh?” Seungyoon exclaimed after the members had settled down on their seats. “This isn’t usually here, isn’t it?” he got up and approached the black banner pasted on the wall.

All eyes were fixated on the banner as Seungyoon approaches it to check out its contents. “Quick, tear it!” Mino exclaimed excitedly.

Seungyoon finds they edges of the banner and tears it up in one swift movement. The members froze for a while, reading the words crafted thoughtfully on the banner especially for them.

“Cheer up. – From YG.” The banner wrote.

“Cheer up.” The members repeated.

“Waaaaa.” Everyone exclaimed, totally touched by the kind gesture and the encouraging words. Their eyes read the words over and over again exclaiming every time they feel swayed by that small event prepared for them.

The members looked at each other. This was only the start of the journey, and they need to get stronger in the days to come.They start to dig in as soon as they realised that they have been in awe for quite some time.

“Thank you for the food!”

“Wow I never thought we’d actually get something from the president!” the members commented as everyone started stuffing their mouths hungrily with the good food on the table, not caring about their image at all. What is image when there is good food in the table?

The staffs smiled with content as they watched the members eating up the hearty meal prepared for them. They know how much the members had gone through, especially when they keep falling behind the other team. They may not have been with the trainees from the start, but they have watched the trainees constantly work hard all the time without fail on and off the camera.

“Say something.” The PD whispered to the boys. They were indulging in the food that the room were only filled with the sounds of spoons clanking and the sounds of five men chewing down on their food.

The boys laughed, realising that they were probably too hungry to talk or even communicate to each other.

“The food was great and we really appreciate it. Thank you for the thoughtful gesture.” Seungyoon faced the camera and commented.

After dinner, the camera crew clapped the slate to mark the end of filming for that day and packed their things.

“Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven.” The PD counted the cameras they had retrieved from the boys’ dorm. “Okay, that’s all for tonight. So we’ve brought back all the cameras and we’ll see you in two weeks. Take care, okay?”

“Thank you!” the boys bowed to the PD and greeted them. Seunghoon watched them as they put on their shoes and walked towards the lift.

“Thank you again. Goodnight!” with that, he closed the door and ran to the couch where all the members were resting.

“Why are you guys staring on the wall? There isn’t even a television there!”

“Just looking at the banner.”

The boys sighed, reminiscing how much they have gone through during the past few months and years as trainees.

“We’ll do well, right?” Jinwoo asked, suddenly feeling emotional again.

“Of course we will hyung!”

Taehyun lay his head on his lover’s shoulders as he watches Mino play his game on his phone.

“You guys look good together.” Seungyoon complimented, seeing the lovers getting all comfortable around each other for the first time.

“I know.” Mino replied arrogantly, arching his eyebrow playfully.

“I still can’t believe that all these happened in a day though.” Seungyoon commented again. “The revelation and stuff. You guys must have gone through a lot, right? I mean like the urge to show your affection openly in front of the cameras and-”

“And..?” Seunghoon asked.

“Wait, I just remembered something! Jinwoo hyung, remember the other time we were looking for maknae all around but we couldn’t find him?”

“Uhuh..” Jinwoo answered mindlessly. He didn’t know what Seungyoon was referring to actually.

“The one I came out of the toilet but Taehyun wasn’t around then I wanted to find him in Mino’s room but Seunghoon stopped me. By any chance were you two… in the room…?”

“Oh, that one!” Jinwoo remembered.

“In the room what?” Taehyun played dumb, his head still comfortably resting on Mino’s shoulders.

“You know, the thing couples do… On the bed….”

Taehyun’s face became flushed red. Even though he knew they didn’t do that on that day, he was still embarrassed at the events that took place that night. It was the night that both of them came clean with each other’s feelings.

“Well, almost.” He playfully answered with a sigh.

Taehyun widened his eyes and lifted his head off Mino’s shoulders, giving him a hard slap on his thighs. He could clearly remember what happened that day, and Mino was right. They had almost made love to one another, but Taehyun wasn’t ready.

“Do you want to die?”

“I’m not wrong, am I?”

The members laughed as they watched the two lovers’ antics. They look so happy, naturally teasing and bickering playfully each other in front of the members openly.

How long did they supress their urge to show their affection out in the open? It must be frustrating. Seungyoon thought.

“Now that I see it, you guys have totally opposite personalities that is why you two are well suited for one another.” Seunghoon complimented the lovers, smiling like a proud dad.

“All these while, you knew?”Jinwoo asked Seunghoon curious.

“Actually, only recently. Mino hid it so well I never suspected.”

“Oh he never told you about Taehyun?”

“I mean, he did when we were studying together. But I didn’t know that the ‘Hyunnie’ that he have been talking about is this person right here, until recently.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Seungyoon pretended to sulk.

“He wanted to keep it private. So I have to respect my best friend’s decision.”

Mino fist bumped his best friend happily. What would he do without Seunghoon around?

“Hyunnie is such a cute pet name though.” Jinwoo complimented. “Maybe we should all call him that.”

“NO.” Mino looked at Jinwoo with round eyes. “Only I get to call him that.” He defended.

“Okay okay sorry.” Jinwoo held his hands up, surrendering.

“But I got to admit, it suits his so well right? I mean it sounds much better than ‘lovely hugeboy’.”

Taehyun slapped his boyfriend’s thighs hard again after realising that Mino was teasing him with what he tried to cover up when he was caught calling Mino ‘love’ at the back of the van on their team bonding trip. The members were in awe watching the lovers playfully tease each other.

That night, the members showered and went into their rooms. Mino immediately went to bed after giving goodnight kisses to Taehyun because he was too tired that night that he immediately fell into dreamland as soon as his head hit the pillows.

Taehyun tossed and the bed. Even though there were so many good things that happened that entire day, there is one thing that remained in his head. Why is Mino’s grandparents still concerned about why Mino bathes with Seunghoon?

He got up and walked towards Seunghoon’s room, hoping to find an answer from his lover’s bestfriend, since he has the feeling that Mino’s hiding something from him.

“Hoon hyung.” He carefully called as he opened Seunghoon’s ajar door.

“Yeah?” Seunghoon, who was reading his comic book, sat up at the sight of Taehyun at his door.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah sure sure, you didn’t need to ask though.” Seunghoon laughed. “What’s up? About Mino?” he guessed.

Taehyun nodded and sat on the chair Seunghoon offered.

“You know, earlier on when we were saying goodbye to Mino’s grandparents…”

“Yes, why?”

“They asked you if you two still bathed together right. I mean, I’m not being a jealous boyfriend here, because I know for sure that you two are not in that kind of relationship. But I was just wondering, if it is anything serious about him that I don’t know about?”

Seunghoon gulped. Neither did he expect that question coming from Taehyun nor realise that Taehyun was there was Mino’s grandparents asked him that question earlier on.

“Why don’t you ask Mino yourself?”

“He won’t tell me, that’s why I’m asking you.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me that it was a passing phase and that I should not bring this up again, ever.”

“Aigoo…” Seunghoon sighed. “Mino ya..”

“I…Is it something serious?”

Seunghoon sighed again, debating with himself if he should let Taehyun know about this matter or not.

“Well, as his friend I know I need to respect his privacy but” Seunghoon hesitated. “As his lover, I think you’ll need to know this”

Taehyun perked up his ears, ready to listen to Seunghoon’s revelation about Mino.

 

A/N: Heyyy another chapter up! I just realised that this chapter is a bit too long because I was so immersed in writing it. Anyhows thank you all for your support again and keep the comments coming yeah? ^^