“Yaaaah maknae ah how come you don’t laugh like that when you’re with us?” Seunghoon who happened to witness them laughing so joyfully, teased Taehyun, capturing everyone’s attention.

Taehyun looked up and his face immediately turned red out of embarrassment.

“Those two are like that. They’re really close so once in a while we get to see our maknae laugh like this. Get used to this hyung, we don’t get to see this every day.” Seungyoon sneered in a joking manner.

“Hyung! You’re making me sound like an unsociable person” Taehyun defended himself.

“Aren’t you?” Mino mocked out of nowhere, attracting everyone’s attention.

Taehyun wanted to retort back after hearing Mino’s remarks but since they weren’t only with their members but another team as well, he held himself back. He simply looked at Mino and rolled his eyes to show his dissatisfaction.

Without them realising, it has been 2 hours since they started eating and chatting. The members had to return to their practice rooms for their next schedules so they finally said goodbye to each other.

As the members were busy hugging each other and giving each other strength for the upcoming evaluations, Mino saw Taehyun hugging out with the Team B member and whispering something into each other’s ears.

“Yah Yunhyeong ah we are just next door! You don’t need to be so lovey dovey with Taehyun!” their leader shouted. Realising that s have left the room, he ran out hurriedly towards the door.

“Hyung ah saranghae!” Yunhyeong turned and made the love sign with his arms before he left the room. Taehyun saw that and shot love bullets towards the boy who was excitedly running out of the room.

Mino looked shocked to have witnessed the unusual scene which he had never seen before, even during their dating days.

“Did Taehyun just do an aegyo?” He chuckled under his breath. “Yaaa this boy’s all changed now.”

The boys returned to their spots and became busy as they started to prepare the things for their next schedule. Mino approached Taehyun who was bringing out the chairs for their vocal practice.

“Taehyun ah we need to talk” Mino whispered to him.

“I don’t have anything to say to you” Taehyun answered as he continued taking out the chairs.

“No I.. I just need to ask you something.” Mino stuttered a little.

Taehyun ignored him and continued taking out the chairs. “I’m busy.” He replied short, leaving Mino alone in the equipment room.

“Okay fine.” Mino muttered. “After training then.” He continued.

The boys started their vocal practice and as usual, Mino took a seat beside Seunghoon. It has been a week since they started practicing and slowly, the five boys started to find their harmony to blend in together as a group.

“Yaaaaah I have never knew this team could sound so complete.” Their vocal teacher praised. “I’ve always thought you guys lacked something even though your vocals were really strong.”

“Your president made the right choice scouting these two into the team. Treat them well, these rappers are precious gems to the team.” He continued his overwhelming strings of praises for the team.

“I really can’t wait for your evaluations this month. Team A, you guys are gonna do great this time. After a while, I promise you guys that the five of you will find your own colours.” He praised excessively while clapping his hands.

The team got motivated after hearing the compliment from their vocal teacher and were really happy about how much they have improved after just one week. They continued on their dance practices and song compositions for the monthly evaluation, not realising that it’s already into the wee hours of the morning.

All of them reached the dorm at 430 a.m. that day. The boys just went straight to their rooms and went to sleep without showering because they were too tired that night.

Taehyun lay on his bed with his face buried in the pillow as he recalled today’s events. “Ah that’s right! What did Mino want to talk to me about this afternoon?” he asked himself. “Maybe he just wants to hurt me again, I can’t show him my weak side to him, he will start taking advantage of me.” He convinced himself.

With that, he fell asleep, hoping to wake up and forget about what happened earlier today.

In the other room, Mino is pacing back and forth. The same sentence was ringing in his ears like an annoying alarm clock. He wants to forget about it, he wished he never heard it, but he had heard it and now he couldn’t stop thinking. “Why is it my fault?” he asked himself.

Mino sat on the edge of his bed with his face buried in his hands.

“He said he didn’t leave because he wants to. Then why?” “Mino you pabo. Why did you tell him you never wanted to talk to him when all these while you have been looking for him to ask why he left?” “You’re really an idiot. No wonder your parents left you all alone during that accident.” Mino regretted, he couldn’t stop blaming himself.

This is one thing Mino hates about himself. He always thinks that everything that happened around him was because of him. He blamed himself about his parents’ death and also when Taehyun left him. He was at his lowest point especially when Taehyun left but he was fortunate he found Seunghoon.

To him, Seunghoon was someone god had sent to heal his scars. That is why he treasures his hyung so much that it may look a little too initmate sometimes. Deep in Mino’s heart there is still Taehyun, but he just couldn’t understand how things changed so fast overnight which was why he was deeply affected about it. He would have been fine if it was a normal break up but this was different. For 4 years, he was left hanging, not knowing what went wrong.

He couldn’t express himself properly when he saw Taehyun for the first time in 4 years. At that point when they met, he didn’t know how to react, what to say, how to start the conversation and whether he should come off as friendly or as complete strangers. Even at this point in time, he didn’t know how to approach Taehyun properly, which is why he appeared strong and aggressive whenever he talks to the younger boy.

Mino thought hard about it. “Should I get Hoonie hyung to help?” “Naaah he will just mock me and the news will probably be spread all around the company. Besides, this won’t just affect me but Taehyun and the team as well.” “And plus, I promised him I’ll move on and stop looking at boys again.” Mino conflicted himself.

Mino lay down on his bed, wishing for a better day tomorrow. “Maybe I should just act like how I did when I first came in. Cold and unfriendly.” He sighed before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Morning came and the members gathered round the table as usual. Mino and Taehyun sat the furthest away from each other, both trying to avoid eye contact. None of the members sensed the cold air between them yet, because they all know that the both of them rarely communicate with each other.

~~~

A couple of weeks passed by and they hardly have any interactions with each other because all of them were busy brushing up their skills for the evaluations. Mino would usually stay back with Seunghoon to practice in their practice rooms while the other members go back to their dorms.

At times like this, Taehyun could not help wondering what the two boys do in the practice rooms when they’re left alone at the basement with none of the staffs around except the security guards at the ground floor guarding the entrance. He secretly wished that one day someone would come up with the idea of installing a CCTV in the practice room.

Finally, the day of the evaluations came and the members performed together as five for the first time. It was a moment to remember because their hard work for that short period of time was showcased in front of the strict president Yang and the other teachers. Both teams performed hard and they got feedbacks from YG himself as well as their vocal teachers, composers and producers. Team A was praised for how their vocals complemented each other well but they were told to work on their teamwork because their teamwork is not sturdy enough.

On evaluation days, the teams will get a half day off. That afternoon, they went back to the dorms not too sure how to feel exactly. The members gathered around the living room and discussed about today and gave each other feedbacks based on what they observed during the past few weeks and the performance earlier on.

“Taehyun, I noticed you were a little distracted today. I saw you make a wrong step.” Seungyoon commented on Taehyun.

“The part where all of you squatted for Seunghoon’s solo dance right? I…I’m sorry, I missed the beat.” Taehyun confessed.

“What’s distracting you, maknae ah?” Jinwoo asked, sounding like a concerned mum.

“N..Nothing.” Taehyun hesitated and looked up. The members were looking up at him, giving him the ‘I know there is something up with you’ look.

“Actually I got a call a few days ago from my parents and they told me my dad’s sick, so I was a little worried.” Taehyun answered.

“Aigooo our poor maknae… Do you want to visit your hometown? Since the next evaluation is next month, I’m sure you can take some time off.” Seunghoon suggested.

“It’s okay hyung, they told me last night that my dad is getting better now.” Taehyun looked up and convinced s that he was fine. “I’m sorry I screwed up big time today. I’ll work harder for the next evaluation.” Taehyun continued cutely, winking at his hyungs making them laugh.

The boys were lazing around that afternoon, taking a break from all their composing, dancing and song writing. Mino had fallen asleep on the couch while the other members decided to go to the convenience store to grab some food.

“I know a good ddeokbokki shop around here. Shall we have that for dinner?” Jinwoo suggested, ditching their convenience store plan. “But it’s a little far though.”

Seungyoon and Seunghoon nodded in excitement. It has been ages since Seunghoon ate ddeokbokki and he never had a chance to eat it when he came to Korea.

“I’ll go and order takeout!” he told the boys.

“I want to follow you hyung and explore the neighbourhood.” Seunghoon exclaimed as he put on his cap.

“Me too hyung! I need some fresh air~” Seungyoon jolted up, feeling excited at the thought of having ddeokbokki.

“Taehyun, wanna come along?” Seunghoon asked Taehyun while wearing his socks.

“It’s okay, hyung. I’ll stay at home and accompany Mino.” He answered.

After the hyungs left, Taehyun went into his room and decided to work on a couple of new songs for their next evaluations. He never showed it in his expression, but he was secretly excited for the next evaluations. For some reason, he suddenly started anticipating for the next evaluation after receiving words of praises from their teachers.

The sound of music playing from Taehyun’s room woke Mino up from his nap. He looked around to find the other members missing, so he walked towards Taehyun’s room which was closed slightly.

“Where are the other members?” Mino asked Taehyun who was busy doing his music.

“Omo did I wake you up? Ah I forgot you were sleeping. Sorry!!” Taehyun who was startled stood up and looked at Mino.

“It’s okay. I meant to wake up anyway.” Mino said as he rubbed his face. “Where are the rest?” he asked again.

“T..They went to the store to get dinner.” Taehyun stuttered, watching Mino rub his face. “Don’t do that.”

“Sorry?” Mino asked, perplexed.

“T… that t…tthing. Rubbing your face in front of me.” Taehyun stuttered again.

Mino smirked. “Why? Ah you’ve always told me that I looked y when I do that right?”

He entered Taehyun’s room and closed the door behind him.