Seunghyun groaned, as he turned in his bed once again. 

It had been nearly three days since his self-imposed grounding, and he wasn’t going to last much longer.  He missed Daesung too much.

Seunghyun had decided, after the last concert, that he needed to distance himself, before he hurt Daesung more.  If he just had more self-control, he probably wouldn’t need to take such extreme measures, but it seemed, when it came to Daesung, he just couldn’t help himself.

He hadn’t meant to engage in the turn the MC conversation had taken – his less than stellar Japanese giving him an advantage in his sincere desire to help Daesung.  He was going to try to do his part, interact with the fans and call it a day, hoping that he wouldn’t cause more tension between Daesung and her.  But then, somehow, during his talk, Daesung’s shirt rode up, and like a moth to a flame, Seunghyun had to touch it.

But it didn’t stop there.  The rest of the members had started to get a kick out of the “y Daesung” image, so Youngbae had played it up and forced Daesung to show off a bit, knowing how much of a thrill the fans got out of it.  Seeing multiple glimpses of it in 30 seconds had Seunghyun’s mind salivating.  Like a tasty treat that had been denied, when the conversation came to him, the first thing on his mind was food.  Without knowing, he had slipped into imagining himself tasting it, the salty, sweaty, pungent possibilities nearly knocking him over immediately.  Out loud, he described it as one of his favorite dishes, mozuku, but he knew it would be so much better than that.

Immediately after the concert was over, he knew he had failed at his attempt to support Daesung.  He realized Daesung was going to have to appease her, so he thought he’d keep his distance in the chance that would help his case.  Three days in, and Seunghyun was miserable.  Daesung hadn’t contacted him once, which Seunghyun thought was reasonable, but feared nonetheless.  He’d apologize, he’d explain – anything, just to prevent his worst nightmare from happening.

As he waited at Daesung’s door, he realized he still wasn’t unsure of how the younger would act or what he would say.  Would he let him in or would he somehow leave him standing there, as part of his penance.

He was being dramatic though, as Daesung let him in and headed toward his living room.

“Daesungah, I came here to say I’m sorry.  I was trying, I swear, but I got carried away when Youngbae ran with it.  Is she upset with you?  I’ll explain it to her, she should be mad at me, not you.  You tried to tell me, I just didn’t listen.  I’m sorry, but I’ll explain, promise,” Seunghyun rushed out, the words spilling without thought.

“Hyung.  Stop.  No need to do anything, it’s too late.”

“Too late?  What happened?”

“We broke up, it’s over.”

“What?  No, let me talk to her.  I’ll say I’m sorry, Daesung, I really am.  I’ll tell her it didn’t mean anything.  What’s her number, should I call her or go over there?  She’ll believe you and take you back, Daesung, I’m sure of it, once I explain.  I’m so sorry, Daesung, tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“There’s nothing to do, hyung,” Daesung said, head tilted down, staring at the carpet.

 “We had a big fight when I got back.  You know, over the hair thing.  I told her everyone was teasing me and that I hadn’t meant to get carried away, but it just sometimes happens when you’re on stage, all the adrenaline and all.  She couldn’t understand it though and kept digging at why I would ever flash it like that and let you touch it like that.  She had seen some of the posts about it, and it just made her angrier than I’d ever seen.”

Seunghyun’s mind reeled with that knowledge.  What had he done?  He had ruined Daesung’s relationship, and Daesung would surely blame him.  No wonder Daesung hadn’t been in touch, he blamed Seunghyun for the break up and wanted nothing to do with him.

“I thought she would calm down and understand after we slept on it, but the next morning at breakfast, she told me she couldn’t.  She got this crazy idea in her head, and it wouldn’t let go.  I’m sorry, hyung, but she just focused her anger on you again for some reason.  She asked me to stop seeing you.”

Every fiber in Seunghyun’s body deflated.  He didn’t know if it was a panic attack, but he couldn’t feel his fingers and he was rapidly losing the feeling in his arms.  He sat down, unable to do much else, as he knew what was coming.