Seungkwan, no matter how many times he thought the circumstances over in his mind, was totally and completely unable to provide an answer as to how he had ended up in such a situation.

    In the end, he supposed, it was solely yet another display of his inability to stay firm in his resolution when faced with the whims of a certain overgrown puppy - that is to say, Kim Mingyu. Boo Seungkwan, as a rule, was a boy who was quite secure in his feelings, his decisions, really any intellectual matters. He was able to stay steady in his resolve through interferences of nearly every variety, and, yet, the slightest disturbance by Kim Mingyu would have his whole world flipped upside down in just a matter of seconds. If ever there was a word made to fit Seungkwan, he was certain that it had to be ‘independent’ - he came to conclusions of his own accord and remained true to them up until the very end. That one aspect of his personality that he felt defined his character, however, was disregarded entirely in the face of the rapper. All he believed to be up was suddenly down, light became dark, true became false, if Mingyu told him that it was so. He cursed himself for being so susceptible to the influence of Mingyu, yet regardless of what he did, there was no way for him to ignore the words of the elder. He was, in a word, whipped, and it was all that he could do to go along with the flow of things.

    In the past, he had never really paid much thought to the strange phenomenon. If Mingyu spoke, he would agree, and that was simply the way that things worked. There was no need to spare a single thought in regards to the issue (which, when it first began, was still viewed completely as a non issue). While he would go against whatever any of the other members might say, he just complied with Mingyu’s words; such was the nature of the dynamics between them. It wasn’t until Seungcheol spared a word for him that Seungkwan noticed anything irregular about his behavior in regards to Mingyu.

    “Yah, why don’t you listen to anything I say?” Came the irritated words from the leader, thumping Seungkwan lightly on the side of his head with his wrist.

    Seungkwan adopted a haughty expression, answering proudly with, “I don’t listen to anyone. I can make my own decisions.”

    This elicited a scoff from Seungcheol, the eldest now folding his arms across his chest. “Don’t listen to anyone, huh?” he mocked, a smile tugging at his lips in spite of his (granted, relatively mild) irritation. “How about Mingyu then?”

    “Why would I listen to-”

    Seungkwan had been so sure of himself when he began to talk, so certain of the fact that his well bent for no one, no man, woman, or nonbinary, but somehow, his voice had managed to get lodged in his throat mid sentence as he opened his eyes, staring straight ahead with them as wide as they could be.

    Did he listen to Mingyu? That couldn’t be, could it? There was nothing that set Mingyu apart from any of the other members or anyone else, for that matter; there was nothing about him that should’ve made Seungkwan question his decisions. He didn’t change his mind for the rapper, right? Of course not. He just happened to agree with him a lot, right?

    Right, that had to be it. They just happened to be on the same page…

    Even when their initial opinions had been polar opposites.

    Seungkwan flushed, face suddenly feeling hotter than it ever had before (for reasons, he claimed, he was unaware of). He brought his hand up to cover his mouth, never finishing the sentence that he had begun.

    This, of course, had Seungcheol in hysterics, laughing as loud as he possibly could at the sudden realization of the main vocalist. “Oh, what’s this?” He teased, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “Does our little Seungkwannie have a crush on someone?”

    Seungkwan glared daggers at him, a silent warning for him to shut his mouth before he carried it on any further, but it was too late now; Seungcheol was most definitely in the dominant position in this situation, and there would be absolutely no shutting him up until he had had his fun.

    “Aigoo, little Seungkwannie likes Mingyu,” teased the leader in a childish voice, pinching Seungkwan’s round (and admittedly quite pinchable) cheeks, entirely unphased when the latter swatted his hands away, glare growing sharper and cheeks growing brighter with each passing second. “Seungkwannie is in love, Seungkwannie is in love!” Sang Seungcheol, giggling and dancing about, effortlessly dodging the abuses thrown at him by the mortified Seungkwan.

    The pinnacle of it all, however, was when Seungcheol took off running through the dorm, screaming out, “Seungkwan is in love!” as loud as he could, the childish manor quite uncommon for him though hardly uncharacteristic.

    “Yah, Choi Seungcheol!” Shrieked Seungkwan, finally finding his voice once more. “Shut the hell up!” His voice was at an octave he had never been capable of reaching before, threatening to reach supersonic pitches if it got any higher.

    Unbeknownst to them, of course, in the hallway stood a certain Kim Mingyu, his own face dusted with pink as he grinned, showing off his prominent canine teeth. Well, he had just found a way to have his fun around the dorm.

    Of course, he was attracted to the baby faced vocalist as well - it was hard not to be, what, with his adorably charming looks and flamboyant personality. Mingyu, however, was not the fluffy, romantic sort of lover. He got his kicks through incessant teasing and games (with love just as with anything else in his life), so such knowledge was to him like candy to a child.

    As such, an idea hatched but a few weeks later as the boys lounged about the living room, discussing their plans for Christmas.

    “We should all wear ugly sweaters,” suggested Hansol, jumping on the bandwagon of absolutely unnecessary trends in the world. “I think that would be fun.”

    He was met immediately with a not so hidden side eye from Seungkwan, the boy’s face scrunching up in disgust. “‘Ugly Sweaters?’” He repeated, stretching out each syllable to emphasize his distaste with the idea and his disbelief that something like that had even occurred to Hansol (though, in hindsight, that was exactly the sort of thing that that strange boy would enjoy). “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

    Mingyu saw a golden opportunity then, and before he could put any more thought into it, he spoke up.

    “I like it,” he voiced, mischievous grin forming on his face. “That’d be fun.”

    Mingyu felt absolutely giddy inside when Seungkwan whipped around to face him, distress evident on his face as a war raged inside of him. Which was more important - Mingyu or his pride?

    “W-well… if you’re going to insist like that, I-I guess we’ll just do it.”

    The answer was Mingyu.

    “Seungkwan,” said Mingyu, his eyes shining as Seungkwan’s reaction fed his ego, encouraging him to push it just one step further, “I think you’ll look cute no matter how ugly the sweater is.”

    Seungkwan tried to pretend that he didn’t hear Seungcheol’s hysteric laughter as his face turned a violent shade of red.