"What will Hoya talk about alone in the car?" Sunggyu is saying. "He'll just be silent all by himself."

Sungyeol chuckles–almost giggles, Sungjong notes with horror–as Sunggyu throws a glance at him, a small, playful smile on his lips. He probably thinks he's made the joke of the century; he doesn't realise that Sungyeol will laugh at anything he says.

Sungjong himself laughs, a big, forced laugh that he hopes will hide how nervous he feels right now. It all started innocently enough–Sunggyu asking them if they're hungry, Sungyeol suggesting they eat kimpab, Sunggyu agreeing with him–but now, only a few minutes later, that simple conversation has turned into downright flirting. It's not so much what they are saying–thank God, Sungjong thinks–but how they're doing it, Sunggyu turning around to look at Sungyeol every five seconds, Sungyeol gazing right back at him, eyebrows raised slightly, the ghost of a smile on his lips. He might look disinterested, almost mocking to a stranger, but Sungjong knows that's Sungyeol's lovestruck look. They're both being as obvious as the sun, and Sungjong doesn't know how to stop them.

He wants to strangle whomever thought it was good idea to put Sungyeol and Sunggyu in the same car–and Sungjong with them, too, forced to look on and suffer as they make fools of themselves. These two are hard enough to keep apart these days, it's an impossible task when they're squeezed into a tiny taxi, pressed together so tightly that Sunggyu is almost sitting on Sungyeol's lap, their faces so damn close that Sungjong almost gets a heart attack every time Sunggyu turns around to look at Sungyeol, thinking that he's going to kiss him.

He has done everything he could think of to catch their attention, to warn them that they're going too far–grasping Sunggyu's arm a bit too tightly, discreetly kicking his foot, trying to into the conversation–yet he was ignored each and every time (whether willfully or not, Sungjong doesn't know). He suddenly wishes Sungyeol were sitting next to him instead; out of the two, he's the only one who still retains some scraps of reason. Sunggyu is long gone, beyond salvation.

Sungjong wouldn't normally mind so much–he's actually grateful that Sungyeol seems so happy these days, and that Sunggyu is too busy giving the younger heart eyes and hanging all over him to be much of his annoying, naggy self–but one thing is for them to act like this in the privacy of their dorms, and another is here, out in public, when they have a camera shoved into their face. They can always edit the footage later, granted, but it wouldn't be ideal for the camerawoman and the taxi driver to get any ideas. You can never know if people are going to keep their mouth shut, and although Sungjong doesn't think there's anything wrong with Sungyeol and Sunggyu's relationship, he also knows that they can't possible risk it getting out in the open. The world wouldn't understand; their whole career is at risk.

Which is why Sungjong finds their carelessness so baffling, especially Sunggyu's. He's always been so strict about this kind of thing, going on and on about how they have to be careful not to mix their personal life with their idol one, but now he suddenly doesn't seem to give a damn anymore. "No one will find out," he shrugs it off whenever Sungjong or the managers or one of the other guys complain about how obvious he's being. "The fans all think I'm just doing it to make Woohyun jealous or something." (At which Woohyun, if he's there, always snorts or laughs because "I couldn't care less about what you and Yeol do together, honestly.") "They'll never guess the truth. All the better for us, really."

Sungjong knows Sunggyu's right, to a certain extent–he's read the comments online, too–but he also thinks it would be insulting to their fans' intelligence to assume they won't eventually notice what's so blatantly going on in front of their eyes, no matter how much it goes against what they want to to believe to be true.

Sungjong sighs. He attempts a glance at the frustrating couple, and he's not surprised to find that they're still as much at it as when he looked away a few minutes earlier..

These two, really–

"Hyung~" He leans into Sunggyu, almost falling on his lap. He doesn't care if he comes across as annoying or overwhelming to the viewers later; he's going to get Sunggyu's attention and steer it away from Sungyeol, no matter what. This madness can't be allowed to go on any longer. "What do you think will happen next?"

Sunggyu turns around to look at him, face blank. "Mh.. ?"

"I mean, where do you think they're taking us?" Sungjong continues unperturbed. "I'm really curious about what is waiting for us when we get there, wherever that will be–I guess there's going to be another challenge, don't you think?"

"Yeah, another challenge," Sunggyu nods distractedly. "That's probably it."

Sungjong makes to say something else, but Sunggyu is already turning back towards Sungyeol, the sparkle returning to his eyes he looks at him. "What about you, Sungyeol–"

And then they're in their own world again, staring into each other's eyes as if Sungjong wasn't even there. Sungjong finds it very hard not to snap at them; he has to summon all his strength to simply turn around and stare angrily out of the window.

Whatever, he thinks, I give up. He can see their reflection in the window–Sunggyu whispering something into Sungyeol's ear while Sungyeol grins like an idiot–but he ignores it.

Idiots.

No way he's riding alone with them again.