The clock struck twelve in the midnight. It was pitch black outside. The window panes were foggy making the view through them hazy. Seoul was essentially chilly. A while back, it was snowing. The snowfall had lowered the temperature even more. The roads were white due to snowfall. Snow accumulated in small heaps at the road side. Bone chilling winter wind was still blowing.

The streets of Seoul were deserted. Not one person could be seen on the street, not that the night was much young for people to roam around freely on the streets. It was midnight. Ofcourse, no sane person would leave the comfort of their home in this chilling winter night under any normal circumstances.

A shroud of uncanny silence covered Seoul in its enigmatic embrace. Not much sound could be heard at this hour of the night. People were mostly asleep or atleast trying to get some sleep after a long day.

Silence was lingering in the air of the dorm of SS501. Everything was quiet. The members had been off to sleep in their shared rooms, except ofcourse the almighty, Park Jungmin, after a long exhausting day of album promotion, fan sign event and tough practise schedule for the upcoming music shows and concerts.

It had been just a week that the new album of SS501 got released. "Dark Desire", was the name of the new album. The concept of the album was the subject of many criticisms and varied perspectives. What the album depicted was 'forbidden love between two males', which exceeded the limit of brotherhood and friendship.

Due to the portrayal of such inevitably arguable topic, "Dark Desire" had proven to be highly controversial and had challenged the perspective of conventional societal norms.

SS501 members and their company were well aware of the outcome of touching a controversial subject would cause a huge uproar among their fans as well as the critics. But still they made this daring move because they wanted to show the Korean audience that they were above and beyond every kind of narrow minded outlook of the society. 

Kpop was well known for depicting subtle bromances and skinships often among the members of the boy groups in the name of so-called fan services. But no other group in the history of Kpop had ever dared to project unabashed homouality on screen, save SS501 in their newly launched album, "Dark Desire".

Starting from the day it released, the members and the company had to face a lot of positive as well as negative criticisms from the fans and the media as well. Somehow they coped with the situation. The album gained huge popularity worldwide. It had just been seven days and the album was already one of the most viewed on youtube and most talked of on the social media, breaking all previous records. It had already secured a place in top 10 on the US billboard music chart. It went on to be a sensational album on every other music chart of Asia.

Success always had its good as well as bad consequences. The good thing was that the company was gaining huge profit and the members were getting a taste of huge popularity and super stardom, not that they weren't before, but this ensured their superiority once more in the Kpop scenario, where everyday a new rookie group is coming up with new challenges for the existing ones. That much was showing by the trend. But the success had approached SS501 with an expense... atleast that's what HyunJoong was feeling.

HyunJoong could feel the adverse effects of the album on the members. Nobody was showing any discomfort openly and during the shooting and music video making also, the members were all in a happy-go-lucky mood, enjoying their time together, except him and Young Saeng; but that's usual between them as they were always awkward with each other; and given that they were to play the role of lovers, Young Saeng shyed away even more. But as of the days were counting, HyunJoong could sense an air of thick tension lingering around the dorm. 

As per outer appearance was concerned, the members were all friendly with each other but there was something, some sort of emotion underlying in the depth of their hearts. Being the leader, HyunJoong could sense it and he even tried to confront them but all of them avoided him, specially Hyungjun, who never in any situation had ever went as far as avoiding HyunJoong.

HyunJoong was worried about what would happen if the situation continues to be this delicate. He feared thinking of the future of SS501. But because he was the leader, he could not show his anxieties infront of his dongsaengs. All these deep thoughts had kept him awake on this chilling winter night, though he could feel KyuJong's deep breaths just across him, indicating that the eternal centre was already asleep.

The leader could feel all was not well within the group. Hell... everything was messed up in his life too nowadays. It seemed to HyunJoong that even the b awkward feeling between himself and the lead vocalist had also grown into something more intense, as if it was any less worse before.

All because of this damned album, "Dark Desire". HyunJoong knew from the start that even if the album gets huge success, in the long run it could not bring any pleasant outcome with it. But all was not being done as per his wish. The company wanted to make this album, so they had to abide by the company's wishes.

HyunJoong still remembered the first day of their shooting. They were not even aware of who would be partnered with whom. They just had the knowledge that in the album they would be portraying boys' love. They were nervous as well as excited because forbidden, as the subject of their album was, it still brought a wave of thrill with it.

Flashback:

It was the first day of shooting for their new album. The concept was very thrilling as it might give rise to a huge uproar among the fans because they were about to showcase homoual love and desire for the same relation in this new album. The members were all worried yet excited. Being the leader, HyunJoong was making full effort to raise the confidence of his dongsaengs. For the first time, they would be paired with each other for real.

Hyungjun spoke out first after a long silence as they were waiting for the director, composer and choreographer to come, "Wonder who we'll get paired with? We are an odd-numbered group. All of us can't be paired."

"That's not our lookout. Let the director decide. So, stop overthinking, you slow turtle," retorted the y charisma, Park Jungmin, who had thrown a real fit to come to terms with the content of the album.

"Yah! Mal...just who are you calling a turtle? Atleast I came up with something, unlike you who is pouting every now and then." Hyungjun protested.

"I never pout...too girly for me. And, I called you a turtle because you are one."

"If I am a turtle, then you are definitely a Mal."

"Yah! Hyungjun-ah, if don't wanna get kicked out, then stop calling me Mal." Jungmin showed his famous glare.

"That just proves that you are indeed a Mal."

"What do you mean? What proves it?"

"You wanted to kick me and horses do kick around... a lot." Hyungjun said in an innocent explanation.

Jungmin's glare got fierce. "You turtle, star