It’d been a couple of months since Bobby’s confession. He had coped quickly, acting as if nothing big had happened. Jinhwan supposed, from Bobby’s perspective, very little had changed. The only difference for him was that Jinhwan was now aware of his feelings.

For the elder, however, a great deal had changed. He had become hyper-aware of the younger man. The way he danced, rapped, laughed. The way he shone on stage during their competitions. How strong he had gotten when they were working out. He tried not to let it affect their interactions, but a couple of times, Bobby had given him a strange look, as if aware of the shift.

A week ago, the rest of the team had packed up and went home. In the empty, quiet apartment, Hanbin, Bobby, and Jinhwan had stuck pretty close together, even sleeping together again. Doubt began to sink in once more as they waited for the results, watching all of the cameras being removed from their home.

Work continued without the rest of their team: write new songs, dance, sing, rap, write new songs. Prepare for debut, be ready, no slacking.

Jinhwan collapsed on his bed, hair still wet from his shower. He was exhausted. It was 2am; the earliest they had gotten home in weeks. He knew he should dry his hair before he fell asleep, but he couldn’t muster up the energy.

Hanbin came grumbling into the room and dropped heavily onto his bed, across the room. Bobby entered a minute later and sat beside Jinhwan’s head as he fiddled with something the elder couldn’t see.

Groaning, Jinhwan pulled himself over a few inches to lay his cheek on Bobby’s thigh.

“Jinanie, you hair’s still wet,” Bobby complained, running his fingers through the tresses.

“Yeah.” Jinhwan acknowledged without moving.

“Aish. You can’t sleep like that, you’ll get sick.”

“I’ll be fine,” he argued, barely awake.

Sighing, Bobby slid his leg away and left the room. He returned a minute later with the blow dryer. He sat on the floor beside Jinhwan’s head and gently began drying his hair; running his fingers through it, ruffling it softly, turning his friend’s head to reach the other side. Jinhwan lay, silently enjoying the attention, eyes closed.

Just as Bobby finished and switched the dryer off, a tired voice wafted from across the room.

“Me too, Mom,” Hanbin mumbled, face-down on his bed.

Jinhwan smiled as Bobby sighed and moved to dry their leader’s locks, too.

Jinhwan drifted off until Bobby’s voice woke him, coming from the bunk bed above him.

“We’re, all three of us, dumb. Who knows how long we’ll have to share a dorm. This could be our only chance for years to have our own rooms, but here we are, all sharing one.”

“It’s weird alone; too quiet,” BI answered softly.

“I like you too much,” Jinhwan added.

“Me too,” Bobby whispered in a barely audible voice.