They got close as naturally as any two trainees in the same company would.

It started with an introduction and a simple greeting, nothing earth-shattering and they didn’t think much of each other then, too wrapped up in their own desperation and insecurities to notice anyone else.

But eventually.

It happened after a dance practice, something like a week or two after they’d been introduced, when HyungWon got stuck on the same move for the hundredth time and realised that he just. Wasn’t. Getting. It.

But Hyunwu had it. Hyunwu knew each move backward and forward like a pro and, although HyungWon still sort of felt like he had something to prove, he needed help.

So he asked for it.

And Hyunwu looked a little shocked at first, despite sharing a room they hadn’t talked much, but he was willing enough to help and he was good at it.

That was really the beginning for them.

After that Hyunwu would always point out HyungWon’s mistakes and they’d talk over routines they thought could be better and they’d lend each other spare towels and headphones and talk about a new song they were super into.

A month in and they’d started having long conversation about things that were bothering them, the future they were chasing and the respective stories of how they’d ended up at Starship. They also began to head’s a bit, call each other out when one was being stupid or too stubborn or just plain ridiculous.

They trusted each other, relied on each other and laughed together as equals: they were friends.

They were friends and HyungWon had no intention of ruining that. However.

He knew Hyunwu too well, knew where his boundaries were and what he was comfortable with and knew how much he’d begun crossing them for HyungWon.

And suddenly it wasn’t so simple. Suddenly he’d found that he had no idea what they were anymore and he had so many questions.

HyungWon wanted to know what they meant to each other now, wanted to know what Hyunwu wanted from them and wanted to know what he wanted from Hyunwu.

Because suddenly he didn’t know anymore.

And because he couldn’t figure it out alone.

He knew a confrontation would be like pulling teeth, but he couldn’t just ignore it, that wasn’t the kind of person he was.

He was the kind of person who could guess how it would go, though, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.