Whether he prefers to call it an 'attraction' or not, Seungcheol is lying in bed, eyes wide open at one in the morning, thinking about Jeonghan like a teenager with a crush. Truthfully, it did feel a bit weird thinking about him in that way while they were sleeping in the same room. As well as Jeonghan, he also shared a dorm with Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Jun. Deep in thought, he was beginning to realise that he was never going to get anywhere with this boy without being more direct. 

With a girl, it'd be different. Everyone expects romance between the opposite genders. Hell, it's why there aren't any mixed groups around. If Jeonghan had been a girl, he'd have simply walked right up and asked him out a long time ago. There'd be no worry, no fear. Sure, there'd be nerves, but that's the case in any romantic situation. It just wouldn't have mattered.

‘Just had to be more difficult for me, huh,’ he mused to himself.

There are two reasons why Seungcheol is worried about Jeonghan's lack of openness. The first reason is that with so many members, closeness is essential if they're going to continue to work in harmony. He is the leader after all, and it is his duty to think about these things. The second reason, and perhaps the more dominant one, is that he likes this boy quite a bit.

He figured that if he was ever going to get Jeonghan to open up at all then, as is the case in any close relationship, he would have to trust the other person as much as he wants them to trust him. He had never come out to anyone before, and even if he wanted to, he wouldn't want to make a big deal out of it. He decided that he'd bring it up at the next opportunity – just give it a passing mention. He didn’t know when that next opportunity would be, but he was willing to wait as long as he needed to.

The next morning began with the usual early start followed by an image discussion with the stylists for all the members. Their second comeback was underway, and Coups had ditched his blond hair for a more natural black look. It was a bit plain, but looking around at some of the other members in the room, he felt quite lucky. He wasn’t sure what Chan’s hair was supposed to resemble, but hey, he seemed to like it, so no one made any comments on it.

“Hey, they’ve told me I’m going blond. Do you think I’d look good blond?” Jeonghan asked the leader with a nudge, interrupting his session of silent fashion policing.

‘You’d look good with anything,’ he wanted to reply.

“How blond are we talking?”

“Well, they’ll have to bleach the hell out of it first before they can dye it the right colour. It’ll be kinda like what you had.”

“Yeah, I think it’d work.”

'Work' is an understatement. Ever since the younger boy had started to grow out his hair, he had pictured him with various different hair colours. In his mind, all of them worked. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle seeing him looking more angelic than he already does.

“You’re not allowed to laugh at me when they bleach it, alright? It’s probably gonna look weird at first. Just ‘cause you’re older and all, it doesn’t mean you can laugh.”

“Of course not! I’d never laugh at you," said the older boy, giving him a comforting smile.

Three hours later, Jeonghan enters the dorm.

“Oh my god!” Seungcheol cackled, throwing his head back so forcefully he nearly concussed himself on the wall behind him.

“Is it that bad?”

“Oh god! So bright! I’m blind!” Mingyu teased, dramatically covering his eyes with his hands and waving them around like a maniac. Wonwoo joined in and did the same, making a string of pained noises.

“Whatever, jerks,” Jeonghan muttered, taking a sip from his water bottle. “It’s no problem, anyway. They said they’ll finish it on Thursday.”

“I think it’s already finished, man! It's a great look!” Seungcheol laughed, as Jeonghan rolled his eyes.

“Hey, aren’t we filming that sports thing on Wednesday? The Idol Championships one?” Jun remarked with false innocence.

Jeonghan was motionless, and his face went from confusion, to realisation, and then to horror, and finally, to defeat.

“Right, then,” he said, exhausted. “Thanks for the kindness.”

“You know we’re only joking, man. It’s not that bad,” said Mingyu.

“Yeah, I know you are. It’s fine. I'm not mad.”

“You sure?” said Seungcheol, with genuine concern in his voice. “We didn’t mean to upset you or anything.”

Jeonghan slowly turned to face him.

“Nah, it’s cool," he replied calmly. He then poured the entire contents of his water bottle over the older boy’s head. “I can take a joke.”

And with that, he left the room, and left a stunned silence behind him. They heard him laugh as he walked down the corridor. Jun turned to Seungcheol, who sat with his mouth agape, dripping wet, and completely motionless.

“Uh, you did laugh first.”

'Goddammit,' he thought. 'Angel, my *ss.'