Jung, Taekwoon. To an outsider’s eyes, he is a very silent and intimidating, ice-cold man. That is no surprise given his skillful martial arts, considered one of the best in the nation, compounded with his high status as Prince Hyuk’s personal bodyguard. With quick swiftness, he and his comrades were able to kill the demon in a mere 8 minutes (ah, he was quite bloodthirsty at that time). If there is any weakness to this very ice-cold man, then it is perhaps his love of food, animals, and babies (the prince, despite his tall build and age, remains a big baby, which Hyuk takes advantage of when possible with Taekwoon). There is, however, one other weakness that needs to be mentioned as well: Jung Taekwoon likes gossip, much to the amazement of those who know him well (i.e. the other members in their self-proclaimed group, VIXX), much to his own denial. 

Taekwoon, however, is not the only one with this affliction. Hakyeon and Jaehwan are both quite similar in that aspect, especially in their Njumma and Kenjumma modes. Hakyeon, however, insists Njumma mode is not mere gossip gathering, but also the practice of digging for secrets and information to use for his own disposal in the future. Taekwoon knows it is true, and has even seen Hakyeon try to use it one time with Hakyeon’s close friend Lee Wongeun (how Taekwoon knows? Well, it is because he himself was patrolling and stumbled on their encounter–really though, it was also from Jaehwan’s tip-off too, which he must’ve subconsciously stored in his head.) That is right, Taekwoon always seem to be in the right place at the right time for gossip worthy news, and he finds himself unable to stay away. Like I said, not surprising given Taekwoon’s silent demeanor and talent for blending in with the shadows.

Now is not any different. In this case, the two unsuspecting people are in fact Taekwoon’s younger friend, Lee Hongbin and the boy Gong Chansik. Oh ho ho ho, things have been quite juicy with them, hasn’t it? Not too long ago, during the battle with the demon, Taekwoon could not help but notice, from the side of his eyes, the sweetness of those two (like holding hands). Granted, Chansik was a sweetheart to almost everyone, including him, and they were technically acting as a couple as a decoy for the demon (who loved kidnapping youths, especially those about to be married), but this one stood out. Amidst the chaos of the fighting, Hongbin was viciously thrown in the river by the demon, and being unable to swim, was frantically saved by Chansik. Chansik even used CPR on the poor boy, and brought Hongbin to Jaehwan and Hyuk via princess style (much to the gratitude and mortification of Hongbin when he heard).

Ah-Chu!!

The noise brings Taekwoon’s head back to earth, and he immediately goes back into observation mode, like a cat.

“Ah, Chansikkie– oh, I mean Chansik-ah, here,” Hongbin immediately hands a tissue to Chansik, getting a thanks from Chansik in response, followed by another set of sneezes. Hongbin frowns, Chansikki–no, Chansik must have gotten sick after saving him yesterday night. Hongbin feels guilty, and immediately goes to check his temperature. Which happens to mean pressing their foreheads together, which startles Chansik. Chansik’s forehead is quite hot, Hongbin notices, and isn’t his face red too? “Are you alright, Chansikkie?”

Oh. “Chansikkie” again, instead of Chansik-ah? Taekwoon mentally notes this down.

“Oh!! I’mTotallyFineDon’tWorryAboutMeKongBinnie!” Chansik quickly replies. To be honest, he is really okay. It’s just his body being a bit wacky, and reacting like this to their close proximity.

“Kongbinnie?”

“Yeah! You call me Chansikkie, so I figure we must be close now so I thought I should call you something too. Don’t they call you Kong and Binnie?”

“Yeah,” Hongbin says, with a bright smile, and adds “Chansikkie.” Really, he hadn’t meant to call him Chansikkie, especially since Chansikkie hadn’t been reciprocating and calling him by any nicknames earlier, but it kept slipping. Now, Hongbin is trying to get used to it, and to his surprise, it is much easier than he had thought. What an honor! Hongbin wanted to be friends with Chansik ever since he first laid eyes on Wonsik’s friend, and now they are close too!

Taekwoon mentally notes all this down. It looks like now the two are close enough to even use nicknames. How cute. Immediately after the thought he notices Hongbin excitedly dashing out, grabbing something from his bag. A piece of chocolate? And not just any kind of chocolate at that…Being a connoisseur, Taekwoon is quite familiar with food, including sweets. This chocolate was a delicacy…quite expensive indeed!

“Here, Chansikkie, have some of this. It’ll definitely make you feel better! It’s said to contain a very revitalizing fruit, and is of a very rare, special bean.”

“Ah, that you are and I’m feeling better already! Just kidding. Thank you, Kongbinnie!” Chansik gratefully takes the piece of chocolate, thanking Hongbin and calling him with the new nickname, Kongbinnie. But, to be honest, he wants to call him by another name. Something more personalized…something just between the two of them.

Hongbin chuckle from the joke. “You’re welcome! I’ve tried it before a long time ago and–”

“That’s it! Choco!!”

“Hm?”

“Your nickname! I’ll call you Choco! What do you think?!”

Hongbin looks at Chansikkie’s cute, contagious smile and puppy dog eyes–it’s as if Chansikkie wants his approval for the nickname a lot, and Hongbin can’t help but let out a hearty laugh. “I-I like it!”

“Good!” Chansikkie says, also joining in the laughter. Hongbin’s smile and laughter is contagious. They have that effect on each other.

Choco and Chansikkie. Huh, Taekwoon thinks it has a nice ring to it. Now, let’s leave them to their silly laugh session, and just like the shadows, he departs silently, unnoticeable to the pair.

—

“Ah, there you are, Taekwoonie! We’ve been looking for you!”

“Hakyeon.”

“Where have you been? What have you been up to, hyung? Are you busy??” Jaehwan chirps in.

Well. “Ah, did you know….?” Taekwoon finds himself accidentally spilling out what he has seen to Hakyeon, Jaehwan, Wonsik, and Hyuk .

Hakyeon laughs, “Lifelong friend, who do you think made the chocolate and gave it to Hongbinnie?”

Eh?

“That’s right, it’s us two!” Hakyeon and Jaehwan high-fives each other. “Of course, we also had the help of Wonsik too.”

Wonsik gives a sheepish smile, “Hakyeon hyung forced me. He knows a lot, so…”

Hyuk sighs, “Aiiishh, I tried to stop them! My hyungs and their plans are crazy!”

Hakyeon, being a self-proclaimed divine matchmaker, proudly states, “And there’s still many more to come! Why, Taekwoon do you want to join us?”

“YEah! I’ve already enlisted some of my buddies too!” Jaehwan enthusiastically adds. “Junghwan, CNU, who then told blah, blah, blah, and they’re all friends with Chansik too!”

The news quickly spreads amongst the two groups (VIXX and B1A4). It is with no surprise then that when Chansik returns back to his hyungs he is greeted by their teasing. 

Hongbin can’t escape it either. 

Hongbin sighs, and mutters “Ah, it’s like this? This Leo hyung…” And Hakyeon hyung, and Jaehwan hyung too. -_- But, he ignores them in his mind as he goes to meet up with Chansikkie for another swimming lesson (and more! s would insist. something about dates…).

 

THE END