Wanna One were the last to arrive at the practice venue for the Produce 101 concert. As they trickled in to greet their friends for the first time since the finale, Ong watched Minhyun carefully. As soon as he entered, Minhyun’s eyes scanned the parameters. Dongho was with Jung Sewoon at his right side, but Jonghyun was with Youngmin and Donghyun on the left. Minki was with Samuel, right in front of him. But Minhyun walked past both Minki and Dongho, immediately making his way towards Jonghyun.

Weird.

Jonghyun looked happy to see him; he had a warm smile on his face. They didn’t hug or anything though, it seemed they were just greeting each other with their eyes.

A little later, Jonghyun and Minhyun made their way away from the crowd of trainees. It was pretty clear that they wanted to be alone.

If Seongwoo did not suspect that the two were in love, he would have thought they wanted to be alone to talk about Dongho’s case or something. Now, however, he suspected that they wanted to be alone to make out or something.

The thought of Minhyun making out with Jonghyun made his blood boil with jealousy.

Minhyun and Jonghyun came back many minutes later. Seongwoo tried to pay attention to the two of them: maybe they had messed up hair or hickeys or something, anything that could validate Seongwoo’s theory.

But no.

As soon as they joined the crowd of trainees, Minhyun left Jonghyun’s side and approached Dongho, who was still seated in a corner and speaking with Sewoon. Minhyun sat on the ground beside him and put his hand over Dongho’s, who seemed to have held back a small smile in response.

From that, Ong guessed that Jonghyun was alone with Minhyun to tell him the truth about the scandal, and so Minhyun was now expressing his support to his friend. So maybe Jonghyun and Minhyun weren’t making out like he thought, Ong reckoned, a little relieved.

But he changed his mind when he noticed Minhyun’s eyes always wandering back towars Jonghyun, even as Sewoon and Dongho were conversing right beside him. Minhyun was not even subtle about this: he was staring at Jonghyun. Sometimes Jonghyun would look back at him and smile.

At this point, Seongwoo was going crazy. He hated being uncertain about things. Seongwoo was intelligent and observant; he was supposed to know everything, but the relationship between Minhyun and Jonghyun was so maddeningly ambiguous to him.

He remembered their time in teams Never and Sorry Sorry. He never suspected they were in love for a second, because they never showed it. They were not physical with one another. They were closer to each other than they were to the rest of the team, but they weren’t exclusive about that closeness the way lovers should be. But why were they ogling each other now?

Eventually, Seongwoo had had it with not knowing. He had to find out immediately, and so he decided to put Minhyun on the spot and ask him.

In the middle of going through the choreography for Sorry Sorry, Ong turned to Minhyun and said: “Minhyun can I have a minute alone, please?”

He didn’t even wait for an answer, he just grabbed Minhyun’s arm and pulled him out of the practice room and into the bathroom where no one would hear them.

“Seongwoo, what’s up?” Minhyun asked, confused as to why Seongwoo so dramatically dragged him out.

“You love Jonghyun, right?” Ong asked, and watched Minhyun’s reaction carefully.

If there’s one thing that Minhyun at, it was lying.

Flustered, Minhyun narrowed his eyes at him and seemed at a loss for words. “W… what?” he managed.

“Don’t play dumb. You love him, don’t you?” Ong asked again.

“Well, he’s one of my closest friends…” Minhyun began to say, but his fluttering eyes gave him away. Minhyun’s always blinked like that when he lied.

“I knew it,” Seongwoo groaned.

“Knew what?” Minhyun asked nervously.

“I knew there was something going on between you two!”

Minhyun looked defeated at this point. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, looking down at the floor uncertainly. “Nothing ever escapes Ong Seongwoo, does it?” Minhyun mumbled embarrassedly.

This was the first time that someone outside Minhyun’s circle of members and Pledis staff knew about his relationship with Jonghyun, and that made Minhyun very, very nervous. Before, that taboo relationship was contained within a tight-knit group of dependable people, but now it has seeped outside of that confine, and someone else had the secret in his hands.

As much as Minhyun trusted Seongwoo, he was still afraid.

Minhyun observed Seongwoo to understand his reaction to this. Ong didn’t seem disgusted, which was a good sign. He just seemed… confused.

“How did you find out?” Minhyun asked.

“The way you look at him,” Seongwoo answered.

“Was I that obvious?”

“Yeah, you kinda were.”

There was an awkward silence between the two of them as Seongwoo just peered at a very self-conscious Minhyun. Minhyun finally broke the silence by saying: “well, are you going to say something?”

“Sorry, I’m just trying to process this,” Seongwoo answered, still wide-eyed as he took in this new information. “You guys are really together? As in boyfriends?”

“Yes, we’re together,” Minhyun answered.

“For how long?”

“Three years and counting.”

“Wow. So you guys kiss and make love and stuff?” Seongwoo asked him with narrowed eyes.

Minhyun was startled by how upfront Seongwoo was about this. He laughed it off awkwardly and answered: “We’re lovers, Seongwoo. That’s all I can tell you.”

“I can’t imagine you two making love. Or even making out for that matter,” Seongwoo noted with a wince.

Minhyun bit his lower lip and shrugged. “So… are you the type that doesn’t like this?” Minhyun asked, disappointed.

Oh, Seongwoo most definitely did not like “this,” whatever “this” even was. He didn’t like that Minhyun and Jonghyun were lovers at all. Jealousy might have something to do with it, but it was also something else. It was also that it really, really, really made absolutely no sense to Seongwoo. No sense at all.

There was no spark between them. Their relationship seemed as platonic as any relationship could ever be. They barely hugged for crying out loud. Ong saw more of that romantic chemistry between Minhyun and Hyunbin then he ever saw between Minhyun and Jonghyun. It just didn’t make sense.

Seongwoo saw the disappointment and unease in Minhyun’s expression. Minhyun was afraid that Seongwoo was a homophobe that would now hate them because of their relationship. Minhyun was probably afraid that Seongwoo would not keep it a secret from everyone else and instead shame them and let the secret spread.

Feeling bad, Seongwoo decided to put Minhyun’s heart at ease.

“I’m no homophobe, Minhyun,” he reassured. “And I promise I won’t tell anyone. I’m only reacting like this because I’m surprised. I’ve known you guys for months, and it never crossed my mind that you two were dating. I’m usually good with telling this stuff, but for you two, I didn’t get it until now!”

Minhyun was relieved to hear that. “Promise me you won’t say anything to anyone,” Minhyun entreated.

“I promise,” Seongwoo assured.

“Even Jonghyun. Don’t tell him that you know about us. It’ll just stress him out if he knows that you know, and he’ll get worried about every little thing.”

“Okay,” Seongwoo nodded.

Minhyun took a deep breath and did that thing where he ran his fingers through his hair. He always did that when he’s out of energy or stressed. Ong felt bad all of the sudden, and he realized that maybe he didn’t handle this in the best way that he could have.

“You can trust me,” Seongwoo assured him again, reaching out and rubbing Minhyun’s arm in reassurance.

Minhyun relaxed at that. He smiled and patted Seongwoo’s back, “I know I can.”

Minhyun really did think that he could trust Seongwoo. Although Minhyun had only really known the guy for a few months, something about Seongwoo was so accommodating. Seongwoo was a dear friend, and if there was anyone in Wanna One that Minhyun would have trusted with this secret, it would have been him.

Minhyun wasn’t worried anymore. Although he was very anxious at first, he was quick to get over it and was now relaxed about the situation. Actually, he was a little relieved that Seongwoo knew.

Jonghyun represented a very sensitive part of Minhyun’s heart that Minhyun had to contain the past week since he didn’t have much contact with s. He had felt suffocated and depressed, with no avenue through which he can talk about Jonghyun to anyone. But now that Seongwoo knew, there was someone who would understand. Someone he could talk to, and someone to help him cope with the fact that he would be away from Jonghyun for so long.

It was then that the bathroom door opened, and Jonghyun peered inside.

“Guys… we’re waiting for you to start practice,” he said gently, as was characteristic of Nation’s Leader. “Do you need more time or…”

“We’re coming,” Seongwoo said to Jonghyun. “Sorry, I just needed Minhyun to help me scratch my back. I had an itch that was killing me.”

Seongwoo was such an effortless liar, Minhyun thought with fascination. Minhyun almost envied how Seongwoo could up with such a convincing lie right on the spot like that.

At least, Minhyun thought it was convincing…

A little after practice for Sorry Sorry ended, JR asked Minhyun: “so what did Seongwoo really want from you back there?”

“Uh… he really just wanted me to scratch his back,” Minhyun lied.

If there’s one thing that Minhyun at, it was lying. His fluttering eyes gave him away. Minhyun’s always blinked like that when he lied.

JR didn’t know what to make of the fact that Minhyun was lying to him, but he didn’t think too much on it. It was a little disappointing, but Minhyun must have his reasons, right? Minhyun had never lied to him before after all.

-

That night, Seongwoo thought a lot about what he was going to do. What was his next course of action? His next plan? Should he just give up? He felt like he could never compete with Jonghyun for Minhyun, and not only because Jonghyun was leagues superior to him in personality and kindness, but also because Seongwoo actually really liked Jonghyun and didn’t want to do anything that would potentially upset that frustrating angel of a person.

After careful consideration, he decided that he was just going to try something. One thing. If it worked, it worked. If it didn’t, he would gracefully step down and accept that Minhyun could never be his.

And the one thing he was going to try was not even that wicked, he told himself. Seongwoo would just gently try to push Minhyun to reconsider his relationship with Jonghyun.

If Seongwoo’s deductions about Minhyun and Jonghyun’s relationship were accurate, this might actually work in his favor.

-

Minhyun felt so much closer to Seongwoo all of the sudden.

In the days that followed, Minhyun felt happy, so much happier than he was before when he was missing s and thinking about how he was going to live away from JR for so long. Now, he felt like he could deal with the distance, because he had someone with him who would help him cope with it.

Seongwoo did help him a lot, mostly through sharing his phone with him so that Minhyun could text JR whenever he wanted. Seongwoo also tried to help by telling him about the supply closet in the concert venue that Minhyun should drag JR into to “have some fun.”

“I checked, there are no cameras. And I’ll guard it for you if you want,” Seongwoo offered. “You can take as much time as you need in there.”

In response, Minhyun just laughed shyly and shook his head. Seongwoo was very upfront about these things, a lot more upfront than Minhyun could ever have the confidence for.

“No need,” Minhyun replied when it looked like Seongwoo expected a reply to the offer.

“Come on. Wanna One is going to be insanely busy the next few weeks, and you won’t have enough time for y times with your boyfriend. Now’s your last chance!” Seongwoo joked.

Flustered, Minhyun just shook his head. “We don’t… we’re not that kind of couple,” he explained embarrassedly.

Seongwoo narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“We don’t… you know...”

“You don’t… have in public places?” Ong asked with a raised eyebrow.

Minhyun gave up on propriety and answered him: “No Seongwoo. We don’t have . Period.”

Bingo. It was exactly what Seongwoo had suspected; they were a platonic couple.

“Really?” Seongwoo asked carefully. He wanted to know more, but he was afraid Minhyun was not comfortable talking about it and would shut him down. “Have you guys ever tried or…”

“Why are we talking about this?” Minhyun asked, laughing awkwardly.

“Come on, tell me. I don’t judge,” Seongwoo encouraged, hoping Minhyun would break out of his refined shell and talk without inhibition.

“I don’t even tell my other NU’EST members these things…”

“Well, I wouldn’t tell my brothers about my life either. But I would tell my friends,” Seongwoo responded, and Minhyun thought that that was such a witty response.

It was so witty, that Minhyun caved and agreed to tell him. Biting his lower lip and looking away in embarrassment, he confessed: “We tried once, and it was the most awkward experience of our lives. So from then on, we decided to not ruin what we had with .”

“How long ago was this?”

“Just a couple of months after we started dating so over two years ago. We just thought that this was what couples do, so we had to do it or we weren’t a real couple. But after that we came to the decision that wasn’t for us.”

“Is one of you guys aual or something?”

“Oh no, ot’s not that,” Minhyun answered with a shrug. “It’s just we’re always together, and we’re like... brothers. It’s weird to be that physically intimate with someone you’ve been like a brother to, you know?”

Bingo.

“Okay but here’s a question: why are you dating your brother?” Seongwoo asked and crossed his arms. This conversation was going exactly where Seongwoo had planned it would go.

The question took Minhyun by surprise, and he seemed to hesitate coming up with an answer. “Well, he’s more than just a brother,” Minhyun replied.

Aare you attracted to him?” Seongwoo asked.

He waited for the answer. If Minhyun said ‘yes,’ then that was it. Seongwoo would not interfere anymore; he would give up on Minhyun and move on. But if Minhyun’s answer was anything less than a ‘yes,’ then Seongwoo knew that there was a chance.

Minhyun’s answer came after a second of hesitation: “I think so.”

That was definitely less than a ‘yes.’

“I see,” Seongwoo said, eying Minhyun with intrigue.

“What?”

“This is why it took so long for me to notice that you were a couple,” Seongwoo told Minhyun. “That attraction between couples isn’t really there between you two. But it’s okay. Being a platonic couple is fine too, I guess.”

A platonic couple?

-

Seongwoo’s words rang through Minhyun’s head that night. He never thought of his relationship with JR as “platonic,” but that’s exactly what it was now that he thought about it. And it wasn’t just about their lack of a life. They rarely even kissed for crying out loud.

Was something wrong with them?

But Minhyun really loved JR. Truly. Just because they didn’t necessarily enjoy kissing or making love doesn’t mean that they loved one another less…

Right???

A/N: and the seed has been planted~