"Kibum," Minho said, his low, quiet voice stopping him in his tracks. "Come on, we have to talk about this."

Kibum took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at Minho. His attention shifted to the stylists who slipped past them in the narrow hallway and then to the nearest door. He grabbed Minho's sleeve, pulling him into the darkened room and closing the door behind them before he flipped on the first switch.

"It's not worth the risk."

"Bummie…"

"Don't ing 'Bummie' me. It's not. It's not and you know it. Don't you want to live a normal life after all this? Don't you want to keep acting? Or did that suddenly change overnight?"

Minho deflated. "Of course I do, but…"

"No buts, Min. None. We may be the...nation's sweethearts or whatever the they're calling us these days, but that doesn't mean we get to live the life we want. We have to do what's expected of us." He straightened his jacket, brushing off an imaginary piece of lint before he started to open the door.

Before he could open it more than a sliver, Minho reached over him, holding it closed, leaning into Kibum's space. "What happened to you, huh?" he asked, his voice a harsh whisper. "The Kibum I grew up with wouldn't hesitate to defy anyone and everyone's expectations."

"Yeah, well, things changed. We both grew up. We're not the same kids we were when we debuted. I could say the same thing about you." Minho's hand slipped from its firm position on the door. "Where's the kid who knew that a public, romantic relationship between two male idols was impossible? If I wasn't worth the risk to you back then, then I certainly am not now."

Kibum shoved his hand away and opened the door, slipping out into the bright hallway once more. Minho collected himself before he flicked the light off and followed him.

It was KM91's goodbye stage. With SHINee's next comeback looming before them with the return of Taemin from the army, Kibum was intending to focus on his solo albums and Minho returning in full-force to his acting career in the lull between comebacks. KM91 was just a fun project to keep them busy, conjured up one morning as they lay in bed soon after Minho's return from serving in the Marines.

They hadn't been dating for very long...At least, it didn't seem that way. A few months before the Story of Light comeback, once they returned to Korea from the concerts in Japan...that's when everything, officially, kicked off. Sure, there had been feelings beforehand...long, long beforehand, but none that they were willing to risk pursuing.

Until now.

It had been a while since they had truly argued like this -- a long while, Minho felt out of practice -- but Minho was ready now. Ready for the joys and challenges that would come with being an out and proud gay couple in Korea.

He bowed politely to those he passed on his way to the stage, and he hurried over to stand beside Kibum. He lightly touched the small of Kibum's back and glanced down at him as Kibum let out a long sigh.

"Are we good?" He asked as their musical cue started to play.

In the seconds they had to spare, Kibum glanced up at him, searching his expression before barely nodding. He stepped out, and Minho adjusted his in-ear as he followed him on stage. It was just the rehearsal, and they would get two run-throughs before their stage would be aired.

They got into position, their backs facing each other as they waited for their introduction to start.

The first notes of "Stick With Me" eased through the air, and Minho lowered his head just as he knew Kibum was lifting his. Kibum began to sing, dancing along to the sultry beat. Minho followed him, his back to him, mirroring every move Kibum made. The choreography matched the lyrics, describing a relationship where they just couldn't seem to let go of the other, no matter if the relationship was doomed to fail or not.

When it came time for him to sing, the choreography shifted, and he led, dancing back across the stage with Kibum at his back. When the chorus came, they turned, facing each other as their back-up dancers fanned out around them. Kibum's hand pressed over his heart, in Minho's shirt just before he let go and turned back around.

They faced each other again when Minho started to rap, his eyes never leaving Kibum's as his hand ghosted over Kibum's shoulder, drawing him in. "I'm no longer frightened," he sang, caressing Kibum's face with his gaze. "I just want you, my dear."

Kibum, ever the professional, continued undeterred, though his gaze did linger on Minho before the choreography carried him away from him. When it brought them back together, Kibum grabbed his shoulder, pulling him closer. "It's not much to ask," he sang, holding Minho's complete attention with his gaze. "Just please, stick with me."

Minho's cue came but he failed to sing it. Instead, he found himself focusing on the silent conversation they were having. The music died in the air and Kibum laughed, shoving his shoulder before he let go of it. "Hey what was that?" The fans in the audience laughed with him, and Minho started to chuckle.

He bowed apologetically to Kibum, the fans, and the crew. "I'm sorry, I'll do my best!"

They got back into position and Kibum reached back and tapped his side. A silent "Are you okay?" Minho placed his hand over Kibum's, squeezing lightly before readied himself for their next run-through.

It went smoothly, their fans cheering them on as they danced and sang. Minho didn't miss his cue this time, and once he stopped singing, he held Kibum's gaze before his eyes slipped down to Kibum's lips. He let go of Minho's shoulder, turning to smile at the fans while Minho went over to where one of the coordinators was holding up water bottles for them. He took one, cracking it open before passing it to Kibum so that he could drink first.

"We'll miss you!" One of the fans shouted, garnering their attention as Kihum passed the water bottle to Minho.

"We'll be back with SHINee later this year!"

Smiling, Minho cleared his throat, "SHINe's back, back, back…"

Kibum and the fans laughed. "Hey, you've gotta be patient!" he said, smacking Minho's shoulder lightly. "Apologize for getting their hopes up."

"I'm sorry~," Minho said cutely, then glanced over at Kibum and cackled at his expression.

"This kid," Kibum shook his head as he went over to return the empty water bottle. "Why do you get after me for using aegyo if you use it so flippantly?"

"You told me to apologize? And at least I'm not, like -- " he took a breath, preparing himself to impersonate Kibum. " -- 'Bummie's hungry!" he said, latching onto Kibum's shoulder. "What to do?"

"You said you liked that," Kibum said as deadpan as he could.

Minho snorted in disbelief. "When have I ever…"

"Key, Minho…" one of their stylists backstage whisper-shouted to them. Right, final checks with their hair and makeup. They hurried off stage, letting their stylists do what they needed to in the minutes before they needed to be back on stage.

"Could you give us a minute?" Minho asked when his stylist was finished and Kibum's was just messing with a stubborn lock of Kibum's hair. When she left them, Minho reached out, arranging Kibum's fringe the way he knew he liked it.

"Are you sure?" Any of the jovial tone he had had on stage was completely gone. "Because there'll be no going back after this if we do."

Minho's hand fell away from Kibum's hair as he met his gaze. "It's up to you."

"Minho, Key, we're ready!"

Kibum turned to return to the stage, but Minho grabbed his arm, pulling him close to whisper in his ear. "You've always been worth the risk, sweetheart, I just was too scared to see that. I'm not afraid anymore."

"Key! Minho!"

"Yeah, we're coming!" Kibum held Minho's gaze, offering him a small smile before he turned to return to the stage.

Their final stage as a subunit went off without a hitch, until the very last lines when Kibum and Minho were supposed to sing "It's not much to ask, just please, stick with me." Instead of simply holding Minho's shoulder and singing his line, Kibum's hand slipped to the nape of Minho's neck, and to the fans' surprise, traced his jawline with his fingers before resting his hand on Minho's chest.

Minho smiled as he searched for permission in Kibum's eyes, and when he found it, he cupped Kibum's cheek, pulling him into a kiss. The stage, the fans, the crew, the whole world, even, melted around them, leaving only each other to cling to.

And, as always, that was more than enough for him.