“Are you really sure you can do this?”

Wonshik had asked it a thousand times already, but he simply couldn’t help it. Taekwoon wasn’t well at all—he had been rushed into the hospital because of abdominal pain—and yet he still insisted that he wanted to do it. No, he said that he needed to do it; for the fans who had been waiting for them, and for himself.

“The doctor said that it’s okay, and I feel fine. I’ve agreed to sit down and let you do all the dancing. Why won’t I be sure that we can do this?” replied Taekwoon.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt more than you already are,” said Wonshik, pouting as he played with the necktie that had the same pattern with his shirt.

“We’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. You’ll be there with me after all, right?” said Taekwoon with a small smile. Wonshik scrunched his face in disagreement, but he really couldn’t say anything to change Taekwoon’s mind.

“Who knows… I’ll be too busy dancing left and right to watch over you,” grumbled Wonshik again, still playing with his tie.

Suddenly, an idea passed in his mind. He tugged the tie free and walked over to where Taekwoon was sitting. Taekwoon stared at him curiously, but he said nothing as Wonshik hung the tie around Taekwoon’s collar and deftly tied it. He let it hang loose to match the shirt’s style.

“I won’t be able to watch you closely, so… Please keep this for me until our performance ends,” said Wonshik with a small smile. Taekwoon also smiled in return.

“Ravi-ya, turn around and kneel in front of me,” said Taekwoon. Wonshik frowned in confusion.

“Why should I?” asked Wonshik.

“Just do it. Hyung’s order,” said Taekwoon.

Wonshik was really suspicious of that weird order, but he did it anyway. He could feel Taekwoon fiddling with the chain of his necklace, and he wanted to turn around to ask, but Taekwoon already scolded him not to move. After a while, Taekwoon patted Wonshik’s back and told him to stand again.

When Wonshik looked at Taekwoon, he noticed that one of his earrings was missing.

“Since you entrust your tie to me, I entrust my earring to you. Don’t lose it dancing too hard, okay?” said Taekwoon. Wonshik reached back to the chain under his collar, and he could feel the earring dangling there.

“Why on the back, though?” asked Wonshik. Taekwoon shrugged.

“Isn’t it more thrilling that way? It feels like our own secret sign,” said Taekwoon.

Wonshik was about to give him a reply when the staff called them out. They immediately went on the stage to perform, and Wonshik really couldn’t help but stole a glance every time he could, just to make sure that Taekwoon really was fine.

Once the performance was over, Wonshik helped Taekwoon back to the waiting room. Apparently Sanghyuk came to visit them, so they monitored the recording together. Sanghyuk had keen eyes, so Wonshik had asked him to point out anything he thought needed to be fixed from the performance.

They watched the recording in silence. Wonshik couldn’t really concentrate, glancing at Taekwoon again and again until he ended up staring at him instead of the screen. He only snapped out of it when he heard Sanghyuk speak up.

“You know, Ravi-hyung… What you’re lacking is something you did too much,” said Sanghyuk. Wonshik didn’t understand what he’s trying to say at all.

“The wave? Was it not smooth enough?” asked Wonshik dumbly. Sanghyuk snorted out loud, and he took a quick glance at Taekwoon, making Wonshik frown in deeper confusion.

“That. You did that too much,” said Sanghyuk. Wonshik glanced towards Taekwoon, frowning, trying to find any clue from him. Taekwoon also seemed confused, but then he seemed to notice something and blush, ducking his head in embarrassment.

Wonshik was about to ask something dumb again when he caught Taekwoon glancing at him, and it all suddenly clicked. His own face turned red upon the realization.

“Did… did I glance too often?” asked Wonshik slowly.

“Too often until it’s completely obvious. But Leo-hyung isn’t any better, though. Do you really think that no one will notice how you mouthed all that ‘love’ lyrics on Ravi-hyung’s rap?” replied Sanghyuk. Wonshik blinked several times, mouth hanging open because he couldn’t believe what Sanghyuk said. Taekwoon could only blush even more, too embarrassed to say anything.

“Well, maybe it’s a good thing that the fans have kind of labeled this comeback as something that are not-so-subtly homo, but… Yeah, control yourselves a bit, will you two? Stay away from public scandal,” said Sanghyuk.

“We’re sorry. We’ll be more careful from now on, Hyuk-nim,” said Wonshik. Sanghyuk snorted at Wonshik’s sudden formality, although he could say that he kind of enjoyed it.

“Good. That’s all I have to say, I guess, so I’ll go back now. Leo-hyung, get well soon,” said Sanghyuk. They took some pictures together first before sending Sanghyuk off.

“Alright, you have to return to the hospital too. Let’s clean up then,” said Wonshik.

“Hey, kneel in front of me so I can take my earring back,” said Taekwoon. Wonshik almost forgot about it, and he immediately kneeled down like he did earlier.

“Well, we need to be a bit more subtle… But at least Hyuk didn’t realize about this,” said Taekwoon as he unclipped the earring from Wonshik’s necklace and put it back into his accessories box.

“This secret sign is a success then, I guess?” teased Wonshik. Taekwoon snorted at that.

“We’ll have to work on other secret signs, then,” said Taekwoon.