"Woozi worked on a collab!"

"Did you hear about Woozi collabing?"

"I can't believe the company could do that to Woozi. Everyone knows how secretive he is." 

"I'm so curious! I wonder if CSC has met him in person."

When Wonwoo heard all the buzz about Woozi in his classroom, he was scared. Both him and Jihoon weren't social people, yet they got the news from others. Woozi was on the news and it wasn't something he was looking forward to. Once Wonwoo found out exactly what was going on, he raced out to find Jihoon as soon as the lunch bell rang and dragged him to the room. Making sure nobody was around, he pulled out his laptop and opened all the news sites for Jihoon to read. "Jihoon, what do we do? Our inbox is filling up with mail!" He scrolled through them, reading the subject. All of them were filled with questions, requests and more collaborations. Wonwoo wanted to bang his head into a wall. This collaboration was just for Jihoon's brother, but he couldn't just say it was exclusive in fear of backlash. The fear of the unknown was scaring him more than he thought it would.

"I knew doing this job would be a bad idea!!" Wonwoo ran a hand through his hair frustrated. The reputation they built is quickly going down the drain. Jihoon sat dazed at his seat, still trying to understand what was going on. Wonwoo grabbed him by the shoulders. "Jihoon, the public is giving Woozi attention that we never intended to get. We made Woozi to be able to let others hear your amazing music, but now people are looking at Woozi as a person. What if we get caught? I don't want the public to pull you away from me. We should tell Seungcheol hyung that Woozi is calling off the deal." Jihoon only understood the last sentence, and immediately shook his head no. 

"H-hyung-" "Jihoon!" Wonwoo begged. "People are looking at us like food. They want to get to know us, they want to dissect us for their pleasure, they are questioning what we are. They are calling us frauds, liars, betrayers. They don't know us, but they assume things about us. They are going to be bias from now on." Wonwoo cringed at the next words he had to say. 

"If... the public found out about you and me....  what do you think would happen to...you?" His biggest concern was Jihoon. Jihoon was always priority. It didn't matter that he was thinking too fast and far into the future, he needed Jihoon to know that even if he didn't understand the situation, Jihoon was in danger. That this Woozi they created in under jeopardy. Jihoon blinked rapidly, struggling in Wonwoo's grasp. "Ss-seung-ch-cheol h-h-hyung..." He broke away and opened their account in Uprising. Pulling up the chat room, Jihoon typed away. 

Woozi: I was in the news. I want to know what happened.

Hoshi is typing....

Hoshi: My company's management leaked the collaboration news to some friends who told the news. They are currently being lectured and hushed. We are trying to shut down the news and covering it up with others. We are so sorry. This wasn't suppose to happen. 

Jihoon shoved the laptop in Wonwoo's face. "M-isstake. Acci-cident." He wanted Wonwoo to know that it wasn't the other side's intention to release news ahead of time. They had agreed in the contract that there would be a public statement describing the collaboration at the time of Hoshi's debut. "It w-was g-going to ha-happen any-anyway." Jihoon grasped at Wonwoo's sleeve, other hand tugging at the hem of his uniform. Wonwoo sighed. "You're right. And the news haven't turned to ask about who and what Woozi is yet. If that question ever comes up, we are stopping this collaboration. I don't want you in any danger. Who knows what other people might do just to know who we are." He took the laptop and set it back on the table, finishing up the conversation with Hoshi, reminding them of recording schedule. "I'm sorry Jihoon. I worry too much sometimes." He pulled Jihoon in for a hug. "I care about you a lot you know." He crassed Jihoon's soft hair. Jihoon nodded and buried his face in Wonwoo's chest. "S'okay." They stood there, swaying from side to side in their hug. It was making Jihoon a bit sleepy as he mumbled a quiet "Love you, hyung" in the fabric of Wonwoo's shirt. Wonwoo chuckled at the sleepy baby in his arms and replied with a sweet "I love you too, boo." Once they were both calm, Wonwoo ushered Jihoon to sing Simple for him. 

♬Everything that makes me breathe 

♬I want it to be simple 

♬Until it goes far far away

♬Until I can't see

♬I call you baby yeah

♬Baby's called my happiness yeah

♬Yeah I just want it SIMPLE SIMPLE

♬I want it SIMPLE

Wonwoo wanted Jihoon to learn the risk they took when they began collaborating for the first time. If it was just the two of them doing what they love the most, it would have been fine. But once Woozi joins the market, with their hidden identity, complications will arise. This was the first collaboration, Wonwoo wanted it to be the last, but for publicity's sake, it might not be a good idea. To stay under the radar, they were going to have to answer some questions.

-------------

Jihoon was cleaning the children's rooms when Seungcheol came over. Jihoon was so focused in stripping the beds of their sheets that he didn't hear the way the children squealed and cheered. Humming Simple quietly, he was about to grab the clean sheets behind him when he finally spotted Seungcheol in the doorway wearing a huge smile. "S-seungcheol h-hyung." Seungcheol who didn't want to interrupt Jihoon's humming was just watching from the door. Disappointed that Jihoon stopped, he frowned but he brushed it off and greeted. "Afternoon, Jihoon." Seungcheol didn't leave after, he just staring at Jihoon.  Jihoon wasn't use to the attention and was slowly turning pink by the ears. 

"Y-yes h-hyung?" Seungcheol chuckled at his cuteness and stepped closer. "I got a van that could fit 11 people, wanna go out with the kids this weekend?" Seungcheol had been planning this for a while, a vacation with the kids. Jihoon stood there processing his words. 

"W-when?" 

"We can set off on Friday night and get back Sunday evening. You can even invite Wonwoo." 

Jihoon looked up at Wonwoo's name. "R-really?" Seungcheol nodded. It kind of hurt that Jihoon hesitated when it was only Seungcheol, and seemed more willing when he heard Wonwoo. Seungcheol sighed in his heart, telling himself that it's because he's still a bit of a stranger. "Yes. I'll invite Joshua too. Wanna go?" Jihoon nodded. "Where?" Seungcheol smiled and responded "To the bounce studio by the beach, and the children's fair. We can stay in the beach house I have down there." Jihoon nodded faster, feeling a bit more excited. "Okay." "I'll leave you to contact Wonwoo. If you need me, I'll be with the other children, 'kay?" "Ungh." Seungcheol gave Jihoon a side hug before leaving. Sitting on the unmade bed, Jihoon pulled out his phone from his apron and clicked Wonwoo's number. He picked up on the second ring and Jihoon immediately blurted everything to him, from his interaction with Seungcheol hyung to the trip that Wonwoo was invited to. "H-hyung, hyung!!" His voice was higher and stable, telling Wonwoo that he was really excited. He chuckled over the line. 'Haha, calm down buddy! Sure, I'll go with you. My parents are out this weekend too. Go finish your sheets and we can chat later okay?" Jihoon nodded, then realized Wonwoo couldn't see him and let out a loud "Ungh!!" Ending the call, he quickly finished the sheets and moved to the next room to repeat.