The location of the photos taken couldn’t had been more obvious. It was the ski resort they had visited a few weeks ago. Jeonghan could never imagine some company actually sending people to tail after them out of everyone in Seventeen during their three-day break. Literally all he did was sleeping at the hotel and skiing when he felt like it.

It was after scrutinisation that he finally remembered how and when the reporter could have taken photos like this. Seungcheol accidentally tripped and fell hard on the snow, twisting his left ankle slightly so Jeonghan helped him up. Seungcheol was clinging on to his arm to keep his balance, all while leaning forward so Jeonghan could support his weight.

And yes, in a certain, very specific, carefully planned and executed camera angle, they looked like they were kissing. Jeonghan could definitely see it now.

“Uh, so,” Jihoon cleared his throat. “Is this what the meeting is about? Are you announcing your relationship to us?”

“No!” Jeonghan and Seungcheol said almost in unison, still avoiding each other’s eyes.

“Obviously we’re not,” Seungcheol said. His ears were burning furiously with red, bringing huge contrast to his dark hair. “That is why we’re here, to clarify things. We are not dating.”

“Why didn’t you guys invite me to the resort, then?” Jisoo said.

“Shua, you told me your mom was coming to visit and you would be out of town!”

“Oh yeah, right, I forgot.”

“Why didn’t you guys invite anyone else, then?” Wonwoo asked with raised eyebrows.

Jeonghan opened his mouth but couldn’t think of a proper answer in time. Right, why didn’t they think of inviting other members to tag along? To be fair, they planned the trip within a day, and Seungcheol was just happen to be in Jeonghan’s room when he researched for ski resorts. Then they just kind of went along with the plan and contacted their managers about the trip. Neither of them brought up the topic of planning a group trip.

Why didn’t we, though?

“We figured everyone’s going home during the break, anyway. That’s why,” Seungcheol quickly replied. Although the statement was true, the reason sounded weak when he said it in such a haste.

“Guys, come on,” Jeonghan said, laughing dryly. “You can’t seriously think that we are actually dating, right?”

The others looked at each other but no one said a thing, prompting Jeonghan to continue, “Yeah, the photos do look kind of - ambiguous. But anyone with a tad of photography skills could fake it, right, Minghao?”

“Don’t look at me,” Minghao shifted backwards, he clearly did not want anything to do with the awkward situation.

“Well, I mean,” Seokmin started, his eyes looking anywhere but Jeonghan, wearing the same guilty expression as Seungkwan. “Sometimes, just, sometimes, we think that there is something going on with you two, but we just can’t put our fingers on it, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, you know,” Seokmin looked at the people sitting near him for moral and verbal support, but nobody turned to his aid. “You two seem very, very close. Sometimes.”

“Yeah, because we’re good friends?” Seungcheol retorted.

“Okay, but what about all the hand holding? The grabbing? And saying ‘I want to be with Jeonghan until I’m 80?’ What’s up with that?”

Seungcheol said defensively, “Come on, it’s just fan service, you know our fans like seeing us like this. Other groups do it. You all do it sometimes.”

Before anyone could say anything else to escalate the argument, a phone rang. The happy-go-lucky ringtone seemed terribly out of place during a time like this. Seungcheol sighed deeply and grabbed his phone from the kitchen counter and firmly pressed the screen.

“It’s the president,” he mouthed.

 

***

 

"So, you're saying that you two are not dating." The president looked back and forth at Seungcheol and Jeonghan sitting on the other end of the conference room, both looking like they were on death toll.

"We are not, sir," Jeonghan replied sternly. They had been having this conversation for the past five minutes and the president himself seemed quite hesitant to believe in his two employees for unknown reasons. Jeonghan understood that they needed to issue a public statement to clear up the misunderstanding, but this is just too embarrassing to deal with.

Seongcheol also shifted uncomfortably in his chair, avoiding eye contact with everyone as the president looked down on his laptop, probably finding any hints in the false article which might be a dead giveaway. The more you looked at it, the more the article presented itself as a reach. Filled with awkward angles and misleading captions. Nothing but materials to spark a memorable scandal and bring more ad revenue to the site.

"Alright, I'll release an issue to the press within the hour. We're getting calls and emails non-stop since the article had been released." The president finally closed the laptop and stood up, picking up his coat and giving a stern look to both Jeonghan and Seungcheol. "You'd better be more careful during your day offs. You know how those reports are; they jump at any chances for a scoop."

"We're very sorry for the trouble," Seungcheol replied, though he didn't sound genuinely sorry at all. After all, they were not the ones who created this mess. It was the idiot who wrote the article who thought he could fool the netizens. A large swamp of people were already debating whether the pictures they took at the ski resort were real or fabricated, only bringing this false news more undesirable attention, to their dismay.

On their way back to the dorm Jeonghan and Seungcheol didn't talk much. A large part of it was due to the unbearable awkwardness of being involved in a scandal with one of your closest friends. Furthermore, they wouldn't want another reporter tailing behind their backs, taking more photos as 'proof' of their 'relationship', which was painfully nonexistent.

For a second Jeonghan almost bursted into laughter. To think about it, the whole ordeal was actually pretty laughable. No way the news company would actually believe that anyone would buy into the article. It would fit perfectly as an April Fool's joke rather than a New Year scandal.

"What's so funny?" Seungcheol asked when he saw Jeonghan's brief smile, hidden behind a mask but still noticeable to Seungcheol.

"Don't you think it's funny? This entire article thing?"

"Not really."

"Come on, you have to think it's at least a little bit funny."

"Jeonghan."

Seungcheol stopped his footsteps suddenly, so Jeonghan did as well. The remaining sunlight shone directly on his face, making his expression unreadable from Jeonghan's side.

"It's not just fanservice."

"What?"

"It's not just fanservice that I said those things," Seungcheol added. His hands restlessly ruffled with the bucket hat he was wearing. The dark blue one. His favorite.

What?

Jeonghan could feel his heart pausing. Just a brief moment. Before escalating so quickly that he felt a bit nauseous in his stomach.

"I really do want to be with you until we're 80. As a best friend." Seungcheol said. "That's from my heart."

"Oh. Okay."

"I just don't want you to misunderstand what I said, that's all," Seungcheol shrugged. "There is already too much misunderstandings going around."

"No, I know what you mean," Jeonghan replied.

"Okay, cool."

"Okay."

The rest of the way back home was well defined by the chirping of nocturnal birds and a five-meter distance between the two.