"The food's here!"

The boys - being, well, boys - cheered simultaneously, causing a ruckus as they hovered around the table, pushing and shoving their way to the many boxes of boneless fried chicken and gimbap. Seeing that Daehyun couldn't seem to get around the two maknaes fighting over an especially large box, Yongguk grabbed two boxes of chicken and gestured to a temporarily isolated area of the room, suggesting for Daehyun to sit down. Without questioning, Daehyun started for the couch with Yongguk following closely behind. Yongguk placed the boxes on the table before them and handed the younger boy a pair of chopsticks.

After successfully obtaining her own box of gimbap, Jieun cheerfully skipped over to where the two were comfortably seated and settled next to Daehyun on his vacant right side, which seemed to surprise him. He blinked, but his silence told her that he wasn't opposed to the action - or maybe he was just being nice by letting her be (that sure as hell was easier than pushing her off the couch and making her sit somewhere else, she knew). Resisting the urge to smirk, she opened her box and picked up one slice of beef gimbap with her chopsticks, dipped it into the sauce, and held it in front of Daehyun's mouth. "Open wide ~ !"

The boy blinked in his otherwise frozen state, dumbfounded. Yongguk, who had just stuffed a larger-than-bite-size piece of chicken into his mouth, narrowed his eyes and raised a curious eyebrow at the scene. Daehyun laughed nervously, then tried to politely turn it down, albeit in a painfully awkward manner (it didn't help that he was very aware of his hyung's piercing gaze on them). "That's okay - you should eat it. I have chicken, and I'm sure there'll be leftovers at the end," Daehyun said, though he knew there wasn't going to be a single grain of rice left given the amount of food the members were capable of inhaling. "I can just get some later." But Jieun just widened her eyes and pouted cutely, insisting that he let her feed him. A thin sheen of wetness veiled her eyes, and Daehyun caught sight of the gleam when he shifted his head to the left just slightly. At a loss for words and not knowing what else to do, he opened his mouth to welcome the gimbap.

As he chewed, he didn't dare look his hyung in the eye.

--

He couldn't the remember the last time he had been angry at Daehyun.

Though Jieun had initiated the flirting - he had unmistakably witnessed it with his own eyes - he couldn't - refused to - blame her or find her at fault. After all, she didn't know about how he, himself, felt about her - or so he thought - but Daehyun knew it very well. Hadn't he known it all along? And the fact that Daehyun was letting it happen for him to see left him in utter disbelief. Was his dongsaeng truly this kind of person? DId he not care about his hyung's feelings? While Yongguk had sincerely poured his heart out to Daehyun, was he inwardly mocking him, deciding to use the information to get ahead with Jieun? But that would mean -

Daehyun liked Jieun, too.

Damn, why hadn't he seen it coming? Think, Yongguk, think! At the mention of Jieun, how had Daehyun reacted? Keeping his intense gaze fixed on the other two on the couch - more towards Daehyun - he vaguely recalled the way the boy had suddednly stumbled with his words and seemed uncomfortable, as if he'd been caught off guard. It was as though Daehyun didn't like to talk about her - didn't want to - which explained why he seemed to always refuse to answer certain questions during their heartfelt I-have-girl-problems guy moments. "She's so pretty, isn't she, Dae?" "Mmm." And that was all he would ever say in response before hurriedly changing the subject. His forehead creased as more memories popped up, and he put the pieces together to form a puzzle of complete misunderstanding on his part.

They were closer now, their arms and thighs touching, and he could see the faint blush coloring Daehyun's cheeks as Jieun ran the feathery tips of her dainty fingers up and down his arm, stopping every now and then to gently squeeze the flesh there. Daehyun laughed shyly at something she said in his ear with his head bowed, slightly hunched over in his seat and seemingly looking at his hands in his lap.

That was the final straw.

Yongguk stood up, and - in a fit of jealousy and rage - suddenly stood up and grabbed Daehyun by the wrist before anyone in the room could turn, nevermind utter any questions. Roughly, he pulled the younger boy up and proceeded to drag him out of the recording studio, ignoring the shocked glances, sharp gasps, and his name being repeatedly called as he did so.

--

Jongup had, in the end, earned the right to eat the largest box of fried chicken (thanks to his muscles). After winning the initial battle for it against Zelo, he was about to happily boast to Daehyun about his victory when he laid his eyes on Jieun, who seemed to be eying Daehyun. Well...that's oddly suspicious. His gaze followed her all the way to the couch, and he realized too late that the seats on either side of Daehyun were now occupied, which turned his mood sour almost instantly. He settled for sitting on a plastic chair that was a little too low for his liking, eyes on his chicken, his right ear open to the obnoxiously loud chatter of his fellow members and his other ear intent on the conversation between the three on the couch that he was struggling to listen to.

He knew Jieun was up to something. Jongup could see right through Jieun's facade; Yongguk was just too blinded by love and Daehyun was too naive and kind because he always gave her the benefit of the doubt. He just knew she had ulterior motives - but what? And for what reasons? He didn't have time to think as a wave of emotions washed over him (caused by Jieun's starting to get a little too friendly with Daehyun) - shock, anger, jealousy, disgust, hatred. Hell, she was practically rubbing up against him!

Tearing his eyes away hadn't been easy, but when he'd finally managed to do so, he looked down to see that he'd already downed his box of chicken, the only things left being remnants of sticky chili garlic sauce clinging onto the inside walls of the foam take-out container. With an exasperated sigh, Jongup threw his wooden chopsticks inside the box before roughly closing it and tossing it onto the table where the rest of them were busy eating. Youngjae and Himchan looked up and swallowed their mouthfuls of food. Misunderstanding the reason behind his sudden behavior, Youngjae offered, "We bought extra. There should be one more box somewhere...." Said person craned his neck over the open plastic and paper bags littering the tabletop.

"It's not that. It's - " Jongup was cut off by the sight and sound of Yongguk's heavy footsteps as he stomped over to drag Daehyun out of the room.

"What's gotten into him?" Himchan asked around gimbap without looking up.

Jongup was on his feet. "I'm gonna go see - "

"Oh, it's nothing." All heads turned to Jieun, who smiled innocently before popping a slice of gimbap into .

Bull. Jongup looked worriedly at the door that had slammed shut moments before, then realized that everyone was now staring at him. He had no choice but to sit.

--

He didn't stop until they were a good two or three blocks away. Yongguk threw Daehyun against the wall of a dead alleyway, relishing in the sound of the impact of the younger's back hitting it. Successfully knocking the breath out of Daehyun, Yongguk placed his hands on either side of the other's head, giving him no room to escape.

"H-Hyung?! Wh-What - ?"

Yongguk leaned forward, his warm breath ghosting over Daehyun's face. "That's right - I'm your hyung. Who are you to forget that even for a second?"

Daehyun's frantic eyes looked everywhere - anywhere but at him. As he continued refusing to look him in the eye, Yongguk grabbed his jaw and forcibly tilted it skywards so that his fearful eyes locked with his own, wild with rage and bitterness. Daehyun was, without a doubt, confused, yet unbelievably frightened by his hyung's sudden behavior.

As if reading his mind, Yongguk continued in a low, hard tone, "Wipe that expression off your face, Dae. You should know damn well why I'm acting like this."

--

Daehyun said nothing and stared at him with wide eyes, contemplating on what to say. "I-I...." He bit his bottom lip. Of course he knew what Yongguk was referring to. But in his perplexed state, he didn't know where to begin, which might've made it seem to the older boy that he was purposely avoiding the subject. No, hyung! That's not what I'm trying to do! "I was just...she...I was just playing along. What else was I supposed to do, hyung?"

"Don't give me that crap, Dae!" He pounded his fist against the wall to the right of Daehyun's head, startling him and making his eyes grow wider, if that was even possible. "While I let my guard down in front of you, pouring my heart out and telling you about my sincere feelings for her, what were you doing then, huh? Did you have fun seeing your hyung lovesick? Did you mock his weakness? Did you laugh behind his back and, knowing this, did you think you could use it against him? That's low, Daehyun. I expected more from you. Dammit, I thought I could trust you!"

If his words were meant to make him feel guilty, they sure as hell worked. HIs eyes watered, and he let out a few stray tears of frustration. His hyung was blaming him for what had happened. But what could he have done in that situation? And why wasn't he mad at Jieun? At this, Daehyun mustered up all his courage and pushed Yongguk away from him, the suffocating atmosphere not easing one bit even as the other stumbled back a step. "Why are you being so unfair?! Why are you only treating me this way?! I would never do something like that to you, hyung - never!" He hated the fact that Yongguk always sided with Jieun, and more tears streamed down his flushed cheeks. "...why can't you believe me? Why can't you love me?" Daehyun's voice had died down to a mere whisper, so quiet that Yongguk didn't quite catch the last part.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two, the only sound being Daehyun's snuffling and the rustle of his clothes as he wiped his face with his shirt sleeve. Yongguk made no move to comfort him - instead, his sullen eyes were fixed on the ground, on the space between them. Finally, he broke the silence, his voice, too, dropping to a whisper that was even deadlier than when he'd been shouting. "Can't you let me have her, Dae? Can't you give up on her, just this once? I'm sure the right girl for you will show up someday, but Jieun - Jieun is special. There's no one else but Jieun for me." A pause. Yongguk's head moved, and he was now looking at Daehyun with a pained expression from behind his bangs. "Please...."

The sight of him in this state made his heart ache and his stomach clench. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to swallow. The tears hadn't stopped, but he wasn't sobbing anymore. And then, in a firm voice, a single word cut through the still air, clear as day: "No."

Surprisingly, Yongguk didn't lash out. If anything, his eyebrows furrowed closer together, the creases in his forehead grew deeper, and his eyes filled to the brim with desperate pleas. "Daehyun, don't you understand how I feel? Don't you care, at all?"

Daehyun's eyes searched his face, feeling sorry. But not for Yongguk. No, not anymore. "What about me, hyung? Did you ever stop to think of me and my feelings?" At this, the leader was taken aback, not knowing how to respond or even what nonsense Daehyun seemed to be spouting. So he kept his mouth shut and listened, which maybe he shouldn't have done. "My feel - I - You really have no idea, hyung?"

All he got in response was a slow head shake: No. in a deep breath, Daehyun decided that it was now or never. "I...I love you, hyung."

Maybe it should've been never. Maybe that would've been better for all of them. But he wouldn't know now, would he?

And with that, Daehyun did something he'd been doing all along -

He ran.

A/N: [/waits to be brick'd]

H-Hey there, everyone.

Is there anyone here? Haha. ^^;

First of all, I want to apologize for keeping everyone waiting! I know it's been too long! D|

I'm such a terrible person for failing to update after I promised I would. OTL

B-But better late than never, right?! [/shot]

Anyway, I'll be able to update regularly again (no, really - promise!).

I hope you all forgive me and enjoy this chapter! I'm sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations.

Comments and criticism and loved ~ !