Lee Jinki. More commonly known as SHINee's tofu leader, Onew. How most people would describe him? Clumsy, soft and gentle, and the man with a beautiful smile. His voice, which was arguably his key ticket into the group, branded him as SHINee's vocal identity, along with the main vocal Kim Jonghyun. 

Although one would think that Onew was quite loud and friendly, based on various appearances in variety shows, in real life, the boy was mostly quiet and usually basked in the opportunity to be alone. Don't get him wrong, it's not that Onew didn't enjoy the company of other people, it's just that Lee Jinki, not the persona 'Onew' which the company got him to adopt, was a very selfless person who didn't go around looking for attention. 

All of these things, Minho knew well. The boy (or should he say the man?) didn't like being bothered. In fact, Minho was slightly irked by his hyung's constant rejections to outings and offers to go to the movies. He didn't even crack after Minho offered to get chicken afterwards. 

Minho had known him for so long, yet his Jinki hyung was a mystery. Sure, he knew 'Onew.' The mischievous and kind leader who would speak up a lot during variety shows to help carry the team, back when the SHINee members were too shy to interact with the variety show hosts, and definitely too timid to crack some jokes. 

Minho had always been grateful for the presence of the older man in his life. Kibum would jokingly call their leader an old man, but this was something Jinki took in stride. After all, Jinki was getting older, but Minho knew his hyung was quite smart.

Now, brings Minho to his current dilemma. Recently, he had been viewing Jinki in a different light. As in, not how a younger brother would be looking at his older brother, and not how a colleague would look at his fellow group member. After all, that was their relationship, no? They were merely band mates, but tight knit enough to consider each other as a family. 

So where had it all gone wrong for Minho? 

It was honestly just a regular day of preparing for their comeback. They were all sitting in the recording studio, cracking jokes and trying not to go insane after a full day of recording. Everyone's throats were aching, and management was really cracking down on them to finish recording the rest of the songs that day. Minho wasn't as tired as the rest of them, because let's face it, he was a rapper, and by default didn't get a lot of lines. Anyway, all five of them were just sitting around goofing off, and Jinki, as usual, was cracking all of his terrible dad jokes. 

"Where did the chicken lose it's leg? In Viet-nom!" joked Jinki.

How does he even come up with jokes this bad? Thought Minho. 

"Old Man, be quiet! Your jokes are terrible!" whined Kibum, who was rolling his eyes, while Taemin was busy laughing and Jinki was sporting his cheeky grin. Jonghyun was busy checking his phone while practicing his vocal runs, because the vocalist was a pure perfectionist. 

The music producer then shushed them and called Jinki forward. 

"Jinki, you can totally nail this high note, you already have the feeling for it," praised the music producer who was mixing their music. Jinki thanked the man, while Jonghyun also stopped Jinki to discuss the song emotion he wanted to portray. The song was written by Jonghyun himself, and he was confident in his hyung's capability to sing the song.

The song was titled "Selene 6.23," and Jonghyun had poured a lot of thought and emotion into writing the lyrics. 

Jinki stepped into the recording booth, and put on his headphones while adjusting the volume of the instrumental which flooded into his ears. The SHINee members watched from outside the booth. Although they knew their hyung would do a great job,  they were always anticipating hearing his voice. 

Jinki opened his mouth to sing his first part.

Look at my eyes, I whisper alone as I look at you from far away. 

The SHINee members looked on, a little curiously and pretty intrigued. Jonghyun had written the lyrics, but he himself was still taken aback by the timbre and emotion which his hyung had been able to summon, and this was only the first line of the song. Taemin had some stars in his eyes, and Kibum was biting his lip, while Minho felt quite attacked by the lyrics. 

Minho was known as the guy who hung out with many hyungs, and was even nicknamed the "hyung collector," as the statement bore a semblance of truth. However, what Minho noticed was that he didn't feel the same around Jinki like he did with his hyungs. Even since debut days, Minho had subconsciously been looking at Jinki. This never escaped the eyes of Kibum, who was quite nosy and also sensitive to other people's emotions. Even now, Kibum was looking over at Minho, gauging his reaction to Jinki's singing. 

Just smile for me once, I can endure it just by seeing your face

There were plenty of times when they would slug through very tiring and demanding schedules, and all it would take for Minho to feel energized was to see Jinki's pure, radiant smile. After all, if Jinki, who was older than all of them, and had to pull some weight as a leader, could do it, then Minho would just have to up his tiredness and continue, right? At least, that's what Minho tried to convince himself he was feeling after seeing his hyung's smiles. 

At this point, the music director had recorded the part and was busy mixing it onto the track. 

"That's perfect, Jinki! That emotion was great. Don't forget about your phrasing, though. Round out your words and keep dynamic placement in line," complimented the director. 

"Director, he's already so good! His phrasing and placement was fine, you're such a perfectionist!" Kibum rolled his eyes. The other SHINee members also nodded along, while Jinki looked a bit embarrassed, and the director rolled his eyes back. 

"Kibum, to be fair, we're all perfectionists" joked Jonghyun, to which the SHINee members and the director nodded vigorously. 

"Alright, get on with it! I wanna finish up and go home! And Taemin is waiting to record afterwards," retaliated Kibum.

"Yeah, hyung, you sounded great! I wanna record soon though," said Taemin eagerly. 

"Ok, ok, Jinki do you see your next line? We're going to skip your mini duet parts until after Taemin records his part, and then we will come back to you again." prompted the director. 

"Yes, I will prepare myself." replied Jinki. 

The instrumental started playing again, and Jinki sang his next section. 

Even if you tease me by saying this is foolish, I can't turn this heart around. 

It seemed like I got closer 

So I called you with a fluttering heart 

But there's no answer, I guess I can never reach you 

"Wow, our dependable leader! As usual, you sounded amazing!" The director was clapping while praising Jinki, who always got a little shy after compliments. 

At this point, Minho was a little shell shocked. The words that his hyung had sung; it felt as if someone had exposed the secret longing and feelings he had for Jinki. Just as Minho glanced away from his hyung's adorable shy face, he caught Kibum looking at him with an amused expression. 

Damn, he knows, thought Minho. He was already dreading the confrontation that was definitely going to hit him once he got home. 

"Taemin, you're up next," called the director, and Taemin was hyping himself up to start recording. As for Minho, he couldn't stop looking at Jinki, who was exiting the recording booth. 

"I'm heading to the washroom, I gotta leak!" joked Jinki. 

"Hyung, just go!" encouraged Jonghyun. "We'll call you back when we need you!" and with a nod, Jinki exited the room and headed for the bathroom. 

While Taemin was singing his lines, Kibum rounded on Minho. 

Oh no, the confrontation is happening now, Minho miserably thought. 

"So, anything you wanted to say about that performance?" fished Kibum. "Or did Jinki-hyung do all the speaking for you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Minho vehemently denied everything. He was not about to spill all of his guts infront of Kibum. 

"Oh c'mon! Your pining was cute at first, but hasn't this been going on for too long? Just tell him already!" stated a frustrated Kibum. 

"Tell who what?" at this point, Jonghyun looked up from his phone, curious about why Kibum was nagging Minho. Not that it didn't happen everyday, but it was always fun to know about the drama going on in the group. 

"Nothing! He's talking about nothing at all!" groaned Minho. It was bad enough Kibum had caught on; he didn't want Jonghyun hyung to know about-

"His thirst for Jinki hyung!" exclaimed Kibum. "It's so obvious! He's always looking at Jinki hyung-" 

"Hey! I am not always looking at Jinki hyung! And, and, I'm not thirsting after him! Kibum, can you keep it down?! Director-nim is right there!" Minho blurted out. 

"Ooooooh, you mean Minho's obsession with hyung? I thought they were dating already?" answered Jonghyun. 

"Da-dating?!? We're not! And I am not obsessed with hyung!" spluttered Minho, who was looking considerably red, either from being exposed or from Jonghyun's implication that he was dating Jinki; probably both which had turned him into a living tomato. 

"Finally! Someone who agrees with me! Minho needs to grow a pair and ask him out already! Jinki hyung is not getting any younger!" exclaimed a frustrated Kibum. 

"Are you insane?! He's our leader! He's our hyung! I can't just ask him to be my boyfriend, and he's a guy... Do you see how wrong this is?" Minho tried reasoning. 

"Minho-ah, there's nothing wrong with liking a guy. So what, he's our hyung? I bet he likes you too, I mean, you guys are always glancing and smiling at each other," reassured Jonghyun, while Kibum nodded very determinedly. 

"Listen to Jjong! Hey, haven't you been crushing since-" 

"Oh? Minho likes someone?" Jinki inquired as he stepped back into the room. Immediately, Kibum, Jonghyun and Minho froze and looked up, the three pairs of eyes looking like startled deer. 

"He's kidding, hyung. He's just teasing me about the drama I did with that one actress." Minho nervously answered. 

"Oh." Jinki answered. Kibum looked curiously at Onew. Was that relief on his face? thought Kibum. Kibum smugly leaned back onto the couch, wearing a very creepy grin. 

"Yeah, that's all." Minho said, while abruptly ending the conversation. Jonghyun was amused by Minho being flustered. The guy was usually the person who could fluster so many people, but just a couple of words from Jinki and Minho was a mess. 

"Hyung, you sounded so good!" praised Minho. Kibum and Jonghyun just sat back, deciding to observe the conversation. 

"Oh, thanks, Minho-goon." replied Jinki, who suddenly looked flustered. "I just sang like I normally do..." 

"Hyung, you were so full of emotion though! You had to be thinking of something," commented Kibum. 

"Oh, nothing much." replied Jinki, while he snuck a glance at Minho. 

Bingo thought Kibum and Jonghyun, while Minho was totally oblivious that his beloved hyung was looking at him. 

It seems like it's not one sided attraction, thought Kibum. 

"Great work, Taemin! You have improved your singing abilities so much! At this rate, you're gonna end up debuting as a soloist!" exclaimed the director, as Taemin was just finishing up his part. 

"Thank you, director-nim! I worked on my vocal technique with Jonghyun hyung and Jinki hyung!" smiled Taemin. 

"Ok, Jinki, get back in here and finish up so your group can go home! Just finish up these last lines." stated the director, who was also antsy to get home. After all, this was the last song they needed to record and only Jinki had a few lines left to record. 

"You guys should head home, it's just me anyway" announced Jinki, the ever dependable leader. 

"No, hyung, we can just wait for you to finish-" Taemin was saying, until Kibum cut him off. 

"Me, Jonghyun and Taemin are actually gonna head back. Minho, just stay with hyung, ok?" Kibum sweetly suggesting while tugging Jonghyun and Taemin with him. Taemin looked very confused, until Kibum must've whispered something in his ear, then Taemin was smugly grinning. 

"What? Why can't you guys stay?" Minho panicked; Kibum was definitely setting him up. 

"Minho-goon, it's ok, you can head home to the dorm if you'd like. I'll be done anyway, no need to wait for me." Jinki assured. 

"No, no, hyung, it's fine, I'll just stay with you anyway. I think Kibum promised to treat them to dinner." Minho realized he might as well take this chance. After all, he barely gets time alone with his hyung. Kibum may be sneaky, but the guy sure was supportive. 

"But-" 

"Jinki hyung, you heard Minho, just finish up quickly. Byeeeeeee!" Kibum all but screamed, leaving the studio with Jonghyun and Taemin in tow, but not before Jonghyun wiggled his eyebrows at Minho, the maknae started giggling, and Key winked in Jinki's direction. 

They're being so obvious, grumbled Minho. 

"Jinki, are you coming in?" reminded the director. 

"Ah! Sorry, I'm coming!" squeaked Jinki. "Sorry for making you wait, Minho..." Jinki mumbled. 

"Hyung, I don't mind, ok? So go sing your heart out!" Minho said, while gently smiling down at Jinki. Jinki blushed while hurrying into the studio. Does he even realize how attractive he is? Thought Jinki. 

Although Jinki didn't want Minho to know, he was secretly thinking about the boy while singing his lines. To him, Minho had always been a little special. The boy was handsome, and so thoughtful of him. Jinki thought back to all the times when Minho would invite him out to eat, to watch a movie, or just to go out. In truth, Jinki was just afraid. He was so afraid of crossing boundaries. Minho shouldn't have been more than just a group member, but Jinki was already in over his head for the softhearted rapper. 

As Jinki poured out all his thoughts into his singing, Minho on the other side of the recording glass was once again mesmerized by him. To him, Jinki was untouchable. Jinki had his walls up and never really let the members know about his problems or worries. But Minho really wanted to know what was going on inside the man's head. His hyung was always smiling, but surely, that couldn't all be genuine. Minho wanted to know more about Jinki, the man who hid behind his persona Onew. And although Minho had a hard time admitting it to himself and the other members, he wanted Jinki, badly. 

"Minho? Minho? Hello..?" Jinki was currently waving his hand in front of Minho's face. Minho was so deep into his thoughts about the man in front of him that he hadn't realized Jinki had already wrapped up recording. 

"Go job to both of you today!" The director said as he started packing up. Minho and Jinki thanked the director for his hard work. However, just before the director left, he whispered in Minho's ear, 

"Don't just look at him from afar, he's right in front of you so make your move." The director said before finally shutting the door behind him. Minho turned a very bright shade of red. 

"What did director-nim say?" questioned Jinki. 

"Nothing, nothing... let's go home." answered Minho. 

Minho and Jinki drove back in Minho's car, since Jinki had gotten a ride to the recording studio from Kibum so he didn't have his car with him. They entered the dorm. 

"Hello? Anybody home?" Minho asked as he opened the dorm which led into the dorm. 

"I don't think they're back yet... I think Kibum mentioned some Japanese restaurant which was far away," pondered Jinki. 

At this moment, both of them realized they were home alone together. Even their manager was out, probably hanging out with the manager of Super Junior and Girl's Generation. Feeling anxious, Jinki slipped away to his room. 

Minho sighed. These last couple of weeks, he had repeatedly been asking Jinki to go out, and the man had been refusing him. However, Minho was really sick of this. He had been admiring Jinki for so long now, and this opportunity had been created by Kibum, so he was not letting Jinki get away. 

"Hyung! Hyung, wait-" 

"Minho? Did you need something?" Jinki was about to close his door and go to bed, and he was too nervous to be alone with Minho. 

"There's something I need you to know... and there are some things I need to know too." Minho walked into Jinki's room, looking very determined. 

"Well, Minho-yah, you know I will help you with anything you need help with-" Jinki started saying. 

"Can you go out with me?" Minho blurted out. 

"What? What did you say?" Jinki was shocked. He wasn't blind to Minho's constant invites, he just didn't expect the man to be so straightforward. "We already hang out though..." Jinki tried to explain. 

"Hyung, are you acting dense, or did you really think that was what I meant?" Minho looked slightly hurt. 

"I don't know what you're trying to say" Jinki averted his eyes from Minho. He's definitely living up to his "Flaming charisma" nickname, thought Jinki. Minho was literally burning holes into him with how fierce his gaze was. Once again, Jinki was abandoning his Onew persona. Jinki was the kind of person who was terrible with confrontation, and often ran away or avoided questions. This was what Minho was anticipating, so he just kept pushing forward. 

"Hyung, you can stop now. I thought I was being clear with all of my invitations to go out, but I guess you don't get it yet." 

"..." 

"I like you hyung. And not the way a younger guy likes his regular guy friend. No, don't even try to tell me what I'm feeling is wrong, or that I'm crazy. I genuinely like you, hyung, and you're not gonna believe me unless I explicitly tell you." 

After this, Jinki was even more shocked. He had some sort of inkling of Minho's feelings towards him, but he definitely wasn't expecting this. 

"Minho, do you even know what you're saying?" whispered Jinki. 

"Hyung, you know, I'm not just saying this randomly. I've liked you for a long time now." Minho looked directly into his eyes. "How do you feel about me?" Minho pleaded, while Jinki was caught in his gaze. 

"I... I......" 

"Why do you keep rejecting my invites? Tell me right now if you don't like me, so I can move on. If you do like me, just tell me." 

"Minho..." Jinki was shaking. He knew that whatever he said, he would potentially be changing the whole dynamic between them, and even the dynamic of their whole group. 

"Hyung, don't try and run away from this. You always run away whenever someone asks you something important. Please, if you have even the tiniest bit of respect for me, then don't leave me hanging like this. It's either you like me or you don't." Minho had always been a very loyal and gentle guy, and once he made up his mind about something, he would always go and chase after it. And unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) he set his eyes on Jinki. 

"Minho, what does it matter if I like you or not? It shouldn't matter anyway..." Jinki looked away, finally breaking eye contact. However, Minho grasped both of Jinki's hands with his own, and before Jinki could pull away, Minho bent down and gazed into Jinki's eyes. 

"Of course it matters. I like you, I want you, and my feelings are valid, even if it took me a while to come to terms with liking you. After all, society isn't kind to people like me. But, hyung, I can't go on pretending that I don't like you like this. And hyung, your feelings are valid too. So what, we may not be in the most ideal position to date but that doesn't mean you can just discredit your feelings like that." After all, Minho still knew some things about Jinki, even if the man was a mystery. And that was, that Jinki was incredibly selfless. He sacrificed himself a lot for SHINee and their fans and the company, and Minho knew Jinki was neglecting himself and his feelings all the time. 

"Hyung, please, just be selfish this one time. I need your honesty right now. Please, just tell me." 

"Minho, that song we were recording... I feel that way about you, did you know that? I feel like I'll never be able to reach you... I thought that just by being around you, that it would be enough. I didn't want to tell you how I felt, because it could ruin everything we've worked so hard to build." Minho was looking at a Jinki like he had stars in his eyes; finally, the answer he had long been waiting for. 

"Hyung, I refuse to love you from afar any longer. That song, Jonghyun said he wrote it for international fans. But you're right here, and I want to reach you. You've already reached my heart." 

Jinki really looked at Minho, and saw the love,  adoration, and even the yearning in his eyes. There's no going back, thought Jinki. And with that thought, Jinki surged up and disconnected his hands from Minho's, using his hands to softly hold Minho's face and he connected their lips together. Minho circled his arms around the man's waist and kissed back just as deeply. 

Finally, thought Minho. I've finally reached you. 

"OH MY GOSH!" 

Immediately, Minho and Jinki stopped kissing and whipped towards the door. 

"Finally! You're together! Jjong, maknae, get in here they're kissing!" Kibum had a wild look in his eyes while sporting a huge grin. 

"Kibum! Keep it down!" Jinki was so embarrassed, he hid his face in the crook between Minho's neck and shoulder. Minho wasn't any better, seeing as him and Jinki both had matching red faces. 

"Way to ruin the moment," grumbled Minho. I finally got to kiss Jinki hyung and already we got interrupted..... 

"Not my fault you didn't lock the door! I didn't think you'd actually be able to get an answer from Jinki hyung!" mocked Kibum. Jonghyun and Taemin had entered the room and were starting to shout congratulations at Minho and Jinki, who knew that they probably wouldn't get some alone time for a while. 

"Finally, hyung, now you can stop just staring at Minho like he's a full course meal!" commented Taemin while Kibum and Jonghyun sniggered in the background. 

"What?! Taemin, I don't do that!" Jinki spluttered, at the same time Minho whipped his head towards Jinki, wearing a smirk on his face.  Jinki went back to hiding. 

"Anyway, we're going to bed. Good night!" Kibum announced and the three SHINee members strolled out of the room. Minho and Jinki stayed in Jinki's room.

"Hyung?"

"Yeah?" 

"Don't sing that song anymore."

"Minho, don't be ridiculous, we have to sing that for promotions."

"Then sing me another song, because I've already reached you." 

"Ok then..."

"Minho is so pretty~" 

"Hyung!"