"Hey, you're Minki's leader right?"

Jonghyun looked up to the blond giant towering over him, "Kris ssi," he said politely, "it's been a while."

"I’m sorry I don’t remember your name…" the tall Chinese man said awkwardly.

"Kim Jonghyun," Jonghyun said, smiling easily at the elder boy.

"Can I join you?"

"Of course." Jonghyun patted the ground beside him with a grin while inwardly wondering what the intimidating boy wanted.

"I wanted to apologise to Minki," Kris said after a few log beats of silence, "my behaviour towards him was awful and I'm really sorry about it but no one's letting me near him, probably for fear that I'll start yelling at him again, and I guess I can't really blame them."

"You had a fight with Minki?" Jonghyun asked, trying to make sense of what the older boy was saying.

"Yeah, I was really harsh on the kid. He didn't mention it?"

Jonghyun shook his head, "I didn't even know he was so close to you guys until the car ride here."

Kris frowned, "It was a while ago," he said "right before we left for China the last time."

"He never mentioned it." Jonghyun said, "Was it about Jeonghwa? Minki ah said that's how he met you guys."

"Yeah… I wasn't as…understanding of the situation as I could have been I guess."

"Minki said you didn't like him very much, guess you're pretty close to Jeonghwa huh?"

Kris stared at the younger boy in what looked like confusion, although he could just be constipated. "What are you talking about?"

Jonghyun blinked up at him, wondering if the older boy's Korean was failing him again, "Minki said you didn't like him," the Korean repeated slowly, "so I guessed that that's because you're close to Jeonghwa and so you don't like her boyfriend."

There was a long moment of silence as the two boys traded looks of bewilderment.

"Minki said.." Jonghyun started again but Kris cut him off.

"Minki is Jeonghwa."

-SceneBreak-

"I think I pulled a muscle." Dongho complained, limping away from the track.

"You deserved it." Minki said, smiling and waving at the fans before taking a sip from Aaron's water bottle, "oh look there's Jonghyun and Manager hyung."

Jonghyun and the boys' manager were hurrying towards them, each with a determined look on his face.

"Hyung," Minhyun called once they were close enough to talk without actually shouting, "did you see Minki? He actually ran!" he laughed, dodging Minki's kick.

"Well done Minki," their manager said, exchanging a long look with Jonghyun that the others couldn't understand, "how about we keep up this good streak huh? Hurdles are up next, come on I'll walk with you."

Before the young boy could protest he was being marched off by the stern faced manager.

"What was that about?" Dongho asked Jonghyun.

"Jeonghwa doesn't exist." Jonghyun explained quietly but shortly, "He was just saying that so that he could date Tao from EXO without us catching on."

The other three members exchanged long looks.

"Does it really matter?" Minhyun asked finally causing Jonghyun to look at him in surprise, "I mean, Minki's happy right? And it's not affecting work and no one's found out yet and it's been months already so I don't get why it's a problem?" the boy shrugged at the looks the others were all giving him, "Love is love right? So what does it matter if the person Minki loves is a Chinese boy? Shouldn't we as s support him as best we can anyway?"

"I like this one," a soft voice said from behind Minhyun, "can we keep him Xing? He can take over the world with us and Minki ah once the boy comes to his senses and dumps Zitao for us."

"Um, I don't like boys." Minhyun said awkwardly to Lu Han.

"That's okay," the elder boy said, smiling brightly, "we can use you to seduce all of the women, it'll be great."

"We needed a token straight boy," Yixing added straight faced, "you will be perfect. Please join us."

"Why can't you just use Lu Han to seduce all the women?" Minseok asked, absently on the straw of a juice pouch, "he likes girls just as much as he does boys."

"You're the biual one Minseokkie," Lu Han explained with the air of someone who has said the same thing many times before, "you like both boys and girls. I am panual and like all the beautiful people. Minki ah is the gay one, Minhyun goon will be our straight boy and Xingxing is aual so people will not feel threatened by him."

"That's great and all but what about the boys who like girls? Or the girls who like girls? And I never said I was going to join your little club. I'm pretty sure I actually said that I wanted nothing to do with it." Minseok commented casually.

"But when Minki asked the other day you said you'd think about it!" Yixing said, looking upset, "Hyung, you have to join us. Please?"

"Why don't you just ask that one?" Minseok said, gesturing with his juice pouch at Dongho, "Minki said he suspects that he might be bi right? So he can be your bi boy and you can leave me out of it. I only said that to Minki so that he would spend more time out of Zitao's room when he's at our dorm anyway. You still need to think about the people who like girls though."

"f(x) already agreed to join." Lu Han said sullenly.

"I thought Amber liked Henry?"

"She does."

"So who's gay then? Actually, who is what? I feel like I know nothing for certain about anyone's ualities anymore."

"Even your own? Am I so enticing you're beginning to think you don't like girls after all?"

"I'm going to take over the world with Jongdae and Kyungsoo before you manage to even get your group together." Minseok threatened with a bright smile before turning to the NU'EST boys, "As your sunbae I have to advise you to keep well away from these two before they lead you to ruin. That said, if anything bad happens to Minki or one of my members because of anyone I will crush the person or persons responsible with a wrath unlike anything you have ever seen before. Please remember that I'm Kim Heechul sunbaenim's current favourite." he said cheerfully, still with the bright smile on his face but with a hard glint in his eyes that hadn't been there as he threatened his own members.

"Yes Sunbaenim." the younger boys said choppily, sketching hasty bows to their elder.

"Excellent, now, why don't one or more of you run off and do something about that manager of yours and make sure he doesn't say anything anyone will regret to Minki ah hmm?"

The NU'EST members bowed quickly again before running off and Minseok watched them go with his smile never wavering even as the glint slowly fade from his eyes.

"And you say we're devils." Yixing said, nudging Minseok reproachfully as Lu Han stole his juice pouch.

"Only when you're together," Minseok reminded the younger boy even as he kicked Lu Han's leg, "otherwise you're complete angels."

"Not what you said last night." Lu Han grinned before running off with the juice pouch still in hand.

-SceneBreak-

"I didn't even get to say goodbye to the EXO hyungs." Minki protested as NU'EST's manager herded him into the van.

"You shouldn't be spending so much time with such people." Manager hyung said, "They are a bad influence on you. But it's okay, you are still young, you can still be saved."

"Hyung what are you talking about?" Minki asked as the others came into sight as they made their way to the van.

"It's okay Minki ah. I know you're confused and think you like that Chinese boy but if you can just stay away from him for a while and listen to me and Jonghyun ah then you'll be okay. God will forgive you after you repent."

"Is that why you won't give me back my phone?" Minki demanded, "because you think I've been deluded into thinking I love Tao hyung? Because I haven't. I just love him." The last part was said loudly and shrilly just as the other members got to the van but Jonghyun's wince was overlooked as Manager hyung slapped Minki's cheek with an open palm.

There was silence for a long beat and then suddenly more people interjected themselves into the scene.

Sehun and Jongin were fast enough to hold Tao back from breaking the man's nose but Jongdae didn't even bother trying to hold back Minseok who roughly pulled the man away from Minki and shoved him up against the door before promptly ignoring him.

"Minki ah, would you please get into our van?" he asked, voice deceptively light, "I don't think it's very safe for you at your dorm right now so you'll be staying with us for a while. You have enough things at our dorm to last you for a while and you're roughly the same size as Sehunnie so you can always borrow some of his clothes if you need to."

Minki was didn't move for a moment, still reeling from the slap. But then Lu Han and Yixing were there and Sehun was giving Minhyun a list of all of EXO's numbers as the two Chinese members gently drew Minki way from the van and across the lot to where Kris was talking lowly to Tao who was still trapped loosely in Jongin's grip.

Minseok didn't let the manager go until Minki was safely seated in the back seat of the van, sandwiched between Tao and Sehun. Once he felt Minki was safe enough, he dropped the man abruptly and walked off without so much as a backwards glance, walking to the van and then waiting for Minhyun to finish saying goodbye so he could climb into the middle seat in front of Sehun.

"I'll call when it's okay to come home." Minhyun was saying to the young blond who had never looked so small as he did at that moment. "I don't think Jonghyun's really on Hyung's side, he's just worried about the band. Me and Dongho and Aaron hyung will convince him it's okay and then we'll deal with Hyung and you can come back home, okay?"

"Thanks Minhyunnie. You'd better go before Hyung gets even more mad though. I'll text you later."

"Okay. Take care of him." That last part was directed to all of the EXO members who nodded gravely, even Kris. Minki would be safe with them. Satisfied, Minhyun went back to his own band although he couldn't help the twinge of guilt and heavy feeling of wrongness sinking into his gut as he walked away from Minki.

-SceneBreak-

"I can't believe you told Hyung." Dongho said to Jonghyun as soon as their manager left the practice room with their mobile phones in hand.

"After what he said in the car earlier how could you even think of doing that to Minki?" Minhyun was the one most obviously upset by what had happened, his face still too pale and a fine tremor still shook his hands if one looked closely enough.

"What was I supposed to do?" Jonghyun defended himself hotly.

"Did you consider maybe not outing Minki to our extremely homophobic manager until after at least talking to the kid first?" Aaron asked sarcastically.

"He's been lying to us for months!"

"That was just because he was too embarrassed to tell you guys he dressed up in girls' clothes to pretend to date Tao hyung. And then when they started actually dating a couple of weeks ago he didn't know a) how you'd take it and b) how to explain it all properly, especially since we're so busy preparing for our comeback." Dongho said, rolling his eyes. "And even if he wasn't himself and could just say things normally neither of you would have let him get away with "oh btw I'm dating Tao hyung from EXO who I've been pretending to date and he's Jeonghwa except I'm the one in the skirt.""

"Also if you didn't know about it then a) you couldn't tell him to stop and b) the company couldn't blame you if they found out." Aaron added, "Although if I were him I'd regret trying to protect you so much right now."

"I still can't believe all of you knew about this and didn't tell me!" Jonghyun yelled.

"How can you be so surprised when this is your reaction?" Aaron yelled back, crowding into Jonghyun's space and gesturing wildly. "I get it. You're hurt because we didn't tell you something that had the potential to hurt all of us. But that give you no right to tear us all apart like this."

"Minki's lies are what 'tore us apart' Kwon Aaron. Not my reaction to them!"

"Are you sure about that?" Dongho asked.

"Because to me it looks like you're just freaking out and turning on one of us because you're a little pissed." Minhyun pitched in.

"You do realise they might try to disband us now. Or at least change the line-up." Aaron added.

Jonghyun visibly deflated, walking over to the wall lined with mirrors where he sank down with his knees pulled up to his chest and his back to the mirrors.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled, "I didn't know what to do. I wasn't thinking straight. And then I ran into hyung as soon as I'd finished talking to Kris ssi and I just had to tell someone and how can I-we fix this? What can we do Hyung?"

Aaron levelled the leader with a stern look that made it clear that the younger boy was nowhere near forgiven, "We can start by getting out of here and then you need to talk to Hyung and CEO nim and convince them that NU'EST is nothing without Ren while we, and by 'we' I mostly mean Dongho, go talk to the After School noonas about the best way to go about getting a manager fired."

-SceneBreak-

"I'm going to be fired." Minki said morosely.

"Nonsense!" Lu Han said cheerfully, "you are a crucial part of my plan to take over the world so you can't go back to Busan just yet which means you can't be fired."

"Can we not talk about Busan? I don't even want to think about what my family might say or do if the company tells them anything." Minki said, clutching Tao's stuffed panda closer to his chest.

"Okay!~" Lu Han said cheerfully even as he violently kicked Sehun to the floor as the younger boy opened his mouth to speak. "No talk that could be related to family. We can do that. Have you heard the new f(x) album yet? Well, the one they'll be releasing in a few weeks. Amber gave me an advanced copy she swiped from the recording studio on a USB. It's really good."

"How could I have heard an album that hasn't been released yet unless it was from a sunbae in my own company?" Minki asked, smiling tiredly at Tao as the elder boy gently poked his side.

"Great I'll put it on! Kyungsoo ah's on one of the tracks though so we have to skip that one or he'll get a big head."

"We couldn't have that now could we?"

"Of course not. Otherwise I'd have to seduce Jonginnie on Kyungsoo ah's bed again and last time I did that I awoke to bright pink hair so I don't really want to have to do that again unless it's absolutely necessary."

-SceneBreak-

"Are you okay?" Tao whispered late that night after everyone was in bed and Minki was comfortably curled up in his boyfriend's arms.

"No," Minki said honestly, "I'm just really scared and really tired and I just want to know what's going on at my company. I also need to know that Jonghyun doesn't hate me." he added, the last part in the faintest of whispers.

"Why would he hate you?" Tao asked with a frown.

"He told manager hyung even after hyung had lectured us in the car on the way to the event about how all gays are going to burn in hell after they die." Minki said simply. "Jonghyun didn't say anything in the car and ran off straight after we got there so Dongho said maybe he was a homophobe too but he's still my member and leader and one of my best friends and I don't want him to hate me. My real family will hate me enough once they find out, if they find out. I don't want the fake one I have here in Seoul to hate me as well, even just one part of it."

Tao, who couldn't imagine anyone in his family hating him for just about anything, had nothing to say to that so just hugged his boyfriend closer and hoped that everything would be alright and work out for the best.

-SceneBreak-

"Wei. Ni hao."

Minki awoke slowly to the sound of Tao's ringtone and the sound of the elder boy (his boyfriend!) sleepily picking up.

"You want to speak to Minki ah? Are you going to be mean to him again? Because if you are you can't speak to him." Minki smiled at his boyfriend's cuteness before Tao passed the phone over to him. "It's that leader of yours," the Chinese boy said grumpily, "he says he really needs to speak to you and that he's not going to be mean. Tell him I know wushu and will kick his if he lied and is mean to you."

Minki giggled lightly as he took the phone, kissing Tao softly on the cheek, "thanks gege but I can handle Kin Jonghyun. Jonghyunnie what's up? Can I come home now? Or can Minhyunnie or Dongho yah at least come over with my phone?"

"You can come home. I'm really sorry about yesterday. I was just so shocked when I heard and then manager hyung was there and then it all just kind of spilled out. I'm really really sorry Minki ah." Jonghyun sounded terrible. As if he'd spent all night practicing his rapping and hadn't slept at all.

"So you're not mad at me?" Minki asked carefully, tracing the veins in Tao's wrist and hand with the fingers of the hand not holding the phone, "you don't hate me?"

"Of course not! I was just surprised! I'm really ing sorry about what I did and what happened because of it."

"I know you are Jonghyun. I-" Minki cut himself off, turning his eyes upwards to stare at the ceiling as he tried to blink back tears. "I just." he tried again, "I'm really tired and I just want to come home already. But I'm not sure if I can forgive you yet." Minki swallowed thickly around the lump in his throat and Tao squeezed his hand gently, "What you did was really bad Jonghyun. No matter why you did it or how sorry you are…it was just really really bad and I really don't think I can forgive you right now. I don't want to ruin NU'EST though and I still think of you as one of my best friends it's just…don't ask me to forgive you for a bit okay? Because I can't. I don't think I'm mad at you. But I can't forgive you either."

"That's okay." Jonghyun said, "I wouldn't…don't forgive me until you're ready to. And if you can never forgive me for this then…that's okay too. Just please, come home. I've spoken to manager hyung and CEO nim and you should come into the company building as soon as you can. It's going to be okay though. I spoke to them all of yesterday afternoon and they said you can stay in NU'EST and promote with us and everything. And me and the others are trying to figure out the best way to get manager hyung fired or reassigned so you don't have to be around him so just come home now and we can figure everything else out okay?"

"Okay," Minki echoed, a soft smile creeping onto his face, "okay, I'd like that. I'll see you soon Jonghyunnie."

"Leaving already?" Tao asked sleepily, running the fingers of the hand Minki wasn't playing with through the Korean boy's hair.

"I'll call you later after I've talked to CEO nim and the members and such." Minki promised, kissing the palm of Tao's hand quickly.

-SceneBreak-

"Minki!"

The moment Minki set foot into the practice room he was set upon by a tearful Minhyun who squeezed the blond into a tight hug.

"I was only gone for one night Minhyunnie." Minki laughed as he hugged his friend back.

"But we weren't sure when you would be coming back and manager hyung confiscated our phones so we couldn't call you and by the time we were able to see the After School noonas Jonghyunnie had already talked to manager hyung and CEO nim and said that you could come home in the morning but it was late and we shouldn't try to call you."

"I'm glad you didn't call me. I was cuddling with Tao hyung all last night and wouldn't have wanted your gross voice interrupting that." Minki teased.

"We need to go see CEO nim." Jonghyun interrupted anxiously but with a tentative smile for Minki.

Minki took a deep breath, trying to steel himself for whatever was about to happen.

"Then let's not keep him waiting any longer huh?"

-SceneBreak-

Minki shifted from foot to foot anxiously, waiting for the train to reach Apgujeong station and the doors to open. It was only one stop from Nonhyeon but it felt like an eternity to the anxious Minki.

Around him, people were trying to shift as far away from him as possible in the packed train, whispering and pointing at his hair and makeup as they did so. Minki didn't care. He needed to see Tao and he needed to see him now.

Finally the train pulled into the subway station and Minki dashed off, climbing the stairs to the exit as fast as the people traffic would allow him too before sprinting off in the direction of the SM building.

When he reached the building he hesitated, not sure how he was going to get in. Luckily Sehun and Luhan appeared just then, chatting and holding cups of bubble tea but they paused when they saw Minki.

"Minki ah, are you okay?" Lu Han asked gently.

"I need to see Tao hyung. Like, right now." Minki said, feeling the tears that had been threatening to fall since the meeting with CEO nim finally fill his eyes.

"This way." Sehun grabbed his arm and pulled him around to a side entrance, further from the gossiping fans who were shouting questions at the trio. This was going to be all over the internet soon but Minki didn't care. He only had an hour and a half left.

-SceneBreak-

"Minki ah what happened? What did your CEO nim say?" Tao's voice was concerned but all Minki really registered was the strength of his arms, the solidity of his chest and the warmth of his smell.

"He said I have to choose." the younger boy said distantly.

"Choose?! Choose between what?! What's there to choose?!" Sehun was upset that his young friend was so obviously upset and had decided to make a show of it. Pacing and waving his bubble tea around as he ranted to anything that he came near about just how he was going to kill whoever had done this to Minki.

Minki pushed his face further into Tao's chest, trying to block out everything except the Chinese boy, his boyfriend. But maybe not for much longer.

"He said I have to choose between my career and my uality." Minki mumbled, sure that no one would hear except maybe Tao over Sehun's ravings.

"That's bull."

Apparently Minki had been wrong as the outburst came from Kris of all people.

"They can't make you do that! It's stupid." the Chinese-Canadian said derisively.

"Stupid it may be but it's the reality of the situation Wu Fan and your outrage is not going to do anything to change that." Lu Han appeared to be taking the news most calmly, leaning against a wall in the practice room and sipping his bubble tea. But anyone who knew Lu Han knew that the only times he was that still was when he shut himself down to stop himself from doing or saying too much because he was too emotional. It was easier for him to just shut down.

"So what are you going to do?" It was Kyungsoo who tentatively asked the question on everyone's mind.

"He's going to say you to his company of course!" Chanyeol said loudly, "What else would he do?"

"I don't know, maybe keep his career?" Jongin said snidely, "No he'll tell his company he chooses his career and then keep seeing Tao in secret anyway."

"Except there's no way his company isn't going to keep him on a very tight leash and probably keep him from seeing any of us, let alone Tao." Minseok pointed out sadly.

"They said they'll take my phone and send me back to Busan for a bit to remind me of how much I matter, how replaceable I am, and how much I want this. They also said that if I remain friends with any of you and anyone from the company finds out they'll terminate my contract immediately. In six months they'll see how I've been doing and maybe let me be friends with some of you again. But I won't be allowed in your dorm and one of my members, probably Jonghyunnie, will have to be there at all times if Tao hyung is around." Minki explained, rubbing his face in Tao's shirt.

This was going to hurt. It already felt like he was breaking apart. Shattering into a million tiny pieces and slipping through the fingers of every hand that reached out to catch him. But this was only the beginning and no matter what he chose it would only get worse before it could hope to get better.

"Pick the company." Tao's voice cut through the arguments from the other members as they debated the best course of action. "It's not." he swallowed thickly, Minki watched his Adam's apple bob up and down, "it's not worth you ruining your career, wasting everything you've put into this. We-we can try again maybe. Later though. Much later. When your company has all but forgotten about this. But for now," the Chinese boy took a deep breath but held Minki's eyes, not looking anywhere but the boy in his arms, "for now I think it's best we break up."

Minki nodded slowly, struggling to breathe evenly as he held Tao's gaze. "Okay." he said quietly, leaning up to kiss the Chinese boy softly on the lips. "But you're still my favourite hyung." he whispered with a small attempt at a smile as he drew back.

-SceneBreak-

The night wind was cold, 'Autumn must be coming,' Minki thought absently as the wind cut through his thin sweatshirt.

It was his last night in Seoul. The company had decided it was a little too much to just shove the boy on the earliest available flight so had let him have one last night at the dorm to say goodbye to the members. "Just for now." their manager had said but they all knew that depending on how Minki behaved himself, how many rumours spread and how much damage control the company had to do, 'for now' might really mean 'forever'.

A sharp elbow roughly jostling his own brought Minki abruptly out of his thoughts.

"It'll work out." Dongho said, not looking at the other blond.

"Yeah." Minki said softly, "just probably not the way I want it to right?" he asked with a crooked smile.

"Probably not." Dongho agreed, "but if you always got your way then you'd just be spoilt and no one wants that."

"The fans do." Minki said, staring at the bright lights surrounding them and trying to pretend they were stars, "and if you're not nicer to me then I'm really not going to come back. I'm going to run away and join SM and date Tao hyung and take over the world with Lu Han hyung and make sure you and he never meet face to face again. And if you somehow manage to see him face to face he'll just ignore you and pretend you aren't even there because he at least wants me to get everything I want."

"Brat." Dongho said fondly, thumping a heavy arm across Minki's shoulders.

"You love me."

A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAND that's a wrap. We're done here people (except for this last note and if you would also comment that would be very nice thank you)

So. I hope you all don't hate me too too much. My most sincere apologies to christalla431 for the break up but like I said at the beginning of this chapter, this whole thing has been planned out from the beginning.

Thank you so much to everyone who has ever read or subscribed or commented on this fic. Especially Amanda because I seriously could not have done this without you girl.

And yeah. Tha's all I've got. No idea when the sequel will be up but I will write the oneshot and then go over all of AIT and edit it bc I'm not happy with some parts and then post the oneshot and then write all of the sequel befpore I start posting so I don't have to make you all wait so long between chapters again. Once again I must ask for your patience with me.

The oneshot will be called Not Over You and will be set a little bit before and during the filming of that mv and the sequel will be called To Make It Through and will begin six months after AIT ends. I hope to see you all there but I completely understand if no one wants to wait for me any longer.

Also you can all find me over on tumblr at suzetteisblue if you want to talk some more or som,ething. I post lots of random stuff but there is quite a lot of kpop. (also everyone with a tumblr should go follow my lovely wife Amanda who helped me through all of AIT and many other things. Her tumblr is why-so-shinee-ous and her aff is obviousleigh now go give her your eternal love and devotion please and thank you)

Love you all.

Until next time,

Suzette~