It was all too much. No matter how hard Hankyung tried to ignore what was happening in front of him, he could not. It wasn’t like he could openly say anything.  He didn’t have the right or the authority to complain. His bed was made and now he had to lie in it. What did he expect of this precarious situation he had gotten himself into? Inter-band relationships were messy, especially when they were kept hidden. To reveal the mess he was in to the other members could prove their undoing. Hankyung owed it to his livelihood and his friendships to keep his mouth shut.
 

      Yet, standing upon that smoky stage tonight, watching them interact like a pair of pre-teen lovers, made things deep within him ache.  The crowd assumed their closeness to be part of the act, but Hankyung knew better. Every kiss made in the sake of fan-service had meaning. It wasn’t entertainment; it was something different, something more. Tonight he noticed the lack of his own precious fan-service. The moments came and went without so much as a glance his way from either Siwon or Heechul.
They’d spent the entire performance starring at each other and dancing way too close. Maybe he was imagining things, or maybe it was time to except reality? The guest now knocking at his hotel room door made him think otherwise.
 

     Hankyung looked longingly through the peephole at the figure knocking gently upon his door. He hadn’t expected his arrival. Yet, he welcomed it. They really needed to talk. Heechul looked liked he’d been hit by a truck and drug through a rainstorm as he slowly wandered through Hankyung’s now open door. Large performances really did tire him out and the hot lights always reeked havoc on his make-up.
 

     “You look like hell,” Hankyung sighed shutting the door behind Heechul and leaning casually against it.
 

     “I feel like hell.” Heechul laughed, turning to face the smaller man. “You don’t look so hot yourself.”
 

     “Is that supposed to charm me?” Hankyung laughed, trying to lighten the mood a bit. He may be feeling conflicted, but that didn’t mean he had to show it.  “Did you want something?”
 

     “No, not really,” Heechul smiled, taking a seat on the bed. “I just needed someone to talk to.”
 

    “And you automatically thought of me?”  Hankyung spat “What about your dance partner?”
 

    “What?” Heechul looked up confused, causing Hankyung to sigh and walk further into the room.
 

    “Never mind, it’s not important.”
 

    “Are you ok? You seem on edge for some reason.”
 

    “It’s not important.”
 

   “Ok, if you say ‘It’s not important’ one more time….,”
 

   “It’s really not important….,”
 

    Heechul slid off his seat and knelt in front of Hankyung. He gently took the Chinaman's chin in his hand and forced him to look down. There was something stirring behind Hankyung’s gentle eyes, but he couldn’t figure out what exactly.
 

     “What’s really going on and don’t say it’s not important.”
 

    Hankyung didn’t know what to say as he stared down at his friend. He couldn’t tell him the truth. He had no claim on him. What Heechul did was his own concern and not Hankyung’s. Jealousy was a luxury he could not have. After all, they weren’t really together, right?
 

    “It’s not…,” before Hankyung could finish his fourth ‘it’s not important’ of the conversation, Heechul stood to capture Hankyung’s lips with his own. All of Hankyung’s jealous concerns melted into Heechul’s delicate touch. Maybe he was imagining things.
 

    “We’re both tired,” Heechul sighed, releasing the kiss and resting his forehead gently against Hankyung’s. “We’ll talk again in the morning.” With that, he gave him one last kiss, a light dusting lips, and headed for the door. “And you better have another answer besides ‘it’s not important.”

     When the sun rose the next morning, Hankyung still had no answer for Heechul. When he had gotten dressed and packed to leave, still no answer. Even when he passed Heechul in the hall on the way to the elevato, he still had no answer. There was nothing he could say that wouldn’t betray him. Keeping secrets was a dangerous business.
 

    Hankyung was happy to find the elevator to the lobby vacant. He needed some more time to think and a quiet elevator ride was just the ticket. He should have known it wouldn’t be that simple when a hand s its way between the closing doors making them cheerily bounce open again.  
 

     “Oh, good,” Siwon stated, dragging his luggage through the elevator doors. “We need to talk.”
 

    “About what?” Hankyung sighed, trying to act like nothing was bothering him.
 

    “We don’t have anything scheduled when we get to the hotel tonight do we?”
 

    “Not that I’m aware of.”
 

   “Great, I found a new movie the other day and I bet you’d love to see it.”
 

    Normally a movie would have sounded great but, he knew better. Siwon's intentions were never that obvious. Hankyung began to construct some lame excuse for not meeting him, but the opening of the elevator doors cut off his thought process.
 

   “So, I’ll meet you around 7?”
 

   “Sure,”
 

    Siwon’s face lit up with a charming smile as he stole a quick kiss, before wandering towards the checkout desk. Hankyung stepped out of the elevator and took a deep breath. Maybe he’d fake sick when Siwon showed up tonight? That wouldn’t do his situation any good. Ignoring Siwon would just drive him farther away. Heechul was probably waiting with open arms for Siwon anyway. As if on cue, Heechul stepped out the elevator behind him, followed by Eunhyuk and Donghae.

     “I’ll catch up to you guys in a minute.” He called as Eunhyuk and Hae headed over to where Siwon stood in line at the front desk.

     Hankyung hoped that Heechul hadn’t seen him, but luck was not on his side this merry morning.
 

     “You look happy this morning.” Hankyung smiled as Heechul came to a stop next to him.
 

    “Well, I had a great nights sleep and I managed to come up with a great little surprise for you.”
 

    “Why would I merit a surprise?”
 

    “Because, you seem bummed and I want to cheer you up. So, when we get to the hotel tonight, I was thinking we could….,”
 

     “I thought it was a surprise?”
 

    “Oh, it is, but in order to get it, you still have to answer my question.”
 

    “I guess I won’t be getting it then.”
 

   “Come on, it’s not that hard. Plus, you’ll really regret it if you don’t get what I’m planning. So, I will give you some time to think it over and I’ll meet you around 11pm.”
 

    “Why so late?”
 

    “We don’t want the other guys getting suspicious, so it’s best to wait after everyone’s asleep.”
 

    “Speaking of getting suspicious, maybe we should join the others? Siwon’s beginning to stare at us.”
 

     “He always stars at us. I think he’s jealous.” Heechul laughed causally.
 

     “What? Do you think he knows?”
 

    “No, of course not I was joking. Geez, panicky much? We’re perfect little agents. No one could ever guess our secrets.”  
 

    “Would you two love birds get a move on before the bus decides to leave us?!” Siwon jokingly shouted from across the lobby. Heechul gave Hankyung a little wink before gliding towards the rest of the band.

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Don't worry, I've actually already finished this story. I've just never posted it here before. It's one of the first FanFics I wrote. So, I'm re-editing it a bit for AFF! I hope you like it!?

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