No One’s POV

The day had just slipped away and when the group returned home, night had already fallen. They were still trying to get used to the fact they were living in a dorm. That meant people shared rooms when they had too. For now, they had to, but their manager promised them, that as soon as they gained more fame, they would be able to move into a dorm that had enough bedrooms that they wouldn’t need to share rooms.

The room sharing had been deciding by playing Kai Bai Bo.  The first winner got a single room to themselves. The two winners following would be in a room together and the last two would be together. Minhyun was the first to win and granted the single room. From there JR and Aron shared a room and Ren and Baekho shared a room.

It was a transition they were all still dealing with. They were learning quickly the habits of the other members and some were none to pleasant, like snoring. But it was something that could be dealt with none the less. It was a relief to be home finally. They had a hard day’s work, and were all very grateful to finally be able to relax.

Ren threw himself onto his bed, sighing heavily as he snuggled into his pillow. He wasn’t sure if it was just him, but he felt that the ride home was filled with tension. Though he could understand on a certain level. Minhyun had been forced to sit next to Aron, while JR was sitting with Baekho, goofing off. He thought he had seen the other glaring at Baekho a few times, but Ren wasn’t sure now. Now that he knew the information the other was hiding, he was starting to pay attention to everything Minhyun said and did around JR, trying to find cues of the other acting gay.

Was that weird? It’s not that Ren was homophobic, because he wasn’t. It was just, he had never noticed before until Minhyun had told him. And now that he had, it seemed like everything the other did was just screaming his attraction to JR. How could no one else not see it?

“Hey.” Ren grunted as a foot connected with his . Rolling over, he glared at his roommate, who was grinning evilly at him. “How about that ride huh?” he asked.

Ren sighed and sat up then, arms resting on his legs. “You felt it too? The tension?” he asked.

“Hell yeah. It was near suffocating.” Baekho commented as he moved to his bed and took a seat, watching him. “What was up Minki?”

“Mmm.” Ren said, shrugging. They were home now; he didn’t bother to correct the other. “Why do you think it was something up with me?” he asked.

“Well not you personally.” Baekho said as he stared at the other, chuckling. “But I know it was coming from your little outing with Minhyun.” He said.

Ren stared at him hard, raising a brow. “How do you know it wasn’t from your outing with Aron?” he counted.

“I just do.”

“Well I know it didn’t come from my outing with Minhyun then.” Ren said.

“How can you be sure?”

“How can you be sure?”

There was silence between the two as they squared off at each other. Each not willing to relent and say it came from their outing. How could they? They didn’t know what the other had done in their outing. It was possible that maybe it came from both of their outings.

“Let’s tell each other.” Baekho said.

“Alright, on the count of three.” Ren said.

“One.”

“Two”

For a moment, reason broke through and Ren remembered he had promised not tell anyone, but the annoyance he felt from Baekho at the moment was enough to push away his reason.

“Three!”

“Aron has a crush on Minhyun.”

“Minhyun has a crush on JR.”

The two stared at each other in shock. The words were slowly sinking into their heads and it dawned on Ren that their outings had both been similar. Confessions of love by their friends. Two of their friends were gay and unfortunately didn’t like each other.

“Aron likes Minhyun?” Ren asked.

“Minhyun likes JR?” Baekho asked.

Ren was still in shock. This was big, this was huge! But this was good. If JR didn’t like Minhyun, then maybe that meant Minhyun could get over him and be with Aron. But…did Minhyun like Aron like that?

“Does JR know?” Baekho asked.

“No. But why do you care about that? Minhyun doesn’t know about Aron- hyung’s feelings.” Ren said.

“Well, because.” Baekho said and ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “Aron-hyung, likes Minhyun. He’s not gay, but biual. And Minhyun likes JR, and he’s…”

“Gay.” Ren filled in.

“So we have two people here who like the same . But what about JR-hyung?”  Baekho questioned.  “We don’t even know if he is like that. What if he’s completely straight?”

“Then we have a huge problem.” Ren said and groaned. “I don’t want to see Minhyun get hurt. He’s my best friend.” He said.

“Hey! I thought I was your best friend.” Baekho said, pouting cutely. Ren just rolled his eyes.

“You are you idiot. But Minhyun and I were friends before you even decided to call me.” He said. “He really likes JR, but…I don’t think our leader is like that. What do we do?”

“What can we do?” Baekho asked. “It’s something they have to take care of themselves. We can’t go meddling in their affairs. Besides, how could we help? I mean are you gay?” he asked carefully.

“No!” Ren said quickly, shaking his head, blond bangs flying about before settling back in place. “Are you?” he asked.

“Absolutely not!” Baekho said. He was silent for a moment, before nodding his head. “So then, we can’t help. We’re not skilled in that sort of relationship.”

“I guess you’re right.” Ren said apprehensively. He really wanted to help Minhyun, but Baekho was right, they had no experience in gay relationships. Ren wasn’t even sure if it was similar to a straight relationship. He bit his bottom lip then and sighed.

“Then I guess,” He whispered. “We just let it be.”

Baekho watched Ren and frowned. Getting up, the other moved to the maknae and sat next to him, arms coming up to wrap around the other’s shoulders, pulling him against his chest. “Hey, it’s going to be alright.” He said. “Maybe we can’t help them, but we can be there for them if things don’t work out. Being there as a friend is more important than trying to force them into a relationship together.” He said.

Ren leaned into Baekho’s hug, face pressed into the other’s chest. He took in the other’s scent and relaxed. Baekho smelled so good. The other’s words registered in his mind and he nodded. He had a feeling it wouldn’t work out, so he would be there for Minhyun when it all fell apart for him. He would be there to be his shoulder to cry and help him pick up the pieces, because that’s the type of person he was.

Pulling from the other, he smiled. “You’re right. I have to stay strong and positive for Minhyun.” He said.

“Right.” Baekho nodded and grinned. “Well I’m going to go shower now and get ready for bed.” Moving to the door, he paused when Ren called his name.

“Baekho.”

“Yeah?”

“Make sure you don’t say anything to anyone else. I kind of wasn’t supposed to tell you.” He said and blushed sheepishly.

The conversation Baekho had with Aron came rushing back and he too blushed. “Neither was I. So I won’t tell if you won’t tell.” He said.

“My lips are sealed…for good this time.” Ren said and laughed softly.  Baekho grinned and nodded before opening the door and walking out.

Left alone in the room, Ren flopped back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Not even debuted yet and it seemed that their group may fall apart so soon. And there was nothing he could do to make things work out. He just hoped everyone knew how to swim to save themselves.