Ren’s POV

I felt so bad and I don’t know how many times I apologized to Minhyun. I hadn’t thought that so soon after our talk, he would confront JR on his take on homouality. I thought for sure he would wait a while, that he would need more time to think over how to approach the subject. Apparently, all it took was a single book.

I hadn’t been there to give the other support. Instead, I was out playing ball with Baekho and Aron and I beat them both. Minhyun cried most of the day and it was well into the evening time before the three of us had gotten back. When JR told me that Minhyun had been in his room all night and after learning what they had talked about, I knew instantly and I was there for him. I never left his side that night.

It was pretty clear, from both JR’s rendition of the conversation and what Minhyun said, that JR was okay with someone being gay so long as he didn’t have to know about it and that he certainly wasn’t gay himself. It had been upsetting for Minhyun and all night all I heard was how hard it was going to be to work with him. Hearing how much Minhyun was just going to leave the group because he was sure he wasn’t going to be able to get through this.

But he had me, and he knew he did. I spent all night in his room, talking with him, comforting him and assuring him that he would get over it. Though it hurt now, and I knew how much being heartbroken hurt, he would get over it eventually. Not right away obviously, because he needed time to mourn this loss, but he would eventually move on and find someone else.

Maybe Aron if I could help it. Aron-hyung liked Minhyun a lot. And now that JR was out of the picture, not that he was really in the picture to begin with, maybe I could work something out with getting them together. But that would later, after Minhyun’s heart had healed some.

~*~*~

Minhyun’s POV

I felt so alone, lying in my bed crying. I don’t know how long I had been in there, but the light had been dying down for some time now, darkness blanketing me. It suited the mood, the darkness. It wrapped me up in its comforting embrace, hiding me from the world. It allowed me to express my feelings without fear of getting caught. Not that it mattered. I don’t think Jonghyun would have come to check on me as it was.

Sometime had passed when my door suddenly opened, the light from the hall streaming in, alerting me to the presence. Lifting my head, I turned and stared at the figure for a long, hard moment.

“Minhyun.” It moved, stepping in and closing the door. “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t long before the other was at my bed and I sat up, wrapping my arms around the small frame. I was so happy, so relieved that finally Minki was home, was there for me, to hold me. It was such a relief to finally have this comfort from the one person I knew I could count on no matter what. It seemed odd, to be relying on my maknae so much, but I couldn’t help it, and I don’t think he minded that much.

Fresh tears fell from my eyes as I replayed the conversation to the other, though Minki said he had even talked to Jonghyun before coming in. I had expected to just cry myself to sleep, for Minki to tuck me in and then leave. But he didn’t. I did cry myself to sleep, he did tuck me in, but he didn’t leave. He laid down next to me; he held me and stayed with me. I was so thankful for that, especially when I woke during the night, crying. During those times, we spent time talking about things and just keeping each other company. I never felt like I was burdening the other with this problem. He sat there, listening intently and was so understanding and kind. If only I had feelings for Minki like I did Jonghyun, and if only Minki was gay like me. I think maybe, in an odd way, we would have been a happy couple.

I don’t know how late we were up, but it was early morning before I finally laid back down, calm and went to sleep. It was a dreamless sleep, but restful. When morning came though, and I stepped out with Minki to get breakfast, the horrible feelings from the night before came rushing back at the simple sight of Jonghyun. I felt Minki take my hand, squeeze it for reassurance and whisper encouragement. I would survive this; I would eventually get over the other and move on. There no point in crying over a relationship that never would have happened in the first place.

Taking a breath, I collected myself and joined the others at the table. It was hard, but I even managed a smile or two. It hurt and I’m sure it would hurt for a long while, but I knew I was taking a step in the right direction.

~*~*~

Baekho’s POV

I don’t know what was going on, but something was definitely different about everyone. Well maybe not everyone. I know nothing was different about me. Aron-hyung, well I knew what was different about him. It was the other three members that I was confused on. The night before, I overheard parts of the conversation JR had with Ren, but I couldn’t really make heads or tails of what was going on. Whatever it was though, it had something to do with Minhyun, who looked very depressed, despite trying to engage with others and make jokes.

Minhyun…was different.

“What the hell is going on?” Aron leaned over and whispered to me.  Looking at him, I shrugged. I was just as lost as he was. We sat in our stools, watching the three squabble over who got to sit in what seat and why.

“Baekho hyung.” Minhyun said. “Sit down here with JR and Ren.” He said as he practically pushed me out of my seat. What the hell was that for? Grunting, I dusted myself off before taking a seat next to JR, who looked just as confused as I did. On the other side of him, Ren was staring at Minhyun worriedly. Why?

Oh right! Damn I nearly forgot. Minhyun liked JR. What was he, like five? It was plainly obvious you liked someone when you didn’t want to sit next to him. Or maybe it wasn’t? I wasn’t sure, but it was obvious to me. Minhyun better be careful so he’s not caught on camera.

“Alright, you’re on in five.” The producer called. This interview was an important one. It was going to help us promote our activities and our first mini album. Everything had to go smoothly. I just hoped they didn’t ask questions that would put any of us on the spot.

~*~*~

Aron’s POV

JR and Minhyun were acting like little children and Ren certainly wasn’t helping the situation. It was normal for JR to be childish and for Ren to get in on the act, being the maknae and all. But for Minhyun to act that way, it was strange. He wasn’t the parental type, but he wasn’t the overly adorable, playful maknae type either. He was in the middle. A combination of both really. He could be both level headed, but at the same time, knew how to joke and have fun. That’s what I really liked about the other, was his ability to do so.

I asked Baekho what was going on, but he was just as lost as me. And from the look on our leader’s face, he was lost too. It seemed whatever was going on, only Minhyun and Ren knew. It had something to do with whatever happened last night. I know I wasn’t the only one that noticed that Ren went into Minhyun’s room and didn’t come out till the next morning. I’ll admit, I was jealous the other could get so close to Minnie like that, but I knew nothing was going on. Ren wasn’t gay. He spent most of his time trying to prove his manliness. But I learned once in school that those who tried overly hard to prove they are something usually were what they are trying to prove they’re not. In less confusing terms, Ren was really gay but didn’t know it.  This was something I could see happening. He was cute, adorable, and feminine; it would be wrong if he wasn’t gay or at least biual.

I watched as Minhyun pushed Baekho out of his seat and took the spot up. Poor Baekho, being treated so horribly, not that I felt that bad. Sometimes…he deserved it. Looking back at Minhyun, I leaned over and nudged him. “What’s going on?”

He turned and stared at me before shrugging. His attention turned back to the front, his face was emotionless. It was disturbing. This wasn’t my Minnie, the playful, level-headed idol I’ve been training with for a year or better. This was someone else and I didn’t like it. I wanted to ask more, to press this issue, but the interview started. It was important we all worked hard to stay on track, not goof off and promote our activities. Though we had a fan base already, we needed a bigger one. More fans meant more money, more fame. More fans meant more work, which meant we could spend more time together as a group. Fame and money was good, but my friends, this group meant more to me. Minhyun meant more to me. I had to do my best!

~*~*~

Ren’s POV

I’m not sure what the hell happened, but it had my head spinning and pounding at the same time. I was never so thankful for an interview to start than at that moment in time. Everyone was settled and quiet as JR did most of the talking. The tension though was there and everyone felt. Skinship actually seemed to be a forced interaction between the members this time around and I took notice, and I’m sure the others did too, that Minhyun purposefully kept from having to do any sort of skinship with Jonghyun.

“Face is a song targeted towards the hardships that all teenagers go through when in school.” JR said. “It’s something that we felt as a group, should be brought to light and addressed by parents.” He said.

“Ren, there’s a part in the song where Minhyun comes and pushes you. Tell us your feelings behind that scene.” The interviewer asked.

I stared at the woman, my head nodding slowly as I thought on the question. “Well…to be honest, when the members first learned the choreography, I had been absent because of a cold.” I said. “So I didn’t know that part existed. So as I gradually learned the steps, when the second verse started and Minhyun-hyung came up and pushed me, I was a bit hurt.”  I said.

“Don’t lie.” Baekho said and I turned to stare at him. He was grinning. “Ren got violent first and went to push him back.”

I blushed and turned back to the camera. I forgot about that part. I had gotten violent. “Ah, right.” I said and laughed softly. “But I felt hurt and that’s why I got violent.” I covered. “But then they explained to me that it was part of the dance, and I apologized.” I said. I thought for a moment more on what to say.

“That scene is very powerful.” I added. “Because it’s talking about a friend promising not to say rude things to another friend, and then turns around and pushes him while saying something mean. I think it’s something that most of us can relate to.” The other members nodded in agreement with me.

“Aron, your main parts are rapping and at the end of the song, you rap in such perfect English. It’s known that you’re Korean-American. When you came over from America, did you know any Korean, and if not, who was the biggest help to you?” the interviewer asked.

“Ah, when I came over, I didn’t know a single word of Korean. Actually, I remember when I first met Ren; I tried talking to him and he just stared at me funny.” He said and I laughed. I still remember that day, sitting next to him on the couch. I thought he was slow too. I still want to know whose idea it was to let a non-Korean speaking Korean to be a trainee before even learning the language.

“The person who was the biggest help to me was Baekho. He didn’t teach me so much as the words, but how to speak. Being polite and the culture. In America, you really don’t show a lot of respect to kids who are older than you. You always show respect to your elders, but it’s different. This was certainly a culture shock to me, but I was able to pull through and learn quickly thanks to his help.”

Baekho, help? Was that the reason why it took him a few months to even call me? I never heard that one before. None the less, I suppose that’s where Aron picked up his mannerisms. The interview continued on for another half an hour with different questions being asked. When it finally ended, sighs of relief left us all. I nearly fell when I stood, my legs numb from being in one position for such a long time.

“Careful.” JR said as he caught me, helping to balance me until I got the feeling back in my legs.

“Thanks.” I said and smiled at him. Over his shoulder, I could see Minhyun watching before he turned to leave. I wanted to smack myself. Stepping back, I thanked JR once more before starting for the dressing room when I felt a hand grab my arm.

Turning, I stared back at Baekho. He had that look in his eyes and I wanted to run. But at the same time, I knew that we had to talk. Either Baekho had figured out what was going on, or he was going to ask me what was going on (which I wouldn’t be surprised one bit about. He was still a dense smiling clown).

“We need to talk.” He said and looked around. “Privately.”

Nodding in agreement, he released my arm and I followed him to the restroom. Not the most ideal place to have a private conversation, but it was better than any. The members were going to be changing and getting ready to leave. We had a limited about of time, but whatever it was that we needed to talk about, I knew we could get it all worked out before someone came looking for us. At least…I hoped.