The anti-fan incident mentioned in the following chapter was referenced from this article on Instiz.

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Days turned to weeks with no promise of the situation getting better. Taek Woon and Hak Yeon still weren’t on talking terms with each other. Truthfully, the singer had long put the argument behind him and had somewhat forgiven his beau, but he didn’t know how to approach the other to start talking again without making the atmosphere awkward. The leader, on the other hand, thought that Taek Woon was still upset at him and didn’t try to push things further, thus leaving both of them hanging.

Even with the currently undefined status with Taek Woon, Hak Yeon still had four other kids to take care of and a group to manage. No matter how much he’d wished for things to return to a form that resembled normalcy, he couldn’t forsake his responsibilities as both an idol and a leader just to patch up his relationship. The show had to go on somehow.

And so, the twenty-three year old pushed aside the conflicting turmoil in his head and served his duties well. He still joked around on broadcast and played with s and led interviews well. No one really detected anything severely wrong with him besides the other older two who already knew of the situation but kept mum. But it could be seen that his forced smiles failed to reach his eyes anymore. When pointed out by colleagues and friends, Hak Yeon would pass the comment off with a laugh and the excuse that it was all the doing of fatigue and old age that was catching up to him. It was a blatant lie, but after having asked the same question multiple times that yielded no significant result, they’ve all given up on trying to weed the real reason out of the leader.

However, a different story emerges when Hak Yeon was alone. Left to the wonders of his vividly dark imagination, the leader would think of various fictitious scenarios of how Taek Woon would come up to him and raise the issue of breaking up. Logic told him that it was impossible but still a tiny, niggling part at the back of his mind still believed that it was still infinitesimally possible to happen.

Of all the couches in the waiting room he’s sitting on the same one as you. Later when no one is looking he would shuffle over and quietly suggest breaking up and you can’t do anything to stop him.

Hak Yeon drew in a sharp breath before standing up abruptly, muttering under his breath that he needed some fresh air before escaping from the constricting small space. He ignored every single pair of eyes scanning him quizzically as he slipped out from the small gap in the door, especially that belonging to a particular main vocalist.

The fans are going absolutely crazy over the Keo moments in the dance. Don’t you wish you could be the one fake-biting Taek Woon in the neck instead of him doing it to Jae Hwan? But then again, it’s Keo. Everyone likes Keo better.

Jae Hwan steps up to the centre to deliver his lines and all the other members get into position, ready to crawl their hands over him. On cue, as they start reaching towards the main vocalist the fans seated in the audience exploded at the heightened skinship between the members. Hak Yeon narrowed his feline eyes amidst the blinding stage lighting and focussed straight on the tiny red dot that indicated to him where the recording cameras were.

Look at him, he’s mingling really well with the younger ones, isn’t he? I told you that you would be replaced. You’re too insignificant.

Taek Woon fakes a slash to Sang Hyuk’s neck for joking around on camera, but once the maknae exhibits a bit of his natural aegyo the main vocalist softens and breaks into a chuckle which he quickly covers up by dropping his neck. As soon as Hak Yeon feels the handheld camcorder swing in his direction he looks down at his phone and pretends to have been reading fan tweets the entire time.

You shouldn’t arrange yourselves this way in the car. Who knows, maybe when you’re catching some sleep eye Jae Hwan would lean over and kiss Taek Woon on the lips. And wouldn’t that be just fantastic.

The leader never dozed off in the car ever again no matter how tired he was and long the ride took.

Hak Yeon had grown so paranoid of his surroundings that he’d completely stopped mingling with Taek Woon, even onscreen. Whenever the two got too close he would shun the younger at once and glue himself to Won Shik’s side, and when the main vocalist was to be interviewed he would send Hong Bin to do it instead.

As the issue dragged on without any sign of closure, that element of doubt grew in his brain until it became an ugly green monster that ruled his inner thoughts. It wasn’t until one day when he found himself huddled in the corner of their waiting room, diabolically planning the gruesome demise of their maknae for innocently giving Taek Woon a back hug when the leader realised what kind of a savage he had become.

Hak Yeon was drowning and he desperately needed someone to save him.

~~~

Jae Hwan was by himself in the kitchen, a mug of warm black coffee clutched in his cold hands as he blew lightly on the beverage to cool it. The other members were busy rushing around the dorm getting ready for the full day of schedules ahead and no one paid heed to the main vocalist having his breakfast quietly.

He took a light sip and found it to be the perfect temperature. Just as he was about to down the rest of his drink, he saw his fellow main vocalist approach with an empty water bottle in his hand and a slight change of plans was formed. There was no one else around at the moment and this instance couldn’t have been made more perfect.

Jae Hwan knew that the eldest members still have not made up ever since that huge quarrel the night he’d found out about their secret relationship. At first everything still seemed to function fine, but as time dragged on the lack of communication between the two was starting to cripple the team. Without someone to constantly cue to speak Hak Yeon had grown a lot quieter onscreen, and Taek Woon was more alone than ever.

As the next oldest in the group and the only one who knew and the catalyst which had unknowingly aggravated the discord, it weighed on him greatly to try to alleviate the tension.

He set his mug down hurriedly and squared his shoulders, readying himself for the elder’s arrival.

“Hyung, Taek Woon hyung,” Jae Hwan mumbled softly as Taek Woon passed by him. “I… I just want to tell you I’m sorry.”

“I beg your pardon?” Taek Woon slowed his actions to a stop. He had to blink a couple times before his brain finally registered Jae Hwan’s words, but even then he still couldn’t comprehend the younger’s intentions. “Why are you apologising for? You didn’t use my shampoo again in the shower, did you?”

“It’s not like that… It’s just…” Jae Hwan began uncomfortably. His arms hung limply by his sides and his lips pressed together to form a thin line as though he was being reprimanded in school. “I don’t know, I feel like I’ve been a lot of trouble to you lately. Especially the way I cling onto you and bug you relentlessly. I must have really gotten on your nerves.”

“It’s fine, Jae Hwan ah.” Taek Woon reassured. His back found the refrigerator door and he leaned against it, arms crossing atop his chest as he observed the younger’s odd behaviour with slight amusement. “You could say that I’ve gotten used to your overbearing presence already. The other young ones do the same to me anyway, so don’t fret about it, okay?”

“No, you don’t get it, hyung. I’ve really been too great a burden to you these days.” Jae Hwan emphasised, not knowing how to breach the subject without making it blatantly obvious that he knew. “I don’t want your relationship with the other members to be spoilt just because of me. It’s not worth it to give up an entire forest just for a stupid tree like me.”

A flash of recognition crossed Taek Woon’s eyes and he straightened up, brows furrowing as he glared down the younger. The rest of his face still immaculately expressionless, he took an intimidating step towards the other, just as Jae Hwan shuffled back continuously until his lower back was pressed against the counter.

“You sound like you know something that I don’t, Jae Hwan ah.” Taek Woon spoke slowly, the element of controlled anger no doubt present in the undertone of his hushed voice. “What are you really trying to get at?”

“I… I…”

Jae Hwan’s reluctance to speak only spurred Taek Woon’s suspicions further. He slammed his hands down on the countertop on either sides of the younger and leaned in menacingly. The fiery gaze that erupted in his eyes spoke masses about the feelings he’d bottled up inside ever since the pseudo-breakup. “Lee Jae Hwan, what do you know that I don’t?”

“H–Hyung! I…” It was at the tip of Jae Hwan’s tongue to simply confess everything, but before he could go further, Hak Yeon ventured into the kitchen innocently, yearning for a steaming mug of morning coffee. He froze in his steps when he realised it was his beau that Jae Hwan had been talking to in such close proximity and he could barely bite back a scowl

It’s true, everything that they said about Ken and Leo. True, true, true. All he saw in his vision was red as he cleared his throat loudly to make his presence known. “What’s going on here?”

Both of them flinched at the leader’s icy tone. It was every worst-case scenario they imagined. As if Hak Yeon hadn’t already been paranoid before, catching them in this semi-compromising situation definitely wasn’t going to make things better.

Taek Woon stepped away from the kitchen island and turned to face his boyfriend. “It’s not what you think it is–”

“Jung Taek Woon, I know we agreed on taking a break from each other, but I never thought you would be this serious about what you said. If you really want to end things off then at least do it properly.” Hak Yeon jabbed him in the chest accusatorily. “Don’t leave me hanging there, waiting for you like an idiot.”

“Dammit, Cha Hak Yeon, I already told you, it’s not what you think it is!” Taek Woon bellowed, finally reaching his tipping point and the weeks of pent-up emotions boiled over. He caught Hak Yeon by his wrist and pulled the elder towards him until they stood chest to chest, only to have the other shove him away by his shoulders hard. They stood a metre apart, breathing heavy and glowering at each other.

The lovebirds had been so embroiled in their fight they hadn’t realised Jae Hwan hasn’t moved from his spot. Realising he had inadvertently let the cat out of the bag, Hak Yeon turned his head to snap at the younger vocalist. “Lee Jae Hwan, why are you still standing here? Go wash up and get ready! We have to get all the way down to Daejeon for our fan sign and we’re leaving in twenty minutes!”

“I’m sorry, hyung,” The finality in Jae Hwan’s voice left no room for question. Taek Woon just knew that the other knows the true extent of the relationship he had with their leader, and the revelation shook him. It was a powerful piece of information. In the wrong hands, not only Hak Yeon and his career could be in jeopardy, but the entire team would go down if the news was leaked.

In a state of frenzy Taek Woon’s arm shot out instinctively and caught Jae Hwan back by the elbow just as he was leaving. Ignoring the withering glare Hak Yeon sent in his direction, he tightened his grip and tugged the other vocalist back towards himself. “No wait, Jae Hwan ah, don’t go! I’m not done talking with you. Let’s continue this later, okay?”

Jae Hwan’s eyes darted to and fro the two eldest members of the group. Panic was rampant in the deep brown orbs, fearing the repercussions of being caught in the crossfire, and his throat parched up as the epiphany that he wasn’t getting out of this sticky situation unscathed dawned on him.

He lowered his gaze to the ground in defeat. “Okay, hyung. We’ll talk later.”

Having the thorn at his side gone from his vision, Hak Yeon turned his body around to face his boyfriend, ready to vent his frustrations on the younger. Hands clenched into tight fists by his sides, Taek Woon could almost see the whites forming on the top of his knuckles from his fingers being balled up so tightly. “So, mind explaining?”

Taek Woon took a lengthy breath before exhaling through his mouth, the sudden outflow of air causing his cheeks to puff up. He ruffled his hair in frustration. “Well, in case it hadn’t been made obvious enough just now, I think Jae Hwan knows our secret. I didn’t understand what he was blabbering about before, but now I do. He knows, Hak Yeon.”

Hak Yeon snorted in disbelief. “I didn’t think you would lie to such an extent just to cover up your tracks. You know that’s impossible. We kept it under wraps so well, and that’s on top of Jae Hwan being completely ignorant. He doesn’t even care about what he eats for lunch, so what makes you think he would want to meddle with our business?”

“We’ve been fighting practically every single night for the past week. All Jae Hwan needed to do was really wake up in the middle of the night just once and he would have easily heard every single word of our extremely loud argument.” Taek Woon reasoned as calmly as he could. “So, do you really still think that way?”

The adamant look in the leader’s eyes told him so and the singer’s shoulders slumped in defeat, all the fighting spirit seemed to have been zapped from him at once.

“You know what? I really can’t do this. You clearly aren’t internalising anything that I’m saying at the moment.” Taek Woon threw his hands up in the air and backed away, picking up his long discarded water bottle that had somehow landed on the ground. “Let’s just do this some other day. It’s about time we left for Daejeon anyway.”

“Jung Taek Woon, don’t you dare give me such a flimsy excuse.” Hak Yeon warned as he watched the other begin to leave. “Yah, Jung Taek Woon!”

The vocalist paid no heed to the empty threats and continued walking off without turning back, leaving in his dust a furious Hak Yeon burning holes into his silhouette.