~~~

Weeks melted into months and finally years as Hak Yeon trained hard with hopes of debuting as an idol. As promised by the CEO, more trainees were added to the tiny group, increasing their size to seven and then finally doubling to ten. Won Shik, a rapper Hong Bin’s age who preferred going by the nickname Ravi (that stood for joy and celebration in French) joined near the beginning of 2011, followed by Jae Hwan, a 92-liner who specialised in vocals four months later.

When March 2012 rolled by, the CEO finally put his completed master plan into action and declared the start of a debut survival battle through the TV programme MyDol with the final addition of three more trainees, Korean-American Lee Byung Jun Thomas, Shin Yoon Chul from Daegu and seventeen year old maknae Han Sang Hyuk.

It was an idea that everyone despised. Yes, Korea’s music industry was merciless and competition between idol groups, especially rookies, was cutthroat, and the trainees needed the mental preparation even before they debuted. But how could anyone force the seven core members, who have practiced tirelessly together for at least a year and forged deep bonds, to turn their backs on one another and fight against each other?

Of course they could. Because such intense battles made the epitome of entertainment. This was what reality TV was all about.

It was especially during this period that Hak Yeon’s friendship with Taek Woon grew by leaps and bounds. Taek Woon, who was deathly afraid of being the focus of anything, got over his severe camera shyness with help from the leader and could finally be interviewed without freezing up whenever a question was asked.

And through the slow and painful elimination of the peers one by one, they’d learned to lean on one another even more for moral support. When oppressive thoughts raged through their minds, each whispering how they shouldn’t still be here and how the eliminated member deserved the position a lot more as they cried themselves to sleep every night, clinging onto each other was the only option left to keep their sanity.

That night after the final elimination, Taek Woon sat alone with his headphones on in the foldable picnic chair outside the balcony, staring out into the murky waters of the Han River blankly. The music blocked out the distractions down on the street below and helped him focus on his thoughts.

The sliding glass doors squeaked open behind him and his head shot around, ready to snap at which ever of the nosy younger ones it was to go back to sleep, given it was way past midnight, when he saw that it was Hak Yeon and his tense body visibly relaxed again.

“Hey,” Hak Yeon said softly as he settled down beside Taek Woon, leaning lightly on the flimsy chair frame and pillowed his head on the side of the main vocalist’s thigh. The younger pulled his headphones down to his neck and returned the greeting.

“Hey,” Taek Woon replied. “Can’t sleep either?”

“Nope,” Hak Yeon shook his head, brushing strands of ebony hair across the singer’s clothed lap. “How could I?”

A lapse of comfortable silence washed over them for the next few minutes. Without either speaking, they sat gazing out into the nightscape, simply enjoying each other’s presence. Finally, it was Taek Woon who spoke up first. “I keep thinking about what happened tonight. I can’t believe Nak Hun, Byung Jun and Yoon Chul are gone. Everything’s happening too quickly.”

Hak Yeon hummed noncommittally. “Were you hoping it would have gone down differently?”

Taek Woon sat up straight and frowned down at the leader sprawled in his lap. Did Hak Yeon really think that he would ostracized those who had little experience? Sure, he hadn’t really gotten along with the maknae in the beginning, but that was because he felt awkward, not because he didn’t like Sang Hyuk or looked down on him for not being as good as the older, more experiences ones who were eliminated.

“What do you mean hope? Are you saying that I’m the kind of person who looks down on other junior trainees? I would give anything to have the chance for all ten of us to debut together. Yes, including the three who onyl joined later. You know me, Hak Yeon. I don't ever want anyone to be left out.”

“Let me rephrase that. Were you expecting it to go down differently?”

“It doesn’t matter what I thought, because I have no right to be judging others when I’m not fantastically brilliant myself.” Taek Woon began slowly, suddenly wary of the other’s intentions. “What matters is that the six of us are a team now, and will be for years to go, so we all need to get along with each other. How would we be able to do that if we talked about each other behind their backs?”

Hak Yeon chuckled warmly and toyed at the fraying hem of the other’s sweatpants. “You have no idea how immensely glad I am to hear you say that. I think I would have died if you said otherwise. You really are the person I trust the most, Taek Woon. Not only because we’re the same age, but that you’ve proven yourself time and time again that I can rely on you. Now that our debut is officially finalised I can finally say this to you: Thank you for being there for me.”

“Me too,” Taek Woon responded solemnly, the unorthodoxly deep voice sending pleasant shivers down Hak Yeon’s spine. “Thank you for not giving up on me just because I’m slow to warm up to people. It’s still difficult for me to express myself adequately now, so please bear with me. I promise I will open up to you one day.”

Curiosity was amounting within the leader and he was exploding with questions for Taek Woon. In the two odd years that they’ve trained together the two have grown extremely close, partially because they were of the same age and the eldest ones in the team, but there was still so much that Hak Yeon didn’t know about the other.

Hak Yeon tilted his neck and lifted his gaze to take a better look at the other who was silently brooding. “Taek Woon ah… Can I ask you something…?”

“Yeah? What is it?” The main vocalist replied softly as he glanced down at the elder, a thousand and one questions running through his own mind.

“You said before that you used to play for the national junior team…” Hak Yeon knew that he was going to sound nosy, but he pressed on anyway. “Why… Why did you suddenly quit? From the sound of it, you really seemed to love playing the sport and you were definitely brilliantly good at it. So why did you quit soccer and choose singing as a career path instead?”

The silence he got from the other, though usual and perfectly normal, was unsettling and almost made Hak Yeon regret letting his curiosity get the better of him. Finally just as the leader was about to call of his question, Taek Woon replied in three simple words. “I was injured.”

The elder was about to change the topic to a more light-hearted one when, too his utmost surprise, Taek Woon continued to elaborate on his previous statement. It felt as though the other was already trying to let the leader sneak a glimpse into his world, and Hak Yeon wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.

“During my second year in high school, I suffered a ligament injury during training that put me out for the rest of the match season. Competition to be in the national team was stiff and I knew that without the much-needed practice, I was going to be left behind and replaced by other younger, more capable members. So before that could happen, I chose to leave first voluntarily.”

Absentmindedly Taek Woon’s hand found its way into Hak Yeon’s hair and his fingers twirled strands of the dark mane around themselves as a faraway look clouded his eyes. “I’ve always loved singing just as much as soccer anyway. It has been an avid hobby of mine since young so this was never a backup option for me but rather an alternative.”

Hak Yeon nuzzled his cheek into the wash-softened material and sighed in bliss as Taek Woon’s fingernails scraped over his scalp. “I’m glad you chose singing, Taek Woon. I’m glad you came into my life and I’m glad you’re here with me right now on this journey.”

Instinctively Taek Woon looked down just as Hak Yeon tilted his head up and their gazes locked, each piercing straight into the depths of the other’s soul. Neither took notice how long it took as they simply sat under the dim glow of the moonlight, their hearts unknowingly beating as one.

~~~

Three hours into practice for their debut choreography with the air conditioner partially faulty and the standing fans barely providing a light, passing breeze, the members had perspiration falling like rain onto the wooden floor, dripping from the clumpy ends of their damp hair and rolling down the sides of their faces and disappearing beyond the collars of their soaked shirts that clung uncomfortably to their backs.

The air was saturated and still and trapped the sweltering heat of the summer within the four walls of the dance studio. The six boys could finally empathise with the turkeys baking in the oven on the night of Thanksgiving dinner as they felt like they were being roasted alive.

“Alright boys, you all look like you’re about to collapse and drop dead so let’s take a fifteen minute break, okay?” Yang Wook called out with a bemused chuckle as he headed off to stand in front of a fan. He stopped its rotation, cutting off whatever minimal air supply to the members lying around dying from heat , thus earning a grunt of disapproval from the maknae.

“Hyung, can you please move? Just slightly?” Hong Bin whined from his spread eagle position on the floor. The dance instructor merely rolled his eyes before turning back to face the fan and allowed the slightly cool air to blow over his sticky skin, sighing in contentment.

“At least the floor is kind of cooling and nice. I’m going to take a nap. Someone wake me up later…” Won Shik mumbled in a partially narcoleptic state before drifting off into dreamland. Jae Hwan held his thumb up in approval before rolling onto his side and doing the same.

The leader took in the sight of the younger ones sprawled out across the studio before turning to Taek Woon, and found him in the middle of stripping off his sweaty T-shirt. Hak Yeon thought his head was about to explode at the sight of the surprisingly toned body presented to him.

Taek Woon was extremely conscious of his image and never liked to show off too much to anyone. “I’m not modest,” He would say when questioned. “I just don’t see the point in comparing something that we all have.”

Whenever they went to the gym to work with their trainer, Taek Woon was always the one who would do his given routines in one secluded corner away from prying eyes that may be trained on him and would shy away from any cameras he finds trailing down his arm or attempting to capture his body line.

In the dorm where cameras were not rolling, he rarely walked around in any state of undress beyond the bathroom because he thought it was silly to act like they had an ongoing body-building contest. Instead, he prepares all the fresh clothes he needs and leaves them right by the door so that they can be worn immediately after his shower.

Even when all six of them were all gathered and changing in the same room, the main vocalist made sure to turn his body away from the rest of the members so that none of them ever saw more than the silhouette of his sculpted back.

The others all thought it was because Taek Woon didn’t have a nice body – Psh, how could he not, Hak Yeon rolled his eyes and snorted when he overheard the younger ones gossiping, especially after having trained on the national junior soccer team – and thus did not want to expose his flaws, but the leader knew otherwise.

Having said all that, Hak Yeon never thought he would ever see the day where Taek Woon voluntarily took off his shirt and showcased himself. I don’t think any of us has even seen him without a shirt before. The summer heat must really be doing his head in.

In his opinion, Taek Woon had the best body amongst them six. Sure, there was Won Shik, the self-proclaimed abs king as well as the up-and-rising dark horse Hong Bin to contend with, but Hak Yeon believed that the ex-soccer player had the sleekest, most well-defined muscles in the entire team.

The stark contour that marked the distinct line between his deltoid muscle and his arms…

The delectably carved biceps and triceps that flexed as he leaned the weight of his torso back…

The soft dips and rises running down his chest that marked out two pectoral mounds and a distinct valley of defined abdominals…

That one drop of perspiration making its way down his internal oblique muscle and painting a glowing trail in its path…

The taut skin stretched over his sharp hipbones and the pair of sweatpants that were slung low on those slim hips…

The slight bob of his Adam’s apple as he downed a mouthful of water…

Hak Yeon found his tongue running over his chapped lips unconsciously and heat rushed to his face. His body temperature seemed to rise with the temperature of the claustrophobically small room and he could feel a slight stirring in other parts of his anatomy. He gulped.

Feeling an uncomfortably dirty gaze roaming over his body that made Taek Woon feel like he was being eye , the main vocalist snapped his head in the Hak Yeon’s direction and was met with the sight of flushed, reddened apple cheeks that stood out against the darkened skin of the leader.

The main vocalist raised his eyebrows quizzically, not quite comprehending th situation. Was… Was Hak Yeon actually blushing?

The eldest felt his heart leap in his chest as his wandering eyes were met with a charismatic, burning gaze. Everything in the peripherals seemed to blur out as his sights were focussed on Taek Woon and Taek Woon only as though he had tunnel vision. The sound of each heartbeat seemed to be amplified with the rush of blood going to his pink-tipped ears.

Hak Yeon snapped out of his trance and glanced away hastily, mortified to the core after being caught blatantly ogling at his (admittedly) y teammate. Damn it, I’m getting ually frustrated. Looks like it’s some extended time in the shower with your excited buddy and your right hand tonight.

Moments later, the leader found himself with company as Taek Woon came over, thankfully having pulled on a new T-shirt, and settled down by his side with an iPad clutched in his hands and earphones plugged in his ears. The main vocalist still had his eyes on the moving images on the screen even as he spoke. “What’s up?”

Hak Yeon’s eyes didn’t flicker from the fierce stare he was sending towards his reflection the dance studio mirror. “If I ask you a serious question, you would answer me properly, right?”

“Are you certain that it’s a serious question and not a retarded one?” Taek Woon asked without lifting his gaze from the glowing screen of the iPad.

There wasn’t a reason to hide because the issue would be brought up eventually. The elder decided to get straight to the point. “What do you think of homouality?”

“Well that’s really random.” Taek Woon quipped, earning a prod in the side from Hak Yeon. The younger glanced up to find the leader pursing his lips together and couldn’t resist poking at one of the inflated cheeks. “I guess…”

Hak Yeon watched his every move through the mirror as Taek Woon set his iPad aside and run a finger through his messy ebony locks. “I honestly think that gender is only a method of classification. You know, to distinguish between types of people, sort of like race or blood type. Everyone should be given their rights to love and be loved, be it with another man or woman.”

Hak Yeon dropped his gaze to the balled fists in his lap before lifting one hand up and began chewing on the thumbnail. He was nervous. “In that case… What… What if I said I was gay? How would you react to it?”

It stumped Taek Woon for a split second as he sincerely pondered over the question. What if Hak Yeon was indeed gay? How would he react to it, really?

The top row of his teeth clamped down on his lower lip as he contemplated hard, finally reaching a conclusion. “I guess… The same thing still applies, doesn’t it? It would be hypocritical for me to judge just because it’s you.”

“I can accept that,” Hak Yeon nodded, speaking more to himself than to the other. He drew his legs to his chest and rested his chin between his knees. “But… Taek Woon… You do understand the implications in me asking that question, don’t you? You do know what my intentions were, don’t you?”

Taek Woon’s heart raced in his chest. Hak Yeon’s gay. Does that mean that he likes someone in the team? Who does he like? It can’t possibly be Won Shik, can it?

But, why not? The two of them had always been close because they both specialised in dance and choreography. Back in the days when they were still ten, the two would often stay back in the studio into the wee hours of the morning simply to thrash a couple of moves out and work on a few steps for a new choreography. Just like how him, Jae Hwan and Nak Hun were constantly practising by themselves as the team’s vocal representatives, Won Shik and Hak Yeon too were always in a world of their own.

Not to mention, their personalities clicked perfectly. Won Shik naturally exhibited aegyo despite trying to portray a tough exterior onscreen and onstage. Every one of his actions reflected his quirky character and never failed to crack the members up at his innocent cuteness. Hak Yeon, on the other hand, had a angelic childishness that was endearing to watch and easy to fall for.

It… It makes sense…

I wonder if the rest of the team would be okay with the two of them dating…

Would I be okay with the two of them dating?

Taek Woon eventually nodded. “I’m okay with you being gay, Hak Yeon. I’m perfectly okay with it. You don’t have to worry, I’ll always have your back even if you decide to date W–”

“Alright boys, in case you didn’t realise I actually granted you all an extra ten minutes on your break.” Yang Wook butted in with hands akimbo, having relatively cooled down from hogging all the wind from the rotating fan. “You all can thank me later but as for now everyone get to your positions so that we can start again. And for goodness sake, someone please wake Won Shik up.”

Hak Yeon casted a concerned glance towards Taek Woon who seemed to remain caught up on something. “What were you trying to say before Yang Wook hyung interrupted?”

“Never mind,” Taek Woon deadpanned. The crease in the vocalist’s brows deepened even as he said so. “It’s time for practice.”

~~~

The next few days passed by uneventfully. Taek Woon and Hak Yeon were still talking normally as though the solemn conversation never took place between them. The air that hung between them was easy and no one else ever suspected that something had happened.

Despite that, Taek Woon couldn’t deny that he had slowly become more aware of Hak Yeon’s presence. From the peripherals of his vision he would be tracking the leader, watching every move and noting any interactions with Won Shik with narrowed eyes. The main vocalist was starting to feel like a jealous, love-struck girl and he didn’t like it one bit.

“Hey, Taek Woon, take a look at this,” Hak Yeon collapsed onto the floor of the dance studio and rolled onto his tummy, holding up a cream-coloured envelope in his fingers. “It has your name on it.”

Taek Woon barely glanced up before focussing his full attention on his iPad again, trying not to take notice of how low the V-neck of the leader’s hoodie was in this position. “What’s that?”

“Uhm…” Cue the start of bad acting. “I don’t know. I found it on the floor. Someone must have dropped it. Oh well, I’m sure it doesn’t matter. Go on, open it and read it then!”

Taek Woon’s eyes flickered over for a second before looking away again. “It looks like your handwriting though.”

“No it doesn’t. I don’t write my words like that.” Hak Yeon dropped the envelope right across the iPad screen, blocking out everything that the other was trying to read. “Anyway, won’t you open the envelope and read it? Open it, open it!”

Taek Woon merely pursed his lips in irritation before brushing the envelope out of the way and continuing to peruse the online article he was reading. “I would, but later. Our break’s almost over so it’s time for practice now.”

This is not proceeding very well, is it? Hak Yeon snatched the iPad out of the vocalist’s hands and dangled it in front of the other’s face. “Okay, maybe I know the author of the note. Let’s strike a deal then. If I told you who it was, would you read it right now?”

Taek Woon rolled his eyes and plucked it out of Hak Yeon’s fingers. “No need for that. It’s obviously from you, Hak Yeon. I told you, I’ll just read it later.”

~~~

Hak Yeon didn’t know why he decided to stay up tonight. It was almost as though he was actually expecting Taek Woon to respond to his haphazardly written confession. He’d probably misplaced it or threw it away the first moment he could, idiot… Yet, holding on to that tiny speckle of hope there he was, sitting in the darkened confines of the living room and waiting for someone who wasn’t going to show up.

With each passing minute that ticked by, that optimism was fading fast.

The darkness had sharpened all his other senses such that the leader could hear every snore coming from the bedroom, each drip from the tap and every creak of the floorboards as the apartment groaned and settled in. It made him extra jittery being alone, and the scary episode that happened just a few hours before hadn’t helped his cowardice one bit.

For the filming of the 5^th episode of MyDol, the CEO of Jellyfish Entertainment had sent the six boys on a trip to an old abandoned school with the mission to toughen up and build courage despite knowing that the eldest was faint-hearted by nature. Hak Yeon had been so shaken he’d completely lost the ability to walk and had to have the maknae venture around the school by himself while he remained squatted in the hallway trying to regain the strength in his legs.

It was a terrible experience. Call him a chicken if you might, but Hak Yeon really couldn’t handle being scared at all. Every time he was in a precarious situation, he would –

Muffled shuffling was heard across the wooden floorboards in Hak Yeon’s direction, jolting the leader out of his meanderings. , the ghost followed him home! His heart leapt to his mouth and the dark-skinned man dropped to his knees. “Please, mister ghost, I’m deathly afraid of you. I promise I’ll stop eating Jae Hwan’s chocolate and then blaming Won Shik for its disappearance. I know I’m wrong. Please let me off this time. I won’t ever do it again. Please don’t do anything to me.”

Ah… So you’re the one who’s been causing all that chaos in the dorm… Tsk, tsk, leader-nim, wait till I tell the others who the real culprit is! Taek Woon shook his head at the other’s childish behaviour before skidding forward some more. “Hak Yeon ah…”

“Ah! The ghost knows my name! How did the ghost find out my name? Please don’t do anything to me, mister ghost! I’m begging you!” Hak Yeon clasped his hands together in a prayer position and wailed. “I still have this rowdy but still somewhat endearing bunch of kids to lead! I’m still waiting for Taek Woon to respond to my confession! I can’t die so young!”

“Hak Yeon, it’s me. It’s Taek Woon. I’m not a ghost.” The main vocalist finally spoke up, deciding that he’d had enough fun tormenting the elder.

“Ugh. Damn it, Taek Woon!” Hak Yeon groaned and he rolled onto his back, kicking his feet up in the air in frustration as he fisted the material on the front of his shirt right above his chest. “Can you not creep around the dorm silently at 3 in the morning?! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“It’s about this,” Taek Woon brandished a single piece of writing paper that was now void of its envelope. He saw the wary look that crossed the leader’s face as he sat back up on the couch instantly, feeling humiliated for his mental breakdown in front of the other. “I have a reply for you.”

 “Is it good news or bad?” Hak Yeon asked almost a little too quickly.

Taek Woon fiddled with the sharp corner of the letter. “Depends on how you see it.”

“It’s bad then. I don’t want to hear it.” Hak Yeon said childishly and he turned his body away from the main vocalist.

“Hak Yeon, listen to me…” Taek Woon sat down on the edge of the couch as he tried to reason with the other. He reached for Hak Yeon, only to have the elder scoot all the way to the other end of the sofa. “We can’t be together right now, not when we’re this close to debuting. Not now, we can’t.”

“Damn it, Taek Woon, I said I don’t want to hear it!” Hak Yeon snapped. With his face lit up partially by the moonlight, Taek Woon could see Hak Yeon’s eyes glistening with unshed tears, his lower lip trembling as his eyes darted between the flimsy piece of paper and the singer’s face. “If you’re going to reject me then I don’t want to hear it! I’d rather live in denial for the rest of my life than to have you turn me down and break my heart, okay?”

“After debut,” Taek Woon said with finality.

The unexpected response caught Hak Yeon unaware. “Huh?”

“After debut. Let’s only be together then.” Taek Woon repeated softly. “Ask me again after debut and I will give you my answer.”

“But why can’t you answer me now?”

“Because of our upcoming debut.” Taek Woon emphasised in his hoarse voice laced with desperation. “We shouldn’t be thinking about anything else at the moment besides our upcoming debut. I don’t want anything to jeopardise our chances of fulfilling our dreams.”

Taking advantage of the silence, Taek Woon picked up Hak Yeon’s limp hand from his lap and placed the letter firmly on the palm, curling his fingers around it securely. “Just two more weeks, Hak Yeon. Wait for me.”

~~~

“Hmm…” Taek Woon rested his cheek against the cool wooden surface of the table in the recording studio as he chewed on the lid of his pen contemplatively.

It was way into the night and he was the only one left that hadn’t gone home, having given Hak Yeon the excuse that he wanted to do a bit more self-recording to perfect their title track. It wasn’t that he was purposefully avoiding the leader though. He merely decided to stay over in the company building so as to have some peace and quiet. He needed some time alone so that he could write his letter as well.

Literature had never been his strongest subject back in high school. He remembered vividly how he scoffed at the paragraphs of fanciful descriptive words in his language studies book and thought it was a silly skill to learn how to write and evaluate poetry. Oh, how he wished he’d paid more attention during class back then. He wouldn’t be in as big a fix as he was in now.

“I don’t even know where or how to start…” He tapped the pen against the side of his face absentmindedly as he hummed a nice tune. It was SHINee’s Hello this time, a happy, cute and fluffy song that he found reflected his current feelings. Feelings…

“Ah!” Taek Woon bolted up straight when the epiphany hit him. It was a response to a confession letter after all. What better way to reply to it than to pour out all of your own emotions? He deserves to know, after all. The singer put pen to paper and began writing.

~~~

No one could sleep the night before D-Day. The group spent the entire night gathered in the living room lying on the futons they’d dragged out from their bedrooms and solemnly discussing different aspects of their future. Finally having settled down enough to catch some sleep eye at the break of dawn, the exhausted members were rudely awakened soon after and chased around the house by their manager who was equally just as anxious.

After making two wrong turns and running three red lights, the group finally managed to arrive at their makeup salon safely and were ushered indoors at once. Taek Woon, get to the makeup booth… Hong Bin, you go have your hair done… Jae Hwan, Sang Hyuk, Won Shik, you three go change first… Hak Yeon ah, you come with me for a moment… Orders were relayed and the boys trotted off to the various stations obediently to prevent any further delay.

Two hours, two outfit changes and lots of hairspray and eyeliner later, the six members were ready to take on the stage. They were hustled back up onto their promotional coach and ferried to the broadcasting station, where they were whisked away and another round of fussing, this time on a slightly smaller scale, was carried out.

Backstage and having all been wired up with headsets, Hak Yeon gathered everyone into a tight circle for the final prep talk and everyone placed their arms around each other, drawing one another as close as possible. “This is it, boys. This is what we’ve been waiting for and slaving after for the past few years. Before we go on stage, let us all list something that we are thankful for and bear that in mind continuously as we perform on that stage.”

“For our lovely parents,” Hong Bin started off without hesitation. “Without whom we wouldn’t be standing here today.”

“For Byung Jun, Nak Hun, Yoon Chul and Dae Won who didn’t make it here today with us.” Hak Yeon continued smoothly and he looked towards his left at Won Shik.

“For us,” The rapper said simply with a chic shrug.

“For our dreams,” Sang Hyuk added bubbly.

“For our future,” Jae Hwan declared with a bright smile.

“For VIXX,” Taek Woon concluded smugly.

The six boys pulled out of their circle and held out their middle and index fingers in a peace sign, bringing their hands together to form a six-sided star. “Real V! V-I-X-X, VIXX hwaiting!”

Every other detail was pushed out of their minds as they climbed onto the stage with determination at the cue of the scriptwriter noona.

The next three minutes flew by in a flurry of activity. The only thoughts that played on repeat was to look for the cameras and smile continuously despite the growing ache in their bodies even as they acted on muscle memory, lips reciting the lyrics and executed each dance move that was memorised to perfection.

I feel I feel fantastic. I feel I feel fantastic. The last chords of the song faded off into a distance and the boys lined up at the front of the stage, bodies angled in different directions as they took their final poses.

The boys shuffled closer to each other until their shoulders touched and they bowed in unison like how they’ve practiced countless times. “It has been Real V! V-I-X-X VIXX! Thank you for your hard work! Thank you, thank you!”

Adrenaline was still coursing through their veins as they stepped off stage and returned to their waiting room, where to their pleasant surprise their CEO stood with his arms held open welcomingly. Like baby chicks to the mother hen, the boys flocked to him at once and were encompassed on one mass embrace. Their eyes, damp with happiness, roamed over one another, their teammates and fellow comrades, and the light caresses on the back were accompanied by whispered encouragements of ‘We did it, guys, we really did it.’ Hak Yeon was certain he wasn’t going to ever forget this moment even if he turned eighty.

It wasn’t until everything had wound down and the members were climbing into their van, having changed out of their stage outfits and were rowdily discussing the venue for their celebratory dinner, did the true significance of having finally debuted hit Hak Yeon and the elder cast a sideward glance towards his same-aged vocalist. He’d been so caught up with debut preparations over the past few days just like the rest of them that he hadn’t once thought about the impending apocalypse.

The thought of having to sit directly opposite Taek Woon for the whole of dinner was too daunting for Hak Yeon. Suddenly, the leader didn’t feel that hungry anymore and the feeling of fluttering butterflies in his stomach was replaced by an uncomfortable churning.

“Uh, you guys,” The leader voiced out timidly, catching the attention of the boisterous members. “I don’t think I feel too well… I think I was too nervous. My tummy is a bit… So, for dinner…”

Although a minor setback, Hak Yeon’s ailment had successfully put a damper to their light-hearted spirits and the interior of the vehicle fell silent. It was their manager who cleared his throat and spoke up. “Uh, Hak Yeon ah, even though you’re slightly under the weather, since today’s a special occasion so just bear with it for a while. You don’t have to join the rest for dessert, but just stick with us for dinner, would you?”

“O-Okay, I guess.” Hak Yeon finally conceded after much whining from his dongsaengs and finally felt the sole intimidating gaze leave him.

Throughout dinner the leader remained abnormally quiet and his appetite was diminished. No amount of cajoling from the manager or the other members could get him to force down more than a couple mouthfuls of rice and a few slices of meat and kimchi. Not that the younger ones really minded, for it only meant more food for them to eat.

The two hours spent at the restaurant had been torturous for the elder. Finally when it was time to leave, Hak Yeon had been the first to bolt up from his seat and dash off to the van, ignoring quips from Won Shik and Hong Bin insisting that he must be having diarrhoea.

As promised, the manager made a special detour to drop Hak Yeon off at their apartment first before bringing the rest for icecream. The eldest hopped off the stationary vehicle almost too eagerly, arms laden with the fan gifts presented to the group at the broadcasting station earlier in the day.

“Hak Yeon ah,” The manager rolled down the window on the passenger’s seat and stuck his head out. “Since you’re not feeling well don’t stay up too late, okay? Go to sleep immediately once you’ve washed up. You’ll be in trouble if you don’t recover by tomorrow. You need to be better for tomorrow’s recording.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Hak Yeon dismissed with a non-committal wave with all the paper bags hanging from his arms and he headed in without turning back. I have bigger problems than this.

“Taek Woon… Can I have the answer to my confession now?” Hak Yeon muttered under his breath as he ventured from room to room to deposit his belongings and fan gifts. He stripped himself of his attire and changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants. “No, Cha Hak Yeon, try again. That sounds terribly tacky.”

“Will you be my boyfriend?” The leader tried again as he emerged from the closet and dumped the dirty clothes into the laundry hamper before heading for the bedroom. “That doesn’t sound too bad… Or is it too direct?”

“Ugh, I can’t do this! Should I just give up?” Hak Yeon was about to throw himself onto his bed when he spotted an envelope resting on top of his pillow. He caught himself in mid-fall and twisted his body so that he landed in Hong Bin’s sleeping spot instead. He rolled himself over until he heard the crunching of paper when his head landed on his pillow. He flipped himself onto his stomach and cocked his head to the side. “What’s this?”

The envelope was a plain creamy white and bore only three words, ‘To: Hak Yeon.’ The leader sat himself up and folded his legs under him, eyeing the envelope wearily before picking it up and opening it. It contained a letter, short and precise, that bore Taek Woon’s handwriting.

As his gaze trailed over the lines of neatly printed words, silent tears sprung to his eyes that spilled over down his cheeks when he blinked as he arrived at the final paragraph of the letter.

Hak Yeon felt a tall presence come up from behind. He didn’t need to turn around to know that it was Taek Woon, who slid his arms around the other’s petite waist, resting his chin on Hak Yeon’s shoulder as the elder braved through the final three lines.

Hak Yeon forced down the hardening lump in his throat that made talking difficult and finally opened his mouth after much struggle in forming his words. “I… I take it as a yes?”

“Yeah,” The main vocalist’s soft, gentle voice was like sweet honey that rung in his ears. “Of course I’d love to be your boyfriend.”

This moment couldn’t be more perfect. Hak Yeon allowed his eyes to flutter shut and he inhaled the fresh, crisp scent of deodorant that was unmistakably Taek Woon as he felt a fresh batch of tears spring up from the corners of his eyes. “I… I was so afraid you would say no.”

“I told you it would be all worth it in the end,” Taek Woon chided gently. He tightened his hold around Hak Yeon’s waist and hummed in appreciation, the deep vibrations from his voice box sending delightful tingles down the leader’s spine. “Thank you for loving me. And thank you for waiting for me.”

너무 고마워 끝까지 날 기다려줘서

I'm really thankful that you've waited for me till the end

흔들림 없이 날 바라봐줘서

Because you looked at me without swaying

나에게 기대요 내 사랑을 믿어줘요

Lean on me, believe in my love

언제까지나 영원히 함께해요

Let's always be together forever

내 곁에 있어 줘 내가 위로가 될게요

Stay by my side, I'll be your comfort

우리 이대로 세상이 멈춘 듯이 사랑해

Let’s love like this as though the world has stopped, I love you

그대라서 고마워

I'm thankful because it's you

~~~

Over the ticking of the wall clock in the living room and the sound of vehicle engines echoing from the streets outside the opened window, two distinct voices could be heard conversing in harsh whispers in the darkened bedroom.

“It’s tough being romantic in modern times. You shot me down without hesitation!” Hak Yeon whined. “Do you know what that did to my psyche?”

“I told you, I wanted to wait for until debut first. And stop whining. I’m already here, aren’t I? Now scoot over. I'm practically pressed up against the wall because of you.”

A/N: Why did it take me over two weeks to update again?

Firstly, this chapter is astonishingly long. And in case you're wondering exactly how long it is, this spans 29 pages and 8,920 words on Microsoft Word on Calibri size 12 font. It is no joke. I wanted to split this chapter into two parts but I realised that would break the flow since everything is somehow tied in with the song. Hopefully you didn't die reading this dreary update!

Secondly, who knew one could be busier with school during school holidays than on a normal school week? Yeap, you read that right. Holiday supplementary lessons actually end later than my average school day. Two words to summarise it all: School . But what's new? We all already know that. Hah.