Onew was backstage on his way to meet the other SHINee members when he noticed someone leaning against the wall all by himself. His thoughts were momentarily sidetracked as he stopped where he was and just watched the familiar face from a distance. He had seen Infinite’s leader a few hours back on stage when the event was ending, he had even greeted him and congratulated him for Infinite’s award so he wasn’t sure why he was feeling so anxious all of the sudden.

He took a deep breath and approached Sunggyu, clearing his throat loudly when he noticed the other man was probably lost in his own thoughts. He chuckled a little when the other singer's widened eyes met his.

“Oh! Onew-ssi!”

Onew rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m hurt, are we back to that? I thought we had got closer than this Sunggyu? And after I even let you touch my face.. ” He laughed again watching Sunggyu running his hand through his hair in a very obvious nervous gesture as his cheeks went a little red.

“Ah… I’m sorry Onew.. Jinki…”  

“I’m kidding. Relax.” He smiled softly and leaned closer to the other man watching him carefully. He looked tired and a bit down. “You looked awful through the whole event. Everything is alright?”

“I’m fine.” He heard Sunggyu murmur in a low voice and Onew sighed biting his lip. It was obvious he wasn’t fine but he didn’t think he had the right to ask.

“Okay…” He replied back touching Sunggyu’s shoulder gently until the Infinite member looked back at him questioning. “You still look tired, is Infinite’s comeback being hard?”

“The same as always. But it’s okay. I’m glad we are back performing.” He grinned back watching Sunggyu’s eyes brighten up immediately, feeling especially happy when he saw the other smiling in that cute way that also made Onew really nervous.

He coughed trying to get away from that kind of thoughts; they weren’t good to have at this moment when Sunggyu was right in front of him.

“I’m glad. I like “Destiny” it’s a cool song.” For a moment his mind replayed the performance he had seen a few hours before.

He had been surprised by how good it was, again Infinite had surprised him. He had been completely overwhelmed by Sunggyu on that stage. He couldn’t ever remember seeing Sunggyu quite like that, so intense and so stunning. Even Jonghyun had asked him if they were worthy competition because apparently Onew had watched the performance so intently and with such serious eyes that Jonghyun got worried.

However, now he could understand why Key kept talking about Infinite’s comeback, the last few days he had heard more than he ever wanted about Infinite from Key alone. He had been so busy with SHINee things and his own private issues, trying to rest while still working that he have been avoiding this problem in particular: his soft spot for the Infinite leader. It was something so dangerous he didn’t even want to venture with his mind on it. But that was impossible when Sunggyu was right here, tempting him and at the same time making him want to run away as far as his clumsy legs could take him.

“Was I cool too?” He smirked a little watching Sunggyu grin as he asked the question. He knew if there was something the Infinite member was confident was his skills as a performer and singer.

“Not really, very average. I’m really changing my mind about Woohyun now. He is without a doubt the best singer Infinite has.” He said this casually and with a faint smile on his lips, trying his best to put all his natural acting skills to play but Sunggyu’s hurt face was not something he was expecting from his little joke.

“Ahh I see. I guess it’s to be expected.” Sunggyu mumbled. “Not like anyone needs me anyway…” Onew tilted his head to the side watching Sunggyu for a moment in disbelief before he closed on him and hugged him gently. “Wh-what? Jinki…”

Onew cursed himself in his mind as he replayed the whole day in his mind. He had seen Sunggyu looking more sad than usual; every time his eyes had searched him out in the room he would notice how he was looking down trying his best to be unnoticed or lost in his own mind. Even though he saw the other smile and laugh a few times with s, something always seemed wrong. It was like Sunggyu was wearing a mark, a perfect mask of smiles and politeness when in truth he was hurting.

The SHINee leader closed his eyes for a moment, again cursing himself for his own careless mistake.

“I was just joking.. again. I’m sorry, Sunggyu. You’re still the best for me. And what would Infinite be without their amazing leader? Nothing, Sunggyu, that’s what it would be.” He felt the other tremble slightly in his arms before strong arms were hugging him back tight.

Onew swallowed and when his eyes met Sunggyu’s again he knew being this close was a wrong move. He tried to smile brightly at him and then glanced away, looking around for a moment to make sure no one was watching them, and then, after patting his back, he tried to move back but the Infinite member just tightened his hold around him, not letting him break their embrace.

“Thank you, Jinki. You don’t know how I needed to hear that.” He tried to look up again to see Sunggyu’s face but the infinite member was avoiding looking back at him. Onew’s eyes noticed how red his ears were and he grinned to himself for a moment.

“Anytime, Sunggyu.” He whispered into his ear.