They finished their stage without any major accidents. Looking through the performance through the monitor, everything seemed in place. Everyone was smiling, nobody forgot their parts, and the dance was as impeccable as it could have been. Ljoe even noticed that Chunji didn’t falter. After thanking the staff, and greeting the groups that were combing through the halls to get up onto the stage themselves, they were prepared to pack up and head back to their headquarters. 

The atmosphere was awkward. Not only was Ljoe still pissed off at Chunji, but Chunji now found new reason to be upset. Taking a punch at him only incited Ljoe to want to continue. Yes, there had been some tension between them as of late, even before the set up with L even happened. Each member was off doing their separate things; dramas, solos, movies. The separation made contact scarce, and even crossing paths in the dorms was becoming a rarity. The momentum that had built up since their debut days had slowly been faltering, creating for the exact opposite of unison. 

Cap, seeing this, thought of the only way to mediate the situation— a talk. A group talk, where each member could freely speak of difficulties and hardships they were facing within the group. Earlier in their debut, they frequently had these talks. At first it was because someone from their management suggested them to do so to keep the group close, to keep arguments and disagreements at bay as much as possible, and to keep each other in tuned with the other. As their rise to popularity came, those talks started to dwindle. It was hard to find a proper moment to speak to everyone amidst schedules and conflicts. But the first thing Cap did when everyone reached the dorm was pull everyone into the living room. Everyone sat down in a circle. Cap was the perfect person to incite something like this. He had always been the calmest of the group, the most collected. 

“Obviously there are some internal conflicts that were affecting each of us. I tried to give you guys time to work things off and to blow off steam, but that isn’t working. We’re going to sit here and tell each other what’s been going through our minds, what has been the past few days. Hopefully this will smooth some things over.” He didn’t mention anyone in particular, but brief glances were shot at Chunji and Ljoe, who looked less than happy to have to be in a situation where they would have to air everything out to the rest of the group.

“Ricky. Why don’t you start.” 

“Me?” He thought for sure Cap would ask Chunji or Ljoe to start, get right into the core of things. “Um— okay. Well. Ljoe hyung, Chunji hyung. Your fight is ruining our dynamic. I think you should be mature about it and just speak to each other. The group comes first, and lately— it seems like you’ve forgotten. A little.” 

A few members nodded, as if in agreement. Ljoe stared blankly at the wall behind a small grouping of members, and Chunji was busy lost in his thoughts to properly make any acknowledgement of what Ricky said. 

“I didn’t think there was a problem. Until I got set up. What was that about, anyways?”

Changjo decided to represent the group to provide an explanation. “We and the Infinite hyungs were having a hard time, with all of our promotions. We, collectively, decided that it would be fun, bring some laughter.”

“So that’s what I am? Some form of entertainment? I didn't ask to be a part of it, and neither did L. Honestly, I don’t think I appreciate the lot of you using me to be amused.”

“Hyung, that’s not what happened at all.” 

“How would you know, you didn’t have to be dragged through the mud. And let’s talk about you.” He gestured to Chunji, sitting in front of Ljoe with an unreadable expression. The fear, the intimidation that he felt prior, all dissipated. Direct eye contact was made, an unfaltering gaze. “What the hell is your problem? You look properly down in the dumps lately. Was that before or after you punched me in the face?” 

Cap didn’t exactly have this kind of confrontation in mind when he thought of a group chat. But this was better than nothing, feelings were being aired out. That was the only way anyone could mediate the situation, right? 

Chunji didn’t hesitate in his response. “I can have an off day. Some days the choreography is hard to keep up with. You had a lot of down time to lounge around and practice, the rest of us did musicals and dramas, memorized lines and stage directions and lyrics— sorry for keeping busy.” 

Ljoe’s jaw twitched. 

“You were always so damn insensitive. If I hadn’t punched you, you would have punched me. It was better you than me, I actually have other schedules I need to get to.” 

“Are you asking for a fight, Chunji? You do realize how ridiculous you sound, right? I always put this team first. This—this is everything to me. I put 100 percent into everything I do, whether it be directly related to group activities or not. It’s not really my problem that you’ve put your musical business before our team. Stop pretending your schedule is packed and that you were completely justified. You’re not the only one who has things, but nobody else seemed to have a problem. Just you. I wonder what that says about your character. If you’re not interested in Teen Top, then get the hell out. Leaves room for the rest of us who are actually serious about our craft.” 

Cap groaned. Changjo and Ricky shared uneasy looks. “Ljoe, stop. That was uncalled for.” 

Ljoe looked towards Cap. “Am I wrong? I don’t want any dead weight in this team, and neither do you. If Chunji has better things to do than to practice like the rest of us, then he is welcome to leave. We have a lead vocal- two, actually.” 

In truth, Chunji was letting Ljoe’s words go through one ear and out the other. All he could think about was him and L, together. They weren’t set up with the intention of actually having them together. But suddenly things got so skewed. Did it upset him? Yes, it sure as hell did. Chunji was the one that was there for him when things got hard. They were a team, him and Ljoe and the rest of the guys. They were all there for each other, had gone through so much hardship to get to where they were. But one lame set up and suddenly Ljoe found a million and one reasons to put L before him? Where was the logic in that? “Ljoe. You’re an .” 

“Get your priorities in check, Chunji. When we debuted, we agreed that we were first. This team was first. Smarten up, and don’t ruin it for the rest of us. And if all of this is about L, well, that makes you even more pathetic.” Venom laced through his words. Unapologetic, and cruel. “Did you honestly think one set up would make L and I fall for each other? The whole thing is a ruse, him and I are friends, two friends that was pissed off that both of their groups put them together for their own enjoyment. None of that is real. If you let some petty thing like that affect your performance, you’re more of a deadweight than I thought.”

Chunji’s body froze. His mind needed a second to process the information. “A…ruse? Not real?” 

“Hyung. Seriously.” Niel sighed, shaking his head. “The whole thing was fake?”

“Maybe the next time you all need some other play thing, you look elsewhere.” 

“You— you lied about the entire thing?” Chunji asked, expression suddenly hardening. 

“What? Do you like me or something? You were the most bothered out of everyone, why is that?” Ljoe challenged, an eyebrow raising in anticipation. 

Things got a little more awkward. Cap wanted to dismiss the rest of the members, but he knew that if he left the two of them alone in a room, this situation would only get worse. Chunji, on the other hand, was terrified. This wasn’t exactly how he planned the talk to go. Ljoe was clearly unamused by the entire situation. Even him. He looked… disgusted. With him. And that wasn’t okay.

“I—”