CHAPTER 3

Youngjae clenched his fists tightly, shaking with rage “What did you say…?” he whispered, taking a threatening step towards Daehyun. The other vocalist repeated his words with a serious face “I said, I won’t let you have him” Daehyun, without breaking eye-contact with Youngjae, leaned a little bit to the side and kissed Zelo on the cheek, dangerously close to his lips. The maknae mumbled something in his sleep and unconsciously snuggled closer to the hyung holding him. Daehyun looked at him lovingly and smiled.

“Get away from him this instant!” Youngjae whisper-shouted, furious. The other vocalist glared at his bandmate and growled, tightening his grip around Junhong. If Youngjae wasn’t so pissed, he would have gotten scared by this growl and the feral look in the other’s eyes. He stepped closer, ready to tear Daehyun away from Zelo, when suddenly someone walked into the kitchen and switched the lights on. Youngjae flinched and Daehyun let go of Junhong in order to shield his eyes from the brightness that abruptly flooded the room.

“What are you doing here this late? Did you get hungry?” asked innocently the person, who almost blinded the two fighting men.

As Youngjae’s eyes have gotten used to the brightness, he saw that the one who switched the lights on was Jongup. He looked at the second maknae and smiled reassuringly “Yeah, a little bit” Daehyun seemed to catch on and nodded enthusiastically.

“But… why were you here with the lights turned off?” confused dancer cocked his head to the side.

There was a prolonged silence as the two vocalists didn’t know what to say. After a few awkward seconds, a genius idea struck Daehyun: “We didn’t want to wake Zelo up”

Reaction was instantaneous – Jongup’s eyes widened considerably, an apology slipped past his lips. He hurriedly turned off the lights and pushed the two boys out of the kitchen, closing the door quietly behind them.

As the three of them headed to their shared room, Youngjae couldn’t help but wonder whether Junhong’s back wouldn’t hurt after a night spent on the kitchen’s chair.

The next morning the band headed to the practice room. Yongguk ordered one more training before filming their new MV. As usual, they started with stretching exercises. Youngjae couldn't help but stare at Zelo's when the maknae was doing bends.

"Focus, Jae, focus" he thought he would have a heart attack when Daehyun suddenly appeared behind him.

The vocalist sent Youngjae a smirk. Then he walked towards bending Junhong and smack-squeezed his . Zelo squealed in surprise and lost his balance, falling forward in a somewhat push-up pose. Youngjae seethed with anger as Daehyun straddled the maknae and proceeded to tickle him. Zelo was giggling and squirming, trying to free himself. He only managed to turn so that he was laying on his back now. Daehyun pinned Junhong's arms above his head with one hand and continued tickling him mercilessly with the other. He even went as far as to slip that hand under the maknae's shirt.

Youngjae was on the verge of tearing the other vocalist's arms from its sockets but then Himchan spoke up:

"Daehyun, cut it out, we have to practice" it was obvious that he didn't have enough sleep as he was grumpier than normal.

"Since when are you so passionate about training?" Daehyun pouted but got off of Zelo who stood up and ran away to the other corner of the practice room.

After practice, manager Kang picked them up and drove them to the filming set. Youngjae made it his personal mission to observe Daehyun and make sure that he isn’t anywhere close to Zelo. It proved to be quite a difficult task while filming his part of the MV. The fact that he was surrounded by mirrors didn’t help.

“Ow… my back hurts… my neck too…” he heard Zelo whimper somewhere behind him. He discreetly moved, so that he could see the maknae in the mirror. The teenager was pouting and rubbing his neck. ‘I knew I should have woken him up then…’ Youngjae thought bitterly. It must have reflected on his face for the filming director shouted: “Great expression of regret, Youngjae! Now we will be filming the part where you punch the mirror, okay? Get ready! Oh, and remember not to actually break the mirror, I don’t want you bleeding all over the set.”

Youngjae was slightly worried about this scene. He didn’t want to hit the mirror too forcefully. But on the other hand if he hits it too lightly, the scene wouldn’t be dynamic enough and they will have to film it one more time. There was also another problem: how could he hit the mirror in which the love of his life was reflected?

Just as he was about to move, so that he would be facing another mirror, he saw Daehyun walking up to Zelo. The vocalist said something to the maknae, to which the teenager nodded hesitantly. Daehyun got behind the taller boy and started massaging his neck. Youngjae sworn he heard a moan slip past Junhong’s lips.

That was it. He was so furious that he punched the mirror with all his might, breaking it in the process. He didn’t give a damn about his bleeding hand, he just wanted to strangle Daehyun and shoot him in the face. Multiple times.

Pushing aside worried staff members, he ran towards the other vocalist and knocked him on the floor. Youngjae was about to punch him in the face when Yongguk and Jongup grabbed both of his arms and dragged him away. Zelo helping Daehyun stand up felt like salt in the wound. But the look the maknae shot him afterwards was even worse. His expression was a mixture between anger and confusion. ‘Why did you do this?’ the dancer seemed to ask.

He felt like a .

It turned out that the part when Youngjae smashed the mirror was filmed, slightly edited so that the blood would look fake, and put in the MV. The vocalist was sitting on a bench, watching the director film Zelo’s parts. He was glad that they filmed group scenes earlier, otherwise he might have slowed everyone down by trying to kill Daehyun every chance he got.

Just as he was entertaining the thought about strangling Daehyun with a microphone cord, the source of his problems sat beside him with a grim expression.

Youngjae shot him a curious look. Grim Daehyun was a rare sight, so rare that he decided to put his hatred for the other vocalist aside for a little while.

“Don’t you want to kill her?” slightly older boy asked suddenly, his eyes boring holes into the girl with whom the maknae was holding hands.

Youngjae pondered over it for a moment. “She pisses me off but the filming will be over soon and we won’t see her for a very long time” he finally said. “I want to kill you more than her” the vocalist declared after a slight pause and Daehyun snorted. He looked at Youngjae with a smirk.

“You know that he will pick me over you, right?”

“Yeah, right. He isn’t interested in someone who stuffs their face with cheesecake every chance they got.”

“Oh yeah? Well, at least I didn’t force him to pretend to be my boyfriend!”

Youngjae felt as if someone had slapped him. He flinched, paling slightly. Daehyun noticed that and smiled a triumphant smile.

“That’s right, you can’t force yourself on him like that. Have you ever thought about his feelings?”

“I…” Youngjae stammered.

“He haven’t even dated a girl before and now he has to pretend before whole world that he has a boyfriend”

“Sh-shut up…”

“Now you only have to sit beside him on every interview but I’m sure that manager will order you two to hold hands or more. Zelo will get sick of you and that whole acting, he will refuse to pretend eventually”

“I said shut up”

“He will hate you and wouldn’t want to even look at your face”

“SHUT THE UP!” Youngjae stood up and shouted, angry tears b in the corners of his eyes.

Daehyun also raised himself from the bench “YOU JUST CAN’T FACE THE TRUTH! YOU WON’T HAVE HIM, I WON’T LET YOU!”

Both of them were losing control at a rapid pace. It was a miracle that nobody heard them despite quite close proximity between them, the staff and other band members.

“I LOVED HIM FIRST!” Youngjae grabbed Daehyun’s collar, almost ripping it.

“I LOVE HIM MORE!” retorted the silver haired man, shoving his opponent.

It wasn’t much before they began wrestling, rolling on the ground, pulling on each other’s hair and throwing punches. Only then did the rest of the people notice their fight.

“What are you, kindergarten children?!” roared Yongguk, grabbing both of them by the arms “I don’t want to see you fighting again, understood?” his tone of voice didn’t leave any room for arguing. Youngjae and Daehyun nodded, glaring at each other. Their leader sighed. “What the hell is wrong with you two anyway?” he never got his answer.

One day, after they finished filming Japanese version of No Mercy, the six of them got the long-awaited one free day. Zelo went skateboarding, Jongup was watching “Frozen”, Daehyun and Himchan went shopping and Yongguk locked himself away in the studio and worked on their next album. As for Youngjae, he was simply laying on his bed and thinking how the hell did they manage to film No Mercy before even releasing a teaser to 1004.

‘Surely someone from the staff knows how to stop the time, there’s no other explanation’

He was listing in his head people who could have this ability when he heard the bedroom door opening. He looked in that direction. All his thoughts evaporated, he focused only on the beautiful sight three metres in front of him.

Zelo, wearing nothing but a pair of washed-out jeans and a white wife-beater, entered the room. His hair was wet and smelled sweetly of shampoo. The maknae crossed the room in a few steps and plugged the hair dryer into the socket near Youngjae’s bed. He seemed lost in thoughts and didn’t notice the vocalist staring at him and admiring his slightly toned body.

A low, whirring noise filled the room as the tall boy was drying his hair. He was standing so close that Youngjae could easily wrap his arm around the younger’s waist. He didn’t do anything though. He just kept watching the silver haired rapper in silence.

After a while the teenager turned off the hair dryer and put it on the windowsill. He tied his hair into a short, messy ponytail and looked at the other boy sadly.

“Ne, hyung?” he asked, his sockless toes curling into the carpet nervously.

“What is it, Junnie?”

Zelo sat on the bed that Youngjae was laying on. He was quiet for a while, fiddling with his thumbs. Yet another nervous habit. It only made the vocalist more and more curious.

“Why… why do you fight with Daehyun hyung so much…?” asked Junhong finally, looking everywhere but at the other.

A sigh escaped Youngjae’s lips. He knew that the boy would ask him this question sooner or later. Of course, that didn’t mean he prepared his answer beforehand. The vocalist closed his eyes, thinking: ‘Do I tell him the truth or not?’

Zelo misinterpreted the gesture. He pouted, offended. “Hyung, stop ignoring me” he pounced on Youngjae and prodded his cheek. The vocalist’s eyes shot open momentarily. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the attractive boy on top of him, his backside slightly raised in the air.

Youngjae inhaled sharply. The maknae’s pink, pouting lips tempted him more than ever. He unconsciously raised his left hand and buried his fingers in Junhong’s soft, silver locks, making his black hairband fall.

The young rapper blushed furiously when the vocalist leaned up, their faces only millimetres apart. “H-hyung…?” he whispered shakily, lips trembling a little.

“Sorry, I just… you have pretty hair, that’s all” despite his words, Youngjae made no attempt to move away. He smiled upon noticing Zelo’s blush getting more prominent. The maknae averted his eyes, biting his lower lip slightly. “Stop doing this” he let go of Junhong’s hair and cupped his cheek instead “you will ruin it” he traced the younger’s lower lip with his thumb, making him stop biting it.

“Hyung… what about my question…?” asked the tall boy timidly.

“It’s complicated, Junnie”

Zelo seemed to forget about his embarrassment for a moment and got angry instead “Do you think I won’t understand? Hyung, stop treating me like a little chi-mpf…!” he couldn’t finish his sentence for Youngjae closed the gap between them and kissed him.

The vocalist looked with half-lidded eyes into Junhong’s wide open ones. The boy’s face was as red as a tomato. Youngjae smirked into the kiss. ‘So cute…’

Youngjae wrapped his right arm around Zelo’s waist while moving his left hand to the back of the rapper’s neck. He brushed Junhong’s lower lip with his tongue, silently asking for entrance. The maknae shuddered slightly, shutting his eyes. After a moment of hesitation he parted his lips a little. The vocalist slipped his tongue inside the hot cavern, closing his eyes as well. He Zelo’s tongue, eliciting a moan from him. The older boy’s heart started beating faster when he heard that sound. For him there wasn’t anything more beautiful than this. He wanted to hear more.

Youngjae swapped their positions, so that Zelo was laying on his back. The vocalist pinned the younger’s wrists above his head and then trailed kisses from his chin up to his ear.

“Delicious…” he whispered and Junhong blushed.

The singer continued his trail of kisses, stopping at the junction of Zelo’s neck and shoulder. He bit into the skin there and it lightly. The dancer moaned loudly. Youngjae kept kissing, and leaving hickeys all over the boy’s sensitive neck, enjoying sounds that he made.

Suddenly someone knocked, interrupting their moment of passion.

“Junhong, is everything all right?” Jongup’s timid voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

“Y-yeah…” the boy answered, almost breathless. Youngjae released his arms quickly when the doorknob moved, indicating that Jongup was about to enter the room. Zelo sat up, smoothened down his hair and moved to the other side of the bed, away from the vocalist.

The second maknae came in with a worried expression on his face. “Are you sure? It sounded like you were in great pain…”

The rapper covered the hickeys on the side of his neck with one hand when Jongup walked a bit closer. “It’s just… my neck kind of hurt… but it’s good now, hyung helped me with that…” realising how suggestive it sounded Zelo blushed furiously. Youngjae’s sly smile didn’t make things any better.

The dancer looked at Youngjae as if just noticing him. “Youngjae hyung, you promised to watch Frozen with me” he grabbed the vocalist’s hand and began pulling him in the direction of the living room. “You should come too, Junhong” he smiled broadly.

“I’ll join you two later, ok?” Jongup nodded to this and left the room with Youngjae in tow.

The vocalist had a feeling that he knew why Zelo wanted to stay behind. And when the maknae came into the living room wearing a turtleneck he laughed merrily, confusing Jongup and making the youngest blush.

The hickeys were visible for a long time, even till their appearance on After School Club. Throughout all this period Zelo was always wearing something that covered his neck, be it a sweater or a bandana. Nobody in the band suspected anything and that fact both pleased and annoyed Youngjae. On the one hand he wanted to avoid lectures from Yongguk or Himchan about corrupting the youngest but on the other he wanted everyone to know that Zelo belongs to him. He found a compromise, however, and decided to show his affection in another way.

The opportunity presented itself when they were invited to ASC. As always the band were to sing one of their songs. Youngjae kneeled in front of Junhong and sung his part while holding the boy’s hand. He gazed lovingly into the other’s eyes and mourned the fact that he would have to let go soon and stand up. What surprised him was that Daehyun too, did something unscripted, namely hugged Zelo when the youngest was rapping. Youngjae didn’t have time to get angry because as soon as the maknae finished his part he wrapped his long arms around him.

Maybe it was naïve but in that exact moment Youngjae thought that the tall boy preferred him to Daehyun. And when Zelo wanted to say something in his ear, Youngjae turned and gave him a small, discreet kiss on the cheek. The best part? Daehyun was singing during this little burst of affection and his voice shook with barely concealed jealousy.

Just after they finished filming, manager Kang walked up to the six boys and stopped them for a little while.

“Just now the CEO called” at that sentence every band member stood a little bit straighter, anxiousness rolling off of them in waves. The man continued: “He said that Youngjae and Zelo will start working on their sub-unit after Live On Earth 2014 comes to an end. I think it will be somewhere around second half of June, maybe early July”

“A sub-unit…?” Yongguk asked cautiously, looking at the two boys in question “With all due respect, hyung, but why do we find out just now…?”

Daehyun didn’t even wait for the explanation and just stormed out of the studio towards the car. Jongup wanted to go after him at first but was stopped by Himchan who grabbed his wrist.

“Let the kid sulk” he said and looked at their manager expectantly.

“Right. I didn’t want to cause an unnecessary commotion because I wasn’t sure that the CEO would agree to the idea of Youngjae and Zelo collaborating”

Yongguk nodded his head, even smiling a little. It was evident that he was proud of his band members.

“Ah, to be honest, I’m worrying about this…” Junhong thought out loud and everybody looked at him curiously “I mean, what if we won’t get many fans and the CEO will be disappointed?”

“Are you kidding me?” Himchan exploded suddenly “You and Youngjae have more fans than I do! It’s like, one third of our fan base! Aish, it really is annoying sometimes”

In light atmosphere the six men made their way to the van, in which Daehyun was already sitting. He looked as if a raincloud was right above his head. All the way to the dorm he was silent and only glared at the back of Youngjae’s head. But then, just as the manager parked the car outside of their dorm, the vocalist smirked evilly, creeping out Jongup, who was sitting next to him.

First of all I want to apologize to all my readers that it took so long to update this story. University life doesn't treat me as nicely as I would have liked OTL

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If there are grammar mistakes or if something sounds awkward/not natural, do let me know.

Here's the link to that awsome ASC episode, in case someone haven't seen it yet  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi4ejqxarFo#t=3172