The color of white – it was purity, cleansing and innocence. White was also Kim Sunggyu’s favorite color. Although he had a strict complexity most of the time due to being the oldest, on occasions he would relax and let out a gentle smile. It was a parental smile, just like the other members were his children. He also had an alluring voice. It was clear that it had been blessed, it sounded almost angelic. No, it was angelic. 

 

It had been a few weeks since Infinite’s manager decided for a change in dorms. The members however were hesitant at first but accepted when they realized it was closer to their dance studio and larger in size. All the members sat down that day sorting out rooms for each other. Woohyun had enthusiastically suggested to partner up with his favorite hamster – Sunggyu, arguing that he wouldn’t be able to sleep and wake up properly without the man around. Sunggyu, of course, sighed but nevertheless accepted, mumbling something along the lines of “Don’t be ridiculous, you’ll survive without me.” 

 

Woohyun doubted it though. 

---

Woohyun groaned, pushing himself backwards into the soft cushions of the sofa. He positioned the remote control at the television, flicking through the channels in a bored manner. Today he was informed along with Sunggyu that they were free to do what they wanted since there were no things scheduled for them. It was a rare chance to get away from work however there was nothing to do.

 

Woohyun glanced over at the watch tightened around his wrist. Dongwoo and Hoya were busy with activities for Infinite H, planning for a new release. On the other hand, Myungsoo, Sungyeol and Sungjong were invited to guest on Running Man so the members wouldn’t be back until late at night. 

 

“Did you find anything interesting watch?” questioned a voice, interrupting Woohyun’s train of thought. 

 

Woohyun huffed, turning his head towards Sunggyu whom slipped himself next to the younger on the sofa. “Not at all, why do they always play the boring stuff when we have time to spare?” 

 

Sunggyu opened his mouth to respond until the news reporter in the television started speaking in an excited tone. 

“It has been reported that there are signs of a meteor shower hitting Seoul later on this week, make sure to stay out during the night to witness the amazing view! There will be updates on this event in the next couple of days, stay tuned.” 

 

The two of them exchanged glances. Sunggyu diverted first, breaking the contact. “Do you want to watch it with me?” he begun, staring intensely at the television and determined not to look at the younger. 

 

“What?” exclaimed Woohyun in surprise; he hadn’t expected the strict leader to be so easy-going. 

 

“I thought you liked things like this. You know, star watching and stuff.” mumbled Sunggyu, it was barely audible. “If it’s a stupid idea, forget it.” 

 

The man was replied with a pair of lively eyes and a smile etched on Woohyun’s face. “No!” announced the younger in protest, “It’s not a stupid idea, I really want to go out with you!” 

 

Sunggyu’s eyes widened by a fraction, followed by Woohyun who realized what he had just said. “I mean—going out as in hanging out! You know, as good friends.” He rambled on quickly, stumbling on words. 

 

A light chuckle carried across the room as the older smiled softly. Woohyun look a glimpsed at him and sprouted his own smile, showing his pearly white teeth. He liked it when the other was relaxed.

 

“Good, It’s a promise, alright?” 

 

“Of course.” 

---

“Hey, Sunggyu-hyung.” 

"Hmm…?” 

 

Sunggyu and Woohyun were currently at a shopping centre in Myeongdong, a busy business district in Seoul. They were completely free from eavesdroppers – or so Woohyun had thought. He was completely oblivious to the inspirits that tried to blend into other customers at the coffee shop. They leaned forward on their seats as the two men got into a deeper conversation. 

 

“You know the necklaces with our symbol on it? The ones we were promoting during our concerts?” questioned Woohyun

 

“What about it?” recalled Sunggyu, not really understanding what Woohyun was implying. He took a sip of his iced coffee, acknowledging the rich creamy taste. 

 

“Apparently our stylists want us to keep wearing it because the amount of sales for them went overboard,” explained Woohyun.

 

“Oh, is that all?” asked Sunggyu in confusion. 

 

“Nope!” concluded Woohyun, moving closer to the older man in a suspicious manner. “Close your eyes and hold out your hand.” 

 

Hesitantly the leader held out his palm, unsure what to make of it. He felt a light tinge of coldness spread through his skin as a metal was placed on top. Curiously, he opened his eyes to find the same necklace they were talking about. He frowned at it as he furrowed his eyebrows.

 

“I got them to alter our necklaces a bit. It’s still silver but if you look at the outline it’s a shiny gloss of cream white.” Commented Woohyun, nodding his head in approval. “After all, we have a special bond as main vocals of Infinite, don’t we?” 

 

Sunggyu inspected the necklace closer, the chain dangling in front of his eyes. It was true; there was a delicate layer of angelic white surrounding the infinity symbol. “It looks beautiful…” muttered Sunggyu quietly, mesmerized by its beauty. “Thank you.”

 

Despite this Woohyun was able to catch his leader’s words. He sighed, relieved that the older man liked the alteration. Woohyun came across the idea when he remembered that Sunggyu’s favorite color was white. He couldn’t help but think that the color suited Sunggyu the best. He was white in every aspect, personality, voice and even scent. He wished that their friendship—no, their bond as main vocals of Infinite would always remain the untouched innocent white. 

 

Basically he was wrong, he didn’t even think about the future at the time. 

---

“You what?” exclaimed Sungyeol in an excited tone, nudging Woohyun with his elbow. “That’s literally the same thing as going on a date!” 

“Not to mention, you guys altered the necklaces without telling us, we’re all hurt.” Spoke Hoya in a smug manner. 

 

“Oh come on, guys. Leave Woohyun-hyung alone.” Intercepted Sungjong, “I’m sure they’ll announce their marriage to us later on.” Added in the maknae, giving the members a secretive wink. 

 

“You aren’t making it any better for them, Sungjong-yah.” Replied Myungsoo, shaking his head. “Though it is interesting…” 

 

“What’s going on?” chirped Dongwoo, waltzing into the room with a cheerful attitude. 

 

“Hyung, Woohyun-hyung was telling us about his date with Sunggyu-hyung and—“ 

 

“Date?” inquired Dongwoo, looking amused. “Tell me about it.” 

 

Woohyun swiftly clamped his hand over Sungyeol’s mouth, leaving the sounds of muffled ranting from the boy’s mouth. 

 

“By the way, where exactly is Sunggyu-hyung?” stated Myungsoo, looking around the room. “Shouldn’t he be at home by now?” 

 

Woohyun smiled, “Don’t worry, he just went to buy some ingredients for our dinner, I’ll be cooking tonight.” 

 

“Score!” shouted Sungyeol and Dongwoo in unison. 

 

Hoya gave a slight smile, “You really do take after your parents, Woohyun-yah.” 

 

“Eventually he’ll get home,” said Woohyun, “Meanwhile, all of you help me set up the table with cutlery.”  

 

A lively chatter and laughter surrounded the warm atmosphere as busy hands placed forks, knives and spoons onto the table in a careful order. 

 

Woohyun stirred a pot of soup with a wooden spoon and pondered happily. Sometimes he thought he was looking after a family of children. 

---

No, this was wrong. 

 

Sunggyu’s vision blurred as he collapsed to the floor. 

 

The necklace previously hung around his neck clinked as it clashed against the ground, a silver-white infinity symbol evidently separated from its chain. He reached his hands towards it but was unable to grasp it. 

 

His breath staggered. It was hard to breathe now and it was suffocating. 

“Woohyun-yah, look after the kids for me.” He managed out, voice cracking. 

 

 

“There is a criminal on the loose. He has attempted significant amounts of kidnaps for the last several weeks. Please be aware of your surroundings at all times and report any suspicious activity to the police.” 

---

Woohyun felt a headache incoming, a strong throbbing pulse steadily rising. 

He made his way towards the kitchen; opening the cabinet he pulled out some pills for the headache. He swallowed them and drowned it with water. He hoped his headache wouldn’t get any worse but he had a bad feeling about it. 

 

“Maybe he has something important to tell us?” came a loud voice from the living room; it was no doubt the voice of Sungyeol. 

 

“True…Sunggyu-hyung is quite late, maybe Hyoan-hyung is with him?” 

 

“But at this time…?” 

 

Woohyun ignored his pain for now and made his way towards the living room with a glass of water in his hand. Slipping into the area where all five members were present he observed the situation. Dongwoo was quietly whispering to Hoya – the usually tough man, who at this point looked torn down. Sungyeol and Sungjong were exchanging hurt expressions and pats on the back. Lastly there was Myungsoo. He looked worse than anyone in the room. With a mobile against his ear Myungsoo managed to breathe out ‘yes’ as the answers to everything he was being asked. 

 

Woohyun furrowed his eyebrows, unable to catch what exactly the atmosphere was formed by. He strode ahead to where Myungsoo stood when he heard the familiar noise of a call ending. Before any words were formed Myungsoo looked up with emotionless eyes. The younger parted his lips to announce the information he had just received. 

 

This was followed by the smashing sound of glass shattering on the wooden planked floor and a deafening cry. 

---

“Get a new leader?” repeated Hoya in disbelief as he crossed his arms. 

“There has been no news on Sunggyu-ssi for the last few weeks, it is possible that by the time the police finds him he’ll already be gone.” Stressed out Hyoan, he was in charge of telling the Infinite members the news. 

 

“Shut up!” snapped Sungjong, “He can’t be gone that easily, he’s our leader.” The youngest glared, outraged by the man’s conclusion. 

 

“Well I'd rather have no leader at all.” Growled Hoya. The rapper paced out of the room in a furious manner, avoiding any contact. 

 

 The room was left with an eerie silence. Nobody spoke. The fact they were just suggested to get a new leader – especially to someone they didn’t know at all was absurd. How were they expected to get along and keep their synchronization? And like Hoya, the members were bewildered at the idea of replacing their old leader – Kim Sunggyu, the twenty-five year old who they have grown an attraction towards since their debut. Nobody understood each member as much as him. 

 

Why did it have to him? They couldn’t help but think selfishly for a second. Out of all the people in Seoul, why did it have to be Sunggyu?

 

Why.

---

 

“Of course he has to come to practice!” hissed Hoya in an irritated tone, “Does he really think that Sunggyu-hyung wants us to just sit in our dorm and mourn about his death forever?” 

 

“Just give him a couple of more days…he was the closest to Hyung. You should know that.” replied Dongwoo quietly. 

 

“Fine. But don’t start thinking it’s the end of Infinite because he isn’t here with us anymore. Woohyun-hyung was arranged to be our new leader because that’s what he wanted! If he was really that close to Sunggyu-hyung then he should know that our leader would never want us to give up our dreams just because of this.” 

 

It had been a couple of weeks since Sunggyu’s death. All the members were of course shaken by the future held ahead for their group but had accepted the fact that no matter how many nights they spent reminiscing about the man or calling for him he was never going to return. This was by the exception of Woohyun –

Nam Woohyun, the man who was now deprived of any feelings of affection. The change was almost unbelievable. 

 

Woohyun locked himself in his room – or supposedly ‘Sunggyu’ and his room for the last couple of weeks. Infinite had been on hiatus since the death and it was partly Woohyun’s fault. He wasn’t ready to accept the death of such a person yet. 

 

He held his mobile, flicking through websites as his eyes scanned across uproars from netizens online regarding their group. He gave the screen a bitter laugh, it seems that it wasn’t only him who was sinking. 

 

Soon it became nighttime. The rhythmical chirping of crickets and birds were the only audible noise heard from Woohyun’s bedroom. The man lied down with his knees to his chest, making himself seem smaller than he already was. He hadn’t eaten – barely eaten. He had managed to snack on some food in his room, not wanting to leave his haven. This was a secure place where he could pretend for a second that Sunggyu would be alive, nudging him in the morning to wake up. 

 

 The door slammed open, much to Woohyun’s discomfort. 

 

“Okay, that’s it. We’re all going out.” 

---

Shining rains of glittering jewels shot across the sky, each one illuminating brighter than the other. The scenery was simply breathtaking, it had been the most radiant thing Woohyun had seen for a while. All the members looked at the sky in awe, only able to stare. 

 

 “Let’s make a wish each!” exclaimed Sungyeol, quickly gathering his hands into a praying position and closing his eyes. The other members nodded in agreement and followed his actions. Woohyun did the same, shutting his eyes and whispering his wish, a wish he hoped that would come true.

 

Nobody told each other what they had wished for but as soon as they exchanged eye contact they all knew what the wishes were about.

 

Leaving the place after a few more minutes of enjoying the sight the members made their way back to the dorms, feeling somewhat fulfilled and lighter. Was this the hope Sunggyu left behind for them to witness? 

 

Woohyun held a sincere smile on his face as he walked behind the members. Dongwoo came crashing into him along with Sungyeol, who seemed amused. 

 

“Hyung, you’re smiling!” gestured Sungyeol, “What are you thinking about?” 

 

This caught the attention of the other members, causing them to turn their heads backwards.

 

Hell, what had Woohyun even been stuck on? He was meant to be the liveliness of Infinite and Sunggyu would probably even slap him to death if he knew about his behavior for the last couple of nights.  

 

“Nothing,” started Woohyun with a mischievous grin, 

 

“Last one to reach the dorm needs to clean up for the rest of the month!” 

 

“You—!“ yelled Sungyeol, startled by the sudden statement by the man. 

 

At cue the man sprinted away from the group, leaving behind a chorus of complaints and laughter as members ran to catch up to the new leader of Infinite. 

 

“I wish that Sunggyu-hyung will be able to see Infinite when it becomes the group he wanted to lead.” 

---

The lights flickered and the crowds of Inspirits cheered on the men that entered the stage one by one. Sungyeol skipped in first, grinning with enthusiasm. Myungsoo followed in, slinging his arm across Sungyeol’s back as they walked to the center of the stage together, earning a loud scream from the crowd. Sungjong followed in, bowing down at the crowd and giving a wink. Hoya and Dongwoo came in next with fingers interlocked, Dongwoo swung their hands up high and Hoya looked away absentmindly, a small smile evident on his face.

 

The screaming got louder when Woohyun appeared on the stage throwing hearts. “It’s nice to see the large number of inspirits gathered here today, are you ready for the first performance?” declared Woohyun, catching the attention of the fans. 

 

It was returned with shrieks and fist pumping. Inspirits shouted out words of encouragement and names of members out of excitement. Woohyun beamed at the reaction and took a deep breath, “Let’s get started then!” 

 

The lights turned off as the music started blasting out of the speakers. The members immediately got into their choreography for Paradise. They had to change the performance slightly due to the absence of Sunggyu. Myungsoo commenced the singing. 

 

A familiar man with distinctive eyes and tousled brown hair stood next to Woohyun as the younger begun singing his leader’s part in the song. The two commenced singing a duet and strangely enough everyone in the room could hear it. Inspirits looked around the arena in confusion but settled down to listen intently.

 

As it drew to an end Sunggyu smiled proudly at all the members and inspirits before he vanished into a rain of white feathers.

 

Woohyun glanced over and muffled a gasp, almost forgetting to sing his lines. After his part ended Woohyun closed his eyes and reopened them, rubbing it when he noticed the older man missing from the spot he was at a few seconds ago. Woohyun composed himself and went straight back into the choreography. He smiled, “Thank you, Sunggyu-ah.” 

 

Unable to stop his tears to stop flowing he continued to sing into the microphone as the chorus started to play, trying his hardest to ignore the liquids of water forming in his eyes. 

No, this wasn’t the end.

Slowly, metallic gold balloons drifted down into the spacious hall, covering everything. 

 

 

There will never be an end to Infinite because their time will flow infinitely.

---