The Devil’s Deception

            The maknaes were fighting for two days straight, so I was beginning to prepare myself for a miserable time in Kobe, which was a bummer because we usually looked so forward to eating the gyu beef while we were there.  But nothing surprised me more than to find out that the maknaes were still taking the same flight out of Seoul.  Then again, those flights could have been arranged so long ago, it was impossible to switch them last minute.  But even the staff text me to tell me that they were getting along fine.

            They’d even gone out to eat together after they arrived in Japan.  I wasn’t with them yet.  And they took a selfie together which made it look like everything was fine between them. 

            I later got a text from Kyuhyun.  Do you mind if Ryeong and I room together the whole time we’re in Kobe?  How could I refuse?  Just the other day, they weren’t even on speaking terms.  Clearly something had changed and I’d be damned if I was going to be the one to put a stop to it.

            Sure.  You two getting along again?

            Tell you about it later.  Thanks.

            I didn’t have much time to wonder about it and I didn’t end up seeing them until we arrived at the stadium the next day to get ready for our concert.  Kyuhyun and Ryeowook were acting exceptionally clingy again.  I admit, I was kind of dying to know what had come about, so I was relieved when Kyuhyun finally left to have his makeup done and Ryeowook sought me out.

            “Sungie-ah!” Ryeowook said, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me.  “Hello!”

            “Hello,” I said, laughing at his infectious good mood.  “Things seem to be going rather smooth today, I see.  What gives?”

            “Ah, Kyuhyun and I sat down for a heart to heart and he explained that he hasn’t been ignoring me at all.  It was just circumstantial that all those things kept happening when I wanted to get together with him.”

            Coincidental?  Well, perhaps not, but it wasn’t done intentionally by Kyuhyun either, so it wasn’t a lie.  “That explains why you were pissed off at him, but why was he so upset with you?” I questioned.

            “He was just angry that I accused him of avoiding me when he always wants to see me.”

            I smiled wide and rubbed my hand up and down Ryeowook’s back.  “I’m glad the two of you have come to an understanding,” I said.

            “But I noticed that he’s acting different around me, Sungie-ah.”

            “How so?” I asked, backing away and taking off my shirt to change into our first costume.

            “I don’t know for sure if I’m right, but…I think he might be flirting with me.  I mean, not just pretend like we do onstage, but for real,” Ryeowook said, biting his finger.  He’s so cute when he’s nervous.

            “What makes you think that?”

            “He keeps touching me and teasing me when no one else is around,” he said.

            “Really?” I asked, stealing a glance at Kyuhyun.

            As it turned out, Kyuhyun was watching us carefully through the reflection of the mirror.  Perhaps he was jealous of us talking together.  Well, this was quite the switch from the last couple days, but then again, we were all so taken off guard by the fight, we didn’t know what to think.  The maknaes hadn’t fought like that in years.  Not since they first started out.  Not since…not since the day of the accident that almost claimed Kyuhyun’s life, so many years ago.  Since then, they only bickered occasionally.  There were never nasty blowups.  No name-calling or ignoring each other for days on end.  So it was a relief to hear they were back to normal.  It was unsettling to think that we might have created a rift between them.  None of us wanted to admit to the truth, of course.  We were still hoping to get then together.