Yuho was the last member to join the 6 members of 7SPOT.
The current agency manager scouted Yuho after he had participated in a local singing contest where he only received a participation award, and the company CEO added him to the debut team as a vocal and visual member, despite Yuho never having danced before.
Yuho still couldn’t forget the shocked expressions of the members when they saw his dancing skills on his first day.
Since the leader Taylor was busy with the final work on the album tracks, Yuho was naturally handed over to Inhan, another dance member.
“Did you turn off the air conditioner?”
“Yes.”
“What about the speakers?”
“I turned them off.”
“What about your outer clothes?”
“This is all I have. I only came wearing this.”
“It’s cold outside.”
“It’s fine. It’s only a 20-minute walk anyway.”
“If you get cold wind while you’re still sweaty, you’ll catch a cold.”
Saying that, Inhan took the jacket he had casually draped over his shoulder and wrapped it around Yuho’s shoulders.
Hyung, let me help. Even though Yuho could put it on by himself, Inhan personally helped him put his arms through the sleeves and didn’t forget to zip it up.
“What about you?”
“I’m still hot.”
“It’ll be cold when we go outside.”
“I’m an idiot, so I don’t catch colds.”
“Who says that?”
“Taeyoon hyung.”
If Taylor hyung says so, it must be true. Yuho nodded at the strangely convincing answer, and Inhan, satisfied, took Yuho’s hand.
More precisely, he grabbed the oversized jacket sleeve that was covering Yuho’s hand.
“Hyung, where’s your hand?”
“Here.”
Yuho smiled as he wiggled his hand inside the sleeve that Inhan was holding.
At that action, Inhan suddenly brought his hand up to Yuho’s head. Then he went “wang” and bit Yuho’s crown.
“Ah, what are you doing?”
“Why are you so cute?”
“Where? I’m not cute.”
“No, you are cute.”
Saying that, Inhan properly found and held Yuho’s hand.
Surprised by Inhan’s sudden action, only Yuho unnecessarily turned his ears red.
Inhan turned off the practice room lights, and the two walked down the dark corridor together, relying only on the light from their phones.
“Your hands are small too, hyung.”
“It’s not that mine are small, it’s that yours are big.”
“Is that so.”
“And I’m going to get taller. I haven’t finished growing yet.”
“How much?”
“Huh?”
“How much taller will you get from here?”
“About… I’d like to grow at least 5cm more.”
“Then I’d have to grow more than that.”
“You want to get even taller from here?”
“Yes. I like having hyung below my chin.”
Yuho fluttered in surprise when Inhan suddenly stopped and hugged him around the waist.
Inhan then giggled and obediently stepped back, and Yuho stroked his chest with his free hand.
For a while, Yuho had misunderstood that Inhan might like men.
Not just with him, but the way he would get close to other hyungs, bite them, and knead their bodies was different from Yuho’s friends who abhorred even touching each other.
The only physical interactions Yuho had ever had with other men were rough housing during exercise or high-fives.
He had never imagined doing things like hugging from behind or holding hands like this.
But the misunderstanding was quickly resolved.
In conversations among vigorous young men, talk about women was inevitable, and what Yuho learned during discussions about ideal types was that Inhan was a genuine fan of a female solo singer.
“He became an idol just to meet her.” Yeomin’s testimony followed, and “I’m going to meet her and marry her.” Inhan’s confirmation shot made everything clear.
Ah, he’s just someone who likes physical contact with people. After that, Yuho didn’t attach any special meaning to Inhan’s skinship.
The occasional heat that rose to his face was simply because skinship is naturally like that, or so he thought.
“I think you’ll be cold.”
When they came out of the building, the weather was quite chilly. While Yuho was fidgeting with the hem of the jacket, wondering if he should return it, Inhan finished securing the entrance and stood in front of Yuho.
“I told you I’m fine. You know I run hot.”
Saying that, Inhan rolled up one of Yuho’s sleeves. Thanks to that, Yuho’s right hand finally made an appearance.
“If you’re worried, shall we run to the dorm?”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
When Yuho nodded in response to Inhan’s suggestion, Inhan took Yuho’s right hand as if he had been waiting for it.
And he started running at a not-too-fast pace. Yuho, being led by Inhan’s hand, ran along and stared at the round back of Inhan’s head, who was running slightly ahead of him.
Occasionally, Inhan would look back with a smile, looking no different from the male protagonist in a youth romance movie.
In those days, the untainted seventeen-year-old Inhan was a human being with one hundred percent refreshing energy.
If one were to add a descriptor, he was like a cobalt blue-colored ion drink, giving off a fresh feeling.
How many people could resist falling in love when such a boy holds your hand, runs with you, and looks back at you with a smiling face?
Looking back, that was the moment Yuho first fell for Inhan.
But he was too young then to distinguish whether his heart was racing because he was out of breath or because his heart was stirred.
“Inhan… let’s stop for a moment.”
“What is it, hyung? Are you tired?”
“Yeah. My heart… it’s beating too fast.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I thought we were running slowly. Are you okay?”
Yuho stopped for a moment to catch his breath.
As Yuho bent his upper body and took heavy breaths, Inhan crouched down to check on Yuho’s condition.
Inhan’s clear face came into Yuho’s view.
“Aren’t you… affected at all?”
Yuho was curious about Inhan, who didn’t seem to show any sign of fatigue. Inhan looked troubled, bit his lower lip, and rolled his eyes.
“Uh, well, umm… yeah. I’m not affected.”
Inhan answered sheepishly. And immediately added an excuse.
“But that’s just because I’m ignorantly strong physically. There’s nothing wrong with you, hyung.”
“Really?”
Inhan nodded vigorously at Yuho’s question.
“Yes, really.”
If you say so, it must be so. Yuho felt reassured and straightened up.
Inhan also stood up and positioned himself beside Yuho.
“Let’s just walk from now on.”
“No, I can run again.”
“I want to spend more time with hyung, that’s why.”
Still holding hands, the two started walking side by side, matching their strides.
But even though there was no reason to be out of breath anymore, Yuho’s heart continued to race.
Yuho continued walking forward without realizing what that sensation was that was making his whole body breathless.
– 5 years ago (2 weeks before 7SPOT’s debut) –
“Can’t we eat something before continuing?”
At 2 PM in the afternoon, at a time that was ambiguous to call lunchtime, Jueon finally couldn’t hold back his complaints.
The six members of 7SPOT, who were two weeks away from their debut, were all one with the practice room floor, each sweating buckets.
“Taylor hyung. Honestly, let’s eat first. I can’t dance anymore because I have no energy.”
Raulie, the lead rapper with the most uninhibited personality among the maknae line, backed up Jueon’s statement. But the response from Taylor, the choreography team leader, was firm.
“We agreed to eat after we get the choreography right. Everyone’s timing for the turns and arm positions are all over the place. What are you all thinking? We don’t have much time left.”
“Hyung. Yesterday evening I ate one sweet potato and five cherry tomatoes. Let’s eat first and then I’ll practice really hard.”
When even Yeomin joined in to express his opinion, Taylor had no choice but to follow the majority rule.
Although his appetite, like his desire to sleep, had disappeared due to worry about the debut stage, he couldn’t act like a tyrant just because he was the leader.
“Fine, just hurry up and choose what to eat.”
Taylor laid down on the floor with a whatever attitude.
“Who wants jjamppong?”
Raulie was excited to get the menu selection going.
At the same time, Inhan asked Yuho.
“Yuho hyung. Is there anything you want to eat?”
Yuho was cooling down, sitting with his butt on the bare floor.
Just as a needle is followed by thread, Inhan naturally claimed the spot next to Yuho.
“I’m fine with anything. Jjajangmyeon is good too.”
“Still, what comes to mind first?”
“Hmm. Donkatsu?”
“Raulie hyung. Yuho hyung and I will have donkatsu.”
“What’s this, Jung Inhan? Didn’t you agree to eat jjamppong with me?”
The one who tackled Inhan’s menu decision was Raulie.
The two of them, who were roommates in a 3-person dorm room at the time, had come after agreeing to unify their lunch menu as jjamppong from the dorm.
However, with just one statement from Yuho, Inhan’s opinion flipped like a hotteok.
“I changed my mind.”
“Wow. Look at him changing his mind just because Yuho hyung wants to eat it.”
“I thought our Inhan was a philanthropist who didn’t discriminate between people, but I guess that’s not the case?”
Raulie raised an objection to Inhan’s answer, and Jueon playfully added to it.
Yuho was surprised and said to Raulie.
“Raulie. I like Chinese food too. I can just eat jjajangmyeon.”
“It’s fine, hyung. Just eat donkatsu with Inhan.”
“No, I really don’t have to eat donkatsu.”
“Raulie hyung. If you have something to say, say it to me. Don’t do this to Yuho hyung.”
Inhan said to Raulie while hiding Yuho behind his body.
“Wow. Look at Jung Inhan’s character.”
Raulie was exasperated and criticized Inhan’s behavior.
“When you look at it, Yuho seems like the maknae. Not Inhan.”
“Inhan seems happy to be free from being treated as the maknae, doesn’t he?”
Following Jueon’s comment that hit the nail on the head, Yeomin also joined in to start teasing the maknae. But Inhan wasn’t one to take it lying down.
“That’s not it.”
Inhan curtly denied the hyungs’ comments. He even glanced at Yuho once.
“It’s just my first time looking after someone.”
Inhan awkwardly scratched his head. Jueon, who was five years older and found Inhan’s behavior simply cute, continued to tease him.
“So are you happy? Having someone to take care of?”
“Yes, I like it. What about you, Yuho hyung?”
Inhan turned to look at Yuho, who was quietly watching the fight from behind him, and asked the question.
“Yeah. I like it too.”
Yuho answered Inhan with a bright smile.
* * *
Profile – Taylor (7SPOT)
Real Name: Shin Taeyoon
Age: 26 years old
Birthday: April 19
Height/Weight: 178cm/63kg
Position: Leader, Main Dancer, Main Rapper, Center
Nicknames: Tae, Teshin, Taekkal, Eller, GodTae, GodTaeyoon, TaeCaptain, ManjeTae
Hobbies: Lyric writing, Composing, Basketball
Special Skills: Taekwondo, English, B-boying
Sibling Relationship: Has a younger brother
Characteristics: K-pop veteran pick, second oldest in the group, 5 years as a trainee, originally from major agency WG’s debut team, lived in Australia for 2 years
