“Yuho hyung. What if he says he likes it there? I’m your hyung. Don’t mess around. You need to be clear like that.”
Yeomin, who had somehow approached right in front of Inhan, reached out his hand to pull Yuho away. Inhan slapped Yeomin’s hand away as if it were out of the question. Yuho still maintained his bright expression.
“I don’t mind.”
“Wow. Our Yuho is in big trouble. Being so docile like that, how are you going to survive in this harsh industry?”
Jueon followed with a worried comment, but Inhan blocked that out too.
“Yuho hyung doesn’t need to worry about that.”
“Why? Are you going to protect him or something?”
“Yes.”
Everyone in the practice room couldn’t hide their shock at Inhan’s answer.
“Jung Inhan, what the hell did he eat growing up to casually drop lines like that?”
Taylor was the one raising the question. He was a natural-born performer on stage but someone with zero resistance to cringey moments in daily life.
“Hyungs need to practice this kind of thing too. It’s one of the essential qualities of an idol.”
“No, you just do it all. We’ll let you have it.”
Taylor promptly yielded the cheesy line responsibility to Inhan.
“That kind of stuff only works when you’re young and have a face like yours. For people with indistinct features like us? It just comes across as trying to pick a fight.”
Jueon suddenly started self-analyzing. But Taylor seemed to have different thoughts.
“Why are you grouping me with you, Jueon hyung?”
“Wow. Shin Taeyoon. Are you saying you’re not?”
“I don’t have indistinct features, do I?”
“Then I’ll order three pork cutlets and three jjamppong.”
“Okay.”
“Sure.”
The sudden argument between the two hyungs ended with a single comment from Raulie.
Actually, the argument wasn’t important. Eating well without complaints once the food arrived was a characteristic of the 7SPOT members.
All they needed to do was include one sweet dish for Yuho, who couldn’t handle spicy food and had childlike taste preferences.
“Understand? Hyung just needs to trust me.”
Inhan turned his body to face Yuho as he spoke.
“Okay.”
“If anyone bullies you, you can hide behind me.”
“Okay.”
“Even if no one bullies you, just stay by my side.”
“Okay. Got it.”
When Yuho nodded firmly and responded with determination, Inhan smiled brightly and held out his pinky finger.
“Promise.”
Yuho obediently extended his pinky finger and hooked it with Inhan’s.
“Promise.”
In response to Yuho’s action, Inhan let out a soft “psssh” sound and formed a pleased smile.
Then he went to sit next to Yuho and rested his head on Yuho’s shoulder.
“I’m really glad hyung joined our team.”
“But I can’t even dance?”
“Hyung, you’re not bad at dancing.”
Inhan immediately corrected Yuho’s statement. And then added a compliment.
“It’s just that you haven’t tried much. You’re talented, you know? I guarantee it. Later, you might even dance better than me.”
“Really?”
“One thousand percent real.”
Just as Inhan had said, Yuho succeeded in catching up to the other members’ dance skills within two years of debut.
In their third year, he was occasionally evaluated as being on par with Yeomin, the lead dancer.
Like that, it seemed as though everything was going exactly as Yuho wished.
– 3 Years Before 7SPOT Disbandment Discussions –
Yuho’s Q&A
- Who is the member you’re closest to? Inhan. And Yeomin, Jueon hyung, Raulie, Taylor hyung, just all the members really.
- Which member would you like as a roommate? Um… Inhan?
- Which member would you like to travel with? This one’s Inhan too.
- If you were a woman, which member would you like to date? Which member I’d like to date? Uh, I haven’t thought about it… I’ll just say Inhan.
There was a time when Yuho also acted half-crazy over Inhan.
The peak of this period was exactly during their second year after debut, when all the confidence he had lost due to dancing had been fully restored, making him even more uninhibited.
He believed that hate comments would eventually subside, and he believed that his relationship with Inhan would last forever.
The source of that belief was always Inhan.
“Hyung. Who did you write down as the member you want as a roommate?”
In the waiting room of a photoshoot set where only the two of them remained, Inhan threw a question at Yuho.
Even though there were empty chairs scattered around, Inhan deliberately took the seat next to Yuho on the sofa.
As usual, he didn’t forget to rest his head on Yuho’s shoulder.
“That? You.”
“Which member do you want to travel with?”
“That’s you too.”
“As expected. Our Yuho hyung. I knew we were on the same wavelength.”
Inhan stretched his hand to the side, offering a high five. Yuho immediately responded by slapping his palm against Inhan’s.
Then he waited for the next question.
But Inhan, seeming tired, had his eyes closed as if trying to take a short nap.
“Who did you write down as the member you’d want to date?”
In the end, Yuho couldn’t hold back and asked the question he wanted to hear first. Inhan answered with just one eye barely open.
“Me? I put Raulie hyung.”
“Huh?”
Why was that? Why had he thought Inhan would obviously choose him?
Yuho found it difficult to react properly, as if he’d been hit on the head.
“Raulie hyung. Why? Are you upset that I didn’t choose you?”
“No. I just… found it unexpected. I thought you’d choose Yeomin or… um… Taylor hyung.”
Yuho was rambling incoherently.
Fortunately, Inhan, consumed by fatigue, didn’t seem to notice Yuho’s state.
“Yeoul noona is pretty, right? I think if Raulie hyung had been born a woman, he would have been as pretty as Yeoul noona.”
Inhan continued in a sleepy voice. Yuho unconsciously went along with Inhan’s words.
“Yeah… Yeoul noona is pretty.”
Lee Yeoul, the same age as Yeomin and Raulie (Lee Raulie)’s older sister, was a member of the girl group “Love Shot” from the same agency.
Love Shot was a popular five-member girl idol group that had debuted 2 years before 7SPOT, and among them, Yeoul was the visual center who was occasionally mentioned as pretty even among the general public.
“But what, do you just like anyone who’s pretty?”
The words came out sharper than usual for Yuho. The tone clearly showed his hurt feelings, making Yuho tense with sudden awkwardness.
“Are there men who don’t like pretty things?”
Once again, Inhan failed to notice Yuho’s true feelings. Of course, Yuho himself hadn’t realized his true feelings either.
“Don’t you like it, hyung?”
“No. I just…”
“Just what?”
“Ah, well, I think I might prefer a good body over a pretty face…”
“Wow. Hyung. I didn’t see you that way, but you’ve got a naughty side to you. So, who did you answer with?”
Yuho felt increasingly cornered by Inhan as the conversation continued. But making up lies wasn’t in Yuho’s nature.
Even while knowing there was only one answer he would eventually reach, no matter how much he tried to talk around it.
“I… chose you.”
Yuho reluctantly told the truth. Though he was worried about how Inhan would take it, surprisingly, Inhan’s reaction was nonchalant.
“Ah. Because you like my body?”
“No! It’s not like that.”
“Then?”
“Ah, well, um… because you’re young?”
“Wow. This is another reason I didn’t expect.”
It was a hastily created excuse, and not a particularly good one at that. Ah. What does “because you’re young” even mean? What does age have to do with it?
“What’s good about being young? Why is that good?”
Inhan, also unable to understand Yuho’s answer, immediately pressed for a reason.
“Just. Because I can take care of you in various ways.”
“You like taking care of others?”
“Huh? No, I…”
“I didn’t know that. That you liked that sort of thing.”
“No. I like being taken care of too.”
“Hmm.”
“Just. That’s all.”
Yuho gave a vague answer, hoping this messy conversation would end quickly.
“For me, I’d be fine with hyung even as a man.”
“Huh?”
Yuho couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Inhan’s sudden statement.
What is he saying right now? Even though he heard it clearly with his own ears, the sentence lacked reality.
“Hyung doesn’t need to be a woman. That’s why I didn’t choose you.”
Yuho kept his mouth firmly shut even as Inhan continued. It felt like he was hearing something momentous, but judging by the speaker’s unchanged attitude, it clearly wasn’t meant with the intention Yuho hoped for.
“So hyung likes young women? With good bodies?”
Inhan narrowed his eyes slightly as he expressed dissatisfaction toward Yuho. As expected, Yuho’s judgment was correct. The words Inhan had uttered were merely an arrangement of words—without any genuine feelings behind them.
“That’s not it, you know?”
“Still, next time I’ll answer all those questions with ‘hyung.’ It feels a bit sad, like unrequited love, if only you do that.”
“Who’s sad? I’m not sad at all.”
“Not hyung, me.”
“Why you?”
Is he possibly testing me? Yuho wanted to know the reason behind Inhan’s inscrutable words.
“Because hyung would feel hurt.”
“I’m not hurt though?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Why would I be hurt over something like that?”
There was absolutely no reason to feel hurt. What’s the big deal about some Q&A?
Everyone in their circle knew that Inhan was a Yuho-sexual and a Seon Yuho enthusiast.
So feeling hurt over one misaligned answer was a sentiment only narrow-minded people would harbor.
However, that self-righteous thought was arrogance—a fact Yuho would soon confirm.
Inhan’s Q&A
- Who is the member you’re closest to? We’re all close. We’re really like a family.
- Which member would you like as a roommate? I like my current situation, but if I had to choose, Yuho hyung? Yeomin hyung is good too. I already sleep in the hyungs’ room sometimes.
- Which member would you like to travel with? Yeomin hyung and Raulie hyung? Ah. I might fight with Raulie hyung… I’ll just go with Yuho hyung. That seems more comfortable.
- If you were a woman, which member would you like to date? Do I have to answer? Then… Raulie hyung. No comment on the reason.
* * *
Profile – Raulie (7SPOT)
Real Name: Lee Raulie
Age: 23
Birthday: September 4
Height/Weight: 178cm/65kg
Position: Lead Rapper, Sub-Dancer
Nicknames: Ul, Ryeol, Ryeolie, Ul-op, Kkari-ul, Hip-raul, Ganggangjwa, Non-enduring Ryeol
Hobbies: Gaming, Lyric Writing, Composing, Exercise
Special Skills: Beatboxing, Rapping, Skateboarding
Family Relations: Older Sister (Lee Yeoul), Younger Brother (Lee Baul)
Characteristics: Fifth member in the group, Younger brother of popular female idol Lee Yeoul, Eliminated in the second preliminary round of Show Me the Rapper 6
