“You? Well, I’m not really sure about that?”
Yuho finished his answer simply. Directly stepping in to block the NanHyo couple rumors made his insides burn, but there was nothing he could do. He was tired of receiving unwarranted glares anyway.
“That’s something Min would know better…”
“That’s right. Hyung fell asleep right away so I’m not sure.”
“Yeah, so rather than me, Yeomin would…”
“Yuho hyung sleeps so deeply that someone could carry him away and he wouldn’t know. There were several times I moved him to the bed, and he didn’t even wake up in the middle, just kept sleeping like nothing happened.”
Before Yuho could continue, Inhan’s irrelevant answer followed. Thanks to that, Yuho’s attempt to pass the answer to Yeomin ended in failure.
It seems like he did that on purpose.
Yuho had reasonable suspicions about Inhan’s behavior of cutting off his words twice.
“There’s a reason why I sleep in Hyo hyung’s room whenever I have an early morning schedule, you know?”
“No. I asked about your sleeping habits, so why are you talking about Yuho’s? If we’re going to do this, everyone should talk about each other.”
Unable to watch anymore, Jueon stepped in to stop Inhan’s comments. Inhan was shrugging his shoulders with an expression that said ‘what did I do wrong?’
“Alright. Then let’s have Yeomin talk about Inhan’s sleeping habits. What’s his sleeping habit?”
Jueon organized the situation and passed the opportunity to answer to Yeomin. Nice. Yuho was grateful and quickly lowered his microphone.
“Him? Hmm. Hugging the person next to him while sleeping?”
At Yeomin’s answer, fans let out cheers of joy.
Yuho breathed a sigh of relief at the revived atmosphere.
“Every morning I see him hugging Hyo hyung.”
And then despaired again.
Min-ah, why are you doing this too? Yuho was embarrassed and squeezed his eyes shut.
The community is going to be in an uproar again today. They’ll say that the fox-like Seon Yuho is doing *BGP with the popular members again.
Although it wasn’t the first or second time he’d been criticized, it still hurt his feelings all the same.
“Now Yuho hyung should talk about my sleeping habits.”
This time, it was Yeomin urging Yuho to answer.
He was even kind enough to put his arm around Yuho’s shoulder and hold the microphone up for him. Thanks to that, the blatant stares of disgruntled hardcore individual fans were directed sharply at Yuho.
“Min? Min looks pretty when he sleeps.”
That was the best answer from Yuho’s position. With people who can’t even stand them getting along well, he’d be torn to shreds if he said something negative.
The day he once brushed off Inhan’s hand during a live broadcast and got torn apart was still vivid in his memory.
That was around the time when there were more hate comments than supportive posts.
“What about when I’m not sleeping?”
“Huh?”
“Am I not pretty when I’m not sleeping?”
Yuho’s thoughts momentarily halted at Yeomin’s sudden question.
“Well, Yeomin. Of course, when you’re awake too…”
“He can’t be pretty. Right, hyung?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. When you’re awake too…”
“So you’re saying he’s only pretty when he’s sleeping. Right?”
The one who blocked Yuho’s answer in succession was Inhan again.
Did he pick today to target me? Yuho felt his blood drain at Inhan’s actions, openly encouraging Yeomin’s confrontation.
It might be a joke to you, but it’s a matter of survival for me.
He could only cry out inwardly what he couldn’t say aloud.
“Hey, Jung Inhan. No one asked you. And our Hyo hyung loves me so much. Outsiders should stay out of it, okay?”
Even Yeomin, who wasn’t usually like this, was making a big deal, so Yuho wondered if today was his funeral day.
His plight of going between heaven and hell at a single word from the popular members felt particularly miserable.
“I wasn’t talking to hyung either. And Hyo hyung loves me, not you. Don’t brag about being roommates, okay?”
“Who was the one begging to change roommates every three days? You’re ridiculous.”
“Who was the one who heartlessly refused to change despite all that begging? You’re ridiculous, hyung.”
Ah, seriously, they’re not elementary schoolers.
Yuho’s mind cleared with the childish argument that unfolded without even giving him time to lament.
On the other hand, he was also relieved.
The two people who had been intensely avoiding each other lately were having a confrontation for the first time in a while, which meant a big rumor had broken out.
Though it looked like a fight to anyone watching, NanYeom fans would reinterpret it as a jealousy moment and enjoy it, so it was a satisfactory situation from Yuho’s perspective.
Yuho, who was caught between them, would also transform into a pitiful member being used by the NanYeom couple, so it was fortunate development in many ways.
“Well then, let’s hear from our Yuho at this point.”
“Ah, should we?”
Perhaps expecting the fight between the two childish ones to go on longer, Jueon turned the question back to Yuho. Yuho calmly accepted Jueon’s suggestion.
“Ah, I…”
Ignoring Yeomin, who was looking at him with expectant eyes, Yuho slowly moved toward where Inhan was.
Inhan seemed to know what was coming and could be seen opening his arms wide, but if he fell into those arms, he might soon receive a withdrawal request statement from the company.
Yuho quickly passed by Inhan who was approaching him and rushed to Jueon, who was at the very end.
“I like Jueon hyung the best.”
“Wow.”
“I’m hurt.”
Yeomin sighed as if wronged, and Inhan openly appealed his disappointment. But he didn’t look genuinely hurt at all.
Yuho playfully hit Inhan on the shoulder and returned to his place. He felt like his lifespan had been extended by about five years.
“Then shall we now prepare for the next stage, Jueon hyung?”
Yuho smoothly wrapped up the next sequence. At times like this, he thought the nickname ‘Sangyeho’ – a combination of fox and Seon Yuho – that malicious individual fans had given him wasn’t created for nothing.
* * *
“I think the second one is better.”
“That one makes me look weird.”
Yeomin gave a negative response to Inhan’s opinion. Inhan presented a new option.
“Then what about the first one? You look good in this one, hyung.”
“But Unseong hyung has his eyes closed in that one.”
“Ah, then what about the fourth one?”
“Hmm… this one’s not bad. Jeong noona looks good too.”
In the car returning to their dorm after the concert, Inhan and Yeomin were sitting closely together in the very back seats, whispering non-stop as if they weren’t tired at all.
The main content of their conversation was about the fixed variety show they were appearing in and its members.
Like Unseong hyung. And Jeong noona.
It was a conversation Yuho couldn’t relate to at all.
“Min hyung, look at this. Seonwoo hyung is crazy, right?”
“Oh my god. I really like Seonwoo hyung so much.”
Inhan and Yeomin were sharing one phone, giggling madly as if something was so funny.
They get along so well, yet why do they spend all their time avoiding each other in public?
Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t understand.
They started as trainee friends and have been close for 8 years, but fans are desperately trying to ship them, so they must have been stressed in their own way. The company that used that for profit also contributed to increasing their annoyance.
Still, Yuho had felt more at ease when the rumors about the two were overflowing.
At least then he could be free from the suspicion that he had come between them.
“Yuho hyung, are you sleeping?”
Yuho removed the Bluetooth earphones he had been wearing at the sudden intrusion of Inhan’s arm from the back seat.
About ten minutes ago, the battery had died, and he had just kept them in his ears.
“Huh? Why?”
“What were you doing? Were you sleeping?”
“No, I was listening to music.”
“I want to sleep in hyung’s room today.”
Yuho didn’t feel any particular aversion to the thick arm coming from the back seat touching his chest. It was a bit embarrassing when the fairly long fingers were probing between his ribs, but he didn’t give it any particular meaning.
For Inhan, skinship was simply a sign of familiarity.
“I don’t know.”
Yuho said, forcibly removing Inhan’s hand that was going progressively lower.
“Why say you don’t know when you’re going to let me stay anyway?”
“Why ask when you’re going to barge in anyway?”
“Still, so you’re not surprised.”
When they first met, he seemed somewhat innocent, but Yuho’s weariness was only growing as Inhan’s behavior became more and more slick with each passing year.
This is why I don’t like stubborn heteros.
“Maybe I should really move into hyung’s room and live there.”
Inhan whispered in Yuho’s ear, bringing his hand back to Yuho’s waist. From Yuho’s perspective, it was a complete disaster.
“I don’t like that.”
Before Yuho could refuse, Yeomin, who was Yuho’s roommate, expressed his disapproval first.
“I wasn’t talking to hyung.”
“Yuho hyung’s room is my room.”
“How long do you think that will last?”
“It will last forever.”
Their own little world has started again.
Yuho let out a light sigh.
Although they seemed to bicker about everything, there was an intimacy between Inhan and Yeomin that others couldn’t penetrate.
And yet, Yuho couldn’t understand why they insisted on squeezing him in between them, bursting his back like a shrimp.
“Why don’t you two just share a room? I’ll step aside on my own.”
“What are you saying? I’m telling you I need hyung.”
“Hyo hyung, I’ll be roommates with you even in the grave.”
“Ugh, I don’t want that. Min.”
“Hmph. You’re so mean.”
Yeomin made a pained noise at Yuho’s firm rejection.
The twenty-three-year-old Yeomin, who held the lead dancer position in the team, was the member with the most aegyo.
Having debuted as a child actor at nine, he was already a 14-year veteran in the entertainment industry, but with his friendly personality, he followed his hyungs well and led the team atmosphere.
“What about me? Am I okay?”
“No, Inhan, you should continue to be with Taylor hyung.”
“Wow, you’re being especially cold today, Hyo hyung.”
The twenty-two-year-old Inhan, the team’s maknae, had been known for his outstanding physique and appearance since his trainee days.
Along with the leader Taylor, he was skilled enough in dancing to secure the main dancer position, and his vocal abilities weren’t bad either, so it was only natural that he gained popularity as soon as he debuted.
Moreover, in his third year after debut, he secured a lead role in a drama and has been enjoying continued success, so from Yuho’s perspective, he was an object of admiration beyond envy.
Therefore, even Yuho had to admit that having these two like-minded individuals together was the most stable and peaceful arrangement.
——–
*BGP: Business Gay Performance, meaning pretending to be gay for business purposes
* * *
Profile – Inhan (7SPOT)
Real Name: Jung Inhan
Age: 22 years old
Birthday: December 6
Height/Weight: 183cm/70kg
Position: Main Dancer, Lead Vocal
Nicknames: Nan, Nani, WangDaengNan, NeukDaengNan, Maknani, NanOp, JeongTtoJal
Hobbies: Exercise, Eating
Special Skills: Modern Dance, Running, Piano
Sibling Relationship: Has an older brother
Characteristics: Public’s pick, Actor-idol, Tallest and youngest in the group, This year’s Brand Award winner in the Male Actor-idol category
