Then what exactly was he talking about two-timing with? Before Inhan could organize his thoughts, Seokjae’s words continued.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t understand what Domyeong hyung is saying?”
“I think he means just go and confront him head-on? Don’t hold back when things are shitty.”
“Huh? I don’t think that’s what he meant.”
“No. That’s right. That’s exactly what he said.”
It was Unseong who responded to Seokjae’s question. Domyeong laughed in disbelief at Unseong’s behavior of cleverly deflecting the conversation. Seokjae, not reading the atmosphere, asked once more.
“So what, are you telling him to fight it out with Yuho hyung or something?”
“If a physical conversation is needed, then that’s what has to be done.”
Domyeong answered. This time, Unseong silently glared at Domyeong.
No. How can I have a physical conversation with our small and precious Yuho hyung? Inhan thought it was ridiculous.
And then he realized his mistake. Setting aside how the hyungs knew it was Yuho, he couldn’t understand why everyone was accepting that fact as if it were obvious.
Inhan hurriedly began damage control.
“It’s not about Yuho hyung.”
“What do you mean it’s not? Do you think the hyungs are fools?”
Unseong said, scolding Inhan. Seokjae added his words, lending support to Unseong’s opinion.
“Are you the type to mope around because you had a falling out with someone? You’re the type to subtly put up walls and push them away. But if that person is Yuho hyung, then it’s a different story. You’re crazy about him.”
“What do you mean crazy about him?”
Inhan grumbled, feeling wronged. This way, it’s like I’m badmouthing Yuho hyung behind his back. He resolved never to mention Yuho in front of the hyungs again. And he muttered to himself as if complaining.
“What’s so special about him that I can’t live without him?”
Inhan said that while looking like someone who clearly couldn’t live without him. Eventually, Unseong, unable to just watch, stepped forward and advised Inhan.
“Just go and tell him. That you can’t live without him. That you feel like you’re dying, so please see you just once.”
“What if he still says no?”
Inhan asked Unseong with a serious face. This guy’s serious. Unseong realized it, but he didn’t bother to awaken Inhan’s emotions with words. He thought there were some feelings that were better left unknown.
“Then it’s the end. What can you do when it’s gotten to that point?”
At Unseong’s words, Inhan became even more melancholic. Only Seokjae, who couldn’t understand what was going on, was confused and threw questions at the two hyungs.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t understand his emotional state right now?”
“That’s because you’ve never done group activities. Shut your mouth and just drink.”
Unseong scolded Seokjae, and Seokjae grumbled feeling wronged.
“How can I drink with my mouth shut?”
However, no one paid attention to Seokjae.
“I can’t.”
Inhan spoke to Unseong, emitting an even darker aura than before.
“What if it really ends because of that?”
If that was going to happen, he’d rather remain by Yuho’s side even in an ambiguous relationship.
Even if it was a damn business partner relationship.
“Then just endure it. What choice do you have? Eventually, either you’ll collapse or he’ll give up and there’ll be a conclusion.”
Unseong gave up on persuading him further and delivered a pointed remark to Inhan.
Domyeong also shook his head and concluded there was no answer.
And Seokjae still couldn’t join the conversation between the three.
In the end, Inhan had to return to the dorm without finding any answers from the hyungs.
No. To be precise, he found an answer but had no intention of trying it out.
And soon, an incident occurred that made Yuho give up on keeping his distance.
* * *
“Hyung. I’m okay.”
Inhan said to Yuho, who was supporting him. His wrist was throbbing, and something that might have been sweat was soaking his forehead, but all his nerves were focused on Yuho.
“You’re bleeding.”
“It was blood? I thought it was sweat.”
“It’s blood. Your forehead is split open.”
Only after Yuho told him did Inhan realize his forehead was split. When he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, red blood came off in abundance.
“It really is blood.”
Inhan thought this was good.
Maybe he had been wanting to keep hurting all along.
Every time his legs gave out, he didn’t want to get up after falling. If that happened, wouldn’t Yuho hyung at least look at him out of surprise? Inhan had been harboring such dangerous thoughts continuously.
And at such a moment, Yuho was really looking at him.
“Hyung.”
“……”
“Yuho hyung.”
“……Yeah.”
“My forehead is split, so why are you crying, hyung?”
Yuho was crying, and Inhan was happy.
He had thought he would never make Yuho cry in his entire life. But now that it actually happened, he became foolishly happy and overjoyed.
So he doesn’t hate me enough to want me dead. After realizing that, he completely forgot the fact that he was injured.
“Don’t cry. Hyung. I’m really okay.”
“……It’s because of me.”
“You didn’t push me to make me fall, so why is it because of you, hyung?”
“I, I made things hard for you……”
“It’s because of the company. The schedule is what’s making things hard for me.”
Watching Yuho sobbing tears and blaming himself, Inhan felt relieved.
He even had the wicked thought that if he pretended to be more hurt here, he might be able to change Yuho’s mind.
Inhan didn’t want to lose Yuho like this.
If he could keep him by his side, he felt like he could do worse things than getting hurt.
As expected, it was a dangerous thought.
**- 2 Years Before 7SPOT Disbandment Discussion -**
“Hyung. Ah.”
“Which one? The egg roll?”
At the question from Yuho sitting next to him, Inhan nodded vigorously. Taylor clicked his tongue in disapproval at the sight of Inhan, who was big but eating side dishes diligently like a baby bird.
Due to the aftermath of the stage fall accident, Inhan had a cast on his right hand and a dressing bandage on his forehead.
“Weren’t you ambidextrous?”
“No. I wasn’t.”
Inhan answered Taylor’s question with a straight face. Ah. Look at him discriminating against people.
Taylor, who was a non-Yuho-ian, lost his appetite and wanted to get up from his seat.
“Do you want to eat sausage next time?”
“Yeah.”
At Yuho’s question, Inhan instantly made a smiling face. His dimples were so deep that his cheekbones seemed like they would ascend to heaven. Taylor said with a sigh,
“You two really do all sorts of things.”
“Should I give you a sausage too, hyung? Do you want one?”
Our blank-slate Yuho thoughtlessly offered a sausage to Taylor across the table. At the same time, Inhan’s burning eyes turned to the sausage being offered in front of Taylor’s face.
Taylor quickly expressed his refusal.
“No. You see, I have perfectly fine hands and feet, and I know the fact that I can eat with just one hand.”
“Yes. So you don’t need to worry about Taeyoon hyung.”
Inhan said to Yuho with a shameless face while moving Yuho’s hand to direct the chopsticks holding the sausage toward himself. And at the sight of him quickly eating it, Taylor said with a face like he’d eaten shit,
“If you two fight again, just watch. I’m going to strip you naked and make you stand outside the door.”
“Hyung. Where on earth do you learn those old-fashioned lines?”
Inhan asked, grimacing at Taylor’s outdated remark. If something like that really happened, it would mean team disbandment and retirement that very day.
“I learned it from my grandmother. What are you going to do about it?”
“Wow. No wonder. The line was so crisp and excellent.”
At Taylor’s sudden grandmother bomb, Inhan quickly changed his attitude. Taylor continued his nagging.
“This is a real warning for you two. If you go off the rails again and lose your minds and get hurt. I really won’t let either of you off.”
Taylor warned with his already fierce-looking eyes glaring sharply, but the two younger members didn’t seem to be listening at all.
“Do you two think I’m a joke?”
“You’re not a joke.”
“You’re not a joke and you’re not scary either.”
At Yuho and Inhan’s successive answers, Taylor was going crazy. Was I such an easy leader? He got a reality check, but he thought what’s the use of thinking about it.
Taylor decided to stop being stuck between the cockroach-like pair and got up from his seat.
“Hyung. Where are you going? Aren’t you going to finish your meal?”
“Forget it. I’m going to the studio to eat hamburgers with Raulie.”
Surprised Yuho asked, but Taylor quickly answered and hurried toward the room.
“Oh? Me too.”
When Yuho jumped up at the sound of hamburgers, Inhan pulled Yuho’s T-shirt to sit him back in the chair and said,
“You can order some with me later, hyung. That’ll work.”
“Okay.”
Yuho answered with an excited face and rolled his feet back and forth.
Yuho was so cute that Inhan felt full even without eating.
“I’m going to the studio, so you two continue being lovey-dovey. Just don’t do anything reckless.”
Taylor, who had finished preparing to leave at some point, shouldered his bag and headed to the entrance.
“Yes sir!”
Seeing the two younger members answer diligently, Taylor headed out of the dorm. There was a reason why the sharp Taylor became particularly soft only toward the members. Anyway, they were cute kids. Even though the company was shitty, his thought that he was lucky to have met good members never changed.
“Hyung. Can I hold your hand?”
Once Taylor left the dorm and they were left alone, Inhan revealed his true colors and spoke.
Yuho willingly extended his hand. Inhan held Yuho’s hand tightly.
“Hyung. Can I hug you?”
Encouraged by Yuho’s response, Inhan attempted a hug this time.
Yuho nodded. Inhan reached out and pulled Yuho into his arms. He felt like he could die from being overwhelmed with happiness.
Now Inhan decided to go one step further.
“Hyung. Can I kiss you?”
“That’s not allowed.”
“Ah. Okay.”
Inhan readily agreed and decided to focus only on hugging.
He thought peace had arrived like that.
That was about 2 years ago.
