Chapter Text
The first time it happens, it’s purely accidental… Accidental for everyone except Lee Haechan, who thrives on accidents the way other people thrive on oxygen.
The award show venue is loud in that polished, glamorous way, with soft gold lighting, velvet seats, and the low hum of celebrities pretending not to stare at each other. Cameras sweep over the crowd in lazy arcs, catching laughter, catching whispers, catching moments that are meant to look candid but never really are.
Huang Renjun is halfway turned in his seat, one hand shielding his mouth as he leans over.
“—I’m serious,” Renjun whispers, eyes bright, voice barely contained. “He showed up with a different stylist halfway through filming. A different stylist, Haechan.”
Haechan, seated two chairs away, gasps dramatically like he’s just been handed state secrets. “No. No, wait, that means—”
In between them sits Lee Jeno.
Completely still.
Perfect posture with his eyes facing forward, except he’s not actually watching the stage.
He’s listening.
He’s trying not to listen, because this is not his business, and also because Renjun’s voice—soft and threaded with restrained excitement—does something unfair to his concentration. But they’re leaning over him, voices brushing past his shoulders, warm and close and impossible to ignore.
“—it means they fought,” Haechan concludes, nodding like a detective solving a case. “That’s the only explanation. Or—wait—secret dating scandal.”
Renjun’s eyes widen. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
Jeno blinks once.
He should not be invested in this. He definitely should not feel the urge to tilt his head just slightly to hear better when Renjun lowers his voice.
He clears his throat, polite. “Um—if you want, I can switch seats so you two don’t have to lean over—”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Haechan says immediately, waving him off.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Renjun adds, already leaning again, completely unbothered. His sleeve brushes Jeno’s shoulder this time, light and fleeting, but Jeno feels it like a spark.
“Anyway,” Renjun continues, lowering his voice even more, which only makes Jeno more aware of every word, “I heard from my makeup artist that—”
Jeno stares straight ahead.
He does not move. He does not breathe too loudly and he definitely does not hang on every word like this is the most important conversation of his life.
Which it absolutely is not.
Probably.
── .✦
Now from Haechan’s perspective, though?
This is extremely amusing.
He notices it somewhere between the third whispered scandal and the fifth time Renjun leans over Jeno without a second thought.
Because Jeno is not subtle.
He thinks he is. He really does. But Haechan has known him too long. They used to train together, as idol trainees, before Jeno changed his career path towards acting instead. They spent many years as teenagers together, before Haechan was Haechan, pop-star and occasional actor, before Jeno was Lee Jeno, award-winning actor, known for being a sweetheart.
Every time Renjun speaks, Jeno goes just a little bit stiller, like he’s afraid any movement might break the moment. His eyes flick—quick, careful—toward Renjun’s face when he thinks no one’s looking. When Renjun laughs softly at something Haechan says, Jeno’s mouth twitches, like he’s trying not to smile along.
And when Renjun absentmindedly rests his hand on the back of Jeno’s seat while leaning over—
Jeno short-circuits.
It’s subtle. Anyone else would miss it. Haechan absolutely does not.
He watches the way Jeno’s ears turn faintly red. The way his shoulders tense, then relax like he’s forcing himself to act normal. The way he doesn’t move even an inch, like shifting would mean losing that brief, accidental contact.
Haechan’s eyes narrow.
Oh, this is interesting.
He leans back in his seat slowly, studying Jeno with a new kind of interest.
Jeno notices. Immediately.
“…What?” Jeno murmurs under his breath, not daring to turn fully.
Haechan grins, slow and dangerous. “Nothing.”
Jeno does not believe him for a second.
── .✦
By the end of the night, Haechan has collected enough evidence to write a full thesis.
Jeno laughs at all the right moments when Renjun talks. Jeno listens even when the conversation has nothing to do with him. Jeno forgets to respond the first time Renjun asks him a direct question because he’s too busy processing the fact that Renjun is talking to him.
And the worst one is when Renjun gets up briefly to greet another celebrity, Jeno watches him leave, like something important just walked away and he’s waiting for it to come back.
Haechan leans over again, this time not even pretending to whisper to Renjun.
“You’re insane,” he mutters softly.
Jeno stiffens. “What?”
Haechan just smiles.
“Nothing, forget I said anything.”
But in his head, plans are already forming.
── .✦
The second time it happens is not accidental at all.
The seating chart for the next event—another award show, different venue, same industry chaos—is released two days prior.
Renjun doesn’t even look at it closely. He never does and opts to just go to his seat no matter who he is seated next to.
Haechan, however, opens it like he’s reading a treasure map.
Row B:
Seat 12: Huang Renjun.
Seat 13: Lee Jeno.
Seat 14: Lee Donghyuck (Haechan).
He grins so wide it’s almost concerning.
“Perfect,” he murmurs to himself.
Because yes, he may or may not have made a few suggestions to the event coordinators and yes, those suggestions may or may not have been very specific.
And yes, this is absolutely meddling.
But in his defense?
Jeno is hopeless and Renjun is oblivious.
Someone has to move this along.
Also, someone had filmed a fancam of the three of them talking and it had gone viral. Many people complimented Jeno’s kind nature and were amused at how it looked like he really wanted to chime in to the conversation. Everyone thought Renjun looked adorable when gossiping and that the three of them all looked like close friends.
So why not go viral again while also having fun at the same time?
── .✦
When they arrive at the event, Renjun doesn’t notice anything unusual.
“Same section again,” he says casually, slipping into his seat.
Jeno, already seated beside him, looks up and freezes for half a second.
“Hi,” Renjun says brightly, like nothing about this is strange. “We keep ending up next to each other.”
Jeno swallows. “Yeah. Seems like it.”
On the other side of Jeno, Haechan drops into his seat with the air of someone who has orchestrated fate itself.
“Wow,” he says loudly, entirely fake. “What a coincidence.”
Jeno does not say anything in response. He refuses because if he does, he might say something he shouldn’t.
Renjun just laughs. “Right?”
And then, inevitably, he leans over.
“Okay, but listen,” Renjun whispers, already pulling Haechan into another conversation, “you will not believe what I heard this time—”
And just like that, it starts again: the leaning and the whispering.
Except this time, Jeno knows it’s not an accident and Haechan knows that Jeno knows, which makes it infinitely more fun.
── .✦
Halfway through the event, Haechan tests his theory.
He leans forward suddenly, cutting Renjun off mid-sentence.
“Hey,” he says, looking directly at Jeno.
Jeno blinks, caught off guard. “Yeah?”
Haechan tilts his head, eyes sharp with mischief. “You’re really into this, huh?”
Jeno’s brain short-circuits. “Into what?”
“The gossip,” Haechan says innocently.
Jeno hesitates for a fraction too long.
Renjun notices.
“Oh my god,” Renjun says, eyes lighting up. “Do you actually like this stuff?”
Jeno opens his mouth, closes it, then tries again.
“I mean… it’s interesting,” he manages, which is not a lie, just not the whole truth.
Haechan hums.
“Interesting,” he repeats, clearly not convinced.
Renjun beams. “See? I knew you were paying attention.”
Jeno feels something warm bloom in his chest at that.
He nods, a little more confident now. “Yeah. I was.”
Haechan watches the entire exchange like he’s watching his favorite show and then, because he cannot help himself, he leans back and says, very casually, “You know, Jeno’s watched everything you’ve been in. I think he even owns all your albums.”
Jeno stops breathing.
Renjun blinks. “Really?”
Jeno turns, horrified. “Haechan—”
“I mean everything,” Haechan continues, relentless. “Even that web drama from, like, three years ago that no one talks about because your rookie acting was horrible—”
“Haechan,” Jeno hisses.
Renjun’s eyes go wide, surprised and something softer. He chooses to ignore Haechan's little insult.
“Wait,” he says, turning fully toward Jeno now. “You have?”
Jeno’s ears are definitely red now.
“I—yeah,” he admits, quiet but honest. “I liked them...”
Renjun studies him for a moment and then he smiles. It was not the polite, industry smile, but something warmer and real.
“Then I’ll have to do better next time,” he says softly. “Since I have a real fan watching.”
Jeno forgets how to respond.
Haechan, meanwhile, leans back in his seat, completely satisfied, because really, what’s the point of having influence over seating charts if you don’t use it for something important?
And this?
This is very important.