Chapter Text
“No, y’all- he’s not here right now because he’s out. On a date.”
The room goes silent for a couple seconds. Then whistles fill the air; Jay clapping like a proud dad, Jake chanting Sunoo’s name like a mantra, Ni-ki heaving a “finally” out, and Jungwon smiling. Sunghoon lowers his arms, resting his phone onto his lap. His eyebrows twitch, the same way they always do when he’s faced with looking at Sunoo. Sunoo who acted all shy and giggly when around him. Sunoo who eyed him for the longest, letting Sunghoon know he wanted something more than a friendship. Sunoo who would take all his teasing knowing he meant well. Sunoo whom he had shared various kisses with, late at night, in the warm comfort of Sunghoon’s dull bedroom. Or sometimes embraces so soft the younger’s bed didn’t compare.
The same Sunoo who is now on a date. While Sunghoon sits scrolling through social media on their dorm’s living room couch.
Sunghoon stares at Jungwon, who had like a teenage girl spilled out this little secret of Sunoo’s- if it even is true. He chews on his bottom lip and all of a sudden remembers: they were never a thing. Sunghoon didn’t want them to be a thing. As much as he enjoyed the younger’s sweet company, his soft lips, the idea of doing domestic things with him. He was scared. Rightfully so, they’re idols after all. But Sunoo was so determined. He would continuously tell Sunghoon that it wouldn’t be as bad as it seemed- that, yes, they’d have to hide it; but many people already liked them together. Them showing affection wouldn’t change anything. It would more so look like two members enjoying being in the same group.
Sunghoon didn’t see it that way. He had managed to scour for the worst of the worst, telling both himself and Sunoo that it would just not work. Even keeping it behind closed doors would weigh him down, it’d be better to just stay friends. That was all 6 months ago. A long, agonizing half year of that routine in Sunghoon’s life that involved Sunoo being broken. All he could do now was stare at the younger while he had tried his best to move on and did so. And it’s clear now that he’s out on a date with someone he’s never met. Some guy Sunoo never mentioned during those 6 months of distance. How did he even manage to get their manager’s permission? Sunghoon knows Sunoo enough to know he hadn’t snuck out, he’d immediately feel guilty per Sunoo’s words. Which led him on to believe that all of this was fake. Jungwon’s just lying for fun, Sunoo’s probably out shopping. It’d be weird for him to do so given that it’s nighttime, but how would he even manage to get close to some other guy after all they’d been through? Maybe he’s got a schedule he forgot to mention to the members. No way he’d be out on a date.
The member’s chatting becomes clear after a while of tuning them out. He hears a mix of giggles, Sunoo’s name, ideas of where he might be and who he might be with, and…
“Wait, wait, where’s Heeseung-hyung?” Jake cuts in.
Sunghoon’s vision becomes a bit blurry, looking at Jake’s inquisitive expression before a smile starts creeping up on his face. He’s always so smiley, Sunghoon thought. This smile, however, wasn’t his usual ‘nice guy’ smile. It was more mischievous, a teasing smile if you would. With a hint of.. knowing.
The next member to come into his field of vision is Jungwon. His eyebrows are raised in confusion, before that same hint of knowing washes onto his face. He locks eyes with Sunghoon and swallows. The younger shakes his head and flails his hands in disapproval.
“No guys, he’s probably sleeping or out doing a schedule he didn’t mention. Don’t think too much about it,” his face is full of uncertainty.
Jay hums and stands up. “Right. Sunoo,” he moves his arms to his right side, “is out on a date with somebody else. Heeseung-hyung,” now his arms move to his left, “is, like what Jungwon-ie said,” his head cocks towards Jungwon, who’s standing to his right fidgeting with his fingers, “most likely finishing up an individual schedule.”
“We shouldn’t care anyway,” Ni-ki says. “Even if they are together-“ he makes eye contact with both Jungwon and Jay and shakes his head, “-which they aren’t- it’s their.. business anyway..” his voice fades with each word.
Sunghoon turns his head to the side and purses his lips. It’s not right- Heeseung and Sunoo. They aren’t a good pair. They can’t work well together. He’s seen their fall out. Even if it wasn’t messy, their silence set a huge boulder in their friendship. They’re so awkward with each other that it’d be impossible for them to work things out. Sunghoon sets on not believing anything. He won’t fall for some stupid theories, not until he sees them come true with his own eyes (which he won’t). But even then, he can’t stop his stomach from turning. A lump of saliva gets caught in his throat and his lips suddenly feel extremely dry. He can taste metal in his mouth, nose taking in air through rugged tries. He stands up and walks to his room, ignoring the looks of concern from his other members. He shakes off Jungwon’s slight grab on his shoulder.
As he’s on his way he passes two bedrooms, both right next to each other. Their stark contrast makes his stomach churn even more. A fire sets ablaze within him. One of the doors, Sunoo’s, has a simple ‘S’ hanging on it; however, the letter is decorated to fit the younger’s bubbly personality. It’s got stars and smiley’s, small little hearts that Sunghoon himself saw in the making. The other door is bland, nothing to adorn it the way Sunoo had his. Even Sunghoon’s door had a small little smile near the door knob, courtesy of Sunoo but he digresses.
He rolls his eyes, shutting them for a little while before entering his room. He gulps down that lump of saliva scratching his throat and heaves out a short, uneven sigh. His phone, still in his hold, lights up with a Twitter notification. The light from it hits his eyes, but what hits him harder is the tweet from an update account of Enhypen. He clenches the gadget, digging his nails into the back of it. In front of him was Heeseung, smiling bright while sat at some fancy restaurant. The next picture to appear was a bright-eyed Sunoo, his lips sealed in a sweet smile. The third picture: both of them, seemingly laughing up a storm. ‘HEESEUNG AND SUNOO ON A DATE????? WHAT A MIRACLE, MY HEESUN HEART AHHH’ read the caption.