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The rumor started, like all rumors — from nothing. A quiet, "Did you see how he looked at him?" A brief behind-the-scenes clip, where Jin adjusted Akin's hair, a lock escaping from the hairspray. A shot from the premiere, where Akin, usually known for his distance and cool restraint, embraced Jin in a way that felt too natural, too intimate, too... real.
The internet only needed one frame.
And then, as always — it went wild. Compilation videos of glances, moments, gestures. Fans tagging their names in pairs, drawings, theories, and edited videos with captions like: "They're not pretending. They just can't hide it anymore."
Jin clicked on them in secret. Akin claimed he never watched, but sometimes Jin saw him hide his phone when someone entered the room.
"It's just the fans," Akin muttered one evening as he sat with Jin in the dressing room after a long day of filming. "They always want someone to be with someone."
"It's not just the fans," Jin smiled and rested his cheek on his hand, watching Akin in the mirror. "Our agencies are starting to 'want' us to be seen together more often."
"I know..." Akin sighed, reaching for a bottle of water. "My manager asked me today if I could post something sweet with you on SM."
"My manager asked if I'd want to 'move in with you for convenience' during filming," Jin said, grinning. "He said the fans would go wild."
"We'd go crazy first," Akin frowned, but his tone didn’t sound convincing. "You wouldn’t last more than a week with me. I’m annoying."
"And I like you annoying," Jin replied quietly, so softly that Akin pretended he didn’t hear it.
They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, as if not ready to voice them. But in the air, something lingered — something that started as a rumor but tasted like something real.
+++
Over time, the rumor became routine.
The set accepted it as calmly as if it were one of the official production notes. People stopped being surprised when Jin appeared in Akin's trailer earlier than he should have. They stopped asking why Akin wore Jin's hoodie during lunch break, even though it was thirty degrees in the shade. No one pretended not to see how Jin touched his hand too long, or how Akin pulled away only to get even closer.
The most talked-about thing was the dressing rooms.
Akin and Jin had many shared scenes, and many of them required a costume change before shooting started. Akin’s dressing room, by his request, was always closest to the shooting area, and Jin's was nearby.
"Remember, no matter what you think or see, don’t leave Jin’s costume in Akin’s dressing room," someone warned the new wardrobe department staff member.
The girl furrowed her brows, holding Akin's clothes for the next scene in one hand and Jin’s costume in the other.
"Why? Don’t they..." she started, but the older woman interrupted her with a gentle smile.
"Oh, sweetie, don’t try to be logical," the older colleague said. "The boys pretend to separate their professional and private lives. So we pretend to believe them."
Laughter rippled through the entire department like a wave.
"Besides," added another with a wide grin, "getting too close to their dressing rooms before filming is like asking to see... things you can’t unsee."
"What do you mean?"
"Akin only looks restrained in front of the camera, darling," someone passing by the gossiping group said. "And Jin isn’t as innocent and sweet as his cute face might make you think."
"But shhh, let them think we’re professionals."
Everyone burst into light, amused laughter before quickly returning to their tasks.
+++
Akin was aware of the rumors. Maybe even more than Jin. He was usually the calm, cool, more reserved one. But with Jin... something softened inside him. Something that couldn’t be stopped. When Jin laughed too loudly, Akin smiled. When Jin came too close, Akin didn’t pull away even an inch. When Jin grabbed his hand, Akin held it tighter than necessary.
None of this was part of the script.
It was real.
+++
One day, while waiting for the next shot, Akin sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Jin sat next to him, folding his legs, and without asking, laid his head on Akin’s shoulder.
"You know..." Jin started, playing with a loose thread on Akin’s pants. "If we were together, do you think they’d still gossip like this?"
Akin looked at him slowly. For a moment, he said nothing, just breathed deeply, and then sighed before answering.
"I think that after an official announcement, they'd stop gossiping. It’s the uncertainty that excites them. The possibility of guessing whether they’re right or wrong."
"Hmm. And you?" Jin shifted slightly away from him, turning his sparkling gaze toward Akin. "Would you want it to be true?"
Akin didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached out and gently traced his thumb over Jin’s cheek, as if trying to wipe away an invisible mark.
"Are you asking me to be your boyfriend?"
After a moment, he asked. Jin smiled, took Akin’s hand, and squeezed it tightly.
"Your official boyfriend. A real boyfriend. No sneaking around, no rumors. No uncertainty. Would you want to do that with me?"
"If I had to be sure of one thing," Akin said slowly, "it would be that you’re the only person I don’t have to pretend with."
The silence that followed wasn’t awkward.
It was soft.
Quiet.
Gentle.
"So let’s make it official," Jin said, leaning toward Akin. "From today, you’re Jin’s boyfriend."
He said, joining their lips in a sweet kiss.
"From today, you’re Akin’s boyfriend," Akin replied, pulling Jin back into the kiss, and connecting their lips again.
"From today, can we share a dressing room?" Jin asked with a smile.
"Only if we use mine," Akin agreed.
"Sure. As long as I get a key to it," Jin laughed, happy.
+++
Since then, no one entered Akin’s dressing room without knocking.
And the rumor? Well. The rumor became the truth. And although no one officially confirmed it, no one doubted it either. Especially when, on the last day of filming, Jin and Akin disappeared from the set earlier than everyone else. And on the door of the dressing room, which they slammed too quickly, someone later noticed a sticker with the words:
"Jin's boyfriend and Akin’s boyfriend dressing room."
If everyone who later saw them looked at them with a slightly affectionate gaze, no one needed to know about it.
If the cosmetics department placed a double order for foundation and redness concealer in Akin's skin tone... No one needed to know about that either.