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The thing about Kim Seungmin and Hwang Hyunjin was that their closeness had always been categorized by the members as "annoying but harmless."
Hyunjin was dramatic, all sweeping gestures and constant need for physical contact. Seungmin was the antidote: dry, sarcastic, and yet, always within reach. If Hyunjin was leaning, he was leaning on Seungmin. If Hyunjin was laughing, Seungmin was usually the cause.
Their relationship existed in a permanent state of casual, boundary-less flirting that meant nothing, and yet, felt like it meant everything.
"You know, you’re really clingy today," Seungmin remarked one Tuesday afternoon, not bothering to move his knee from beneath Hyunjin’s draped arm as they sat on the couch watching a poorly dubbed movie.
"I need external validation," Hyunjin sighed, dramatically drooping his head onto Seungmin’s shoulder.
"Go ask Chan-hyung. He'll give you actual, meaningful validation. I'll just tell you your hair looks like a mop."
Hyunjin just hummed, settling in. "Your shoulder is comfortable, dog."
"I hate you."
"I know."
It was always like this. A low hum of comfortable proximity, zero expectations, and endless playful insults. Minho often muttered that they were two sides of the same exhausting coin.
The first time Hwang Hyunjin draped himself over Kim Seungmin, it was during a particularly grueling dance practice. Seungmin, ever the stoic, simply sighed, but made no move to push Hyunjin off. Instead, his hand, seemingly on its own accord, came up to absentmindedly card through Hyunjin’s sweaty hair. Jeongin, bless his innocent heart, just giggled from the corner. Chan, however, shot them a knowing look that said, Here we go again.
That was how it started, a series of small, almost imperceptible shifts in their dynamic. They were friends, of course. Best friends, even. But their friendship had this… extra layer. It was a layer woven from inside jokes that no one else understood, from Hyunjin leaning on Seungmin during interviews, from Seungmin always having a water bottle ready for Hyunjin after a particularly energetic stage.
Kim Seungmin and Hwang Hyunjin had an understanding. It wasn't written down anywhere, and if you asked them, they'd probably just shrug and say, "We're just friends." But everyone else knew it was more... or at least, different.
They bickered constantly, over who left their socks on the floor (usually Hyunjin), or who finished the last banana milk (often Seungmin). Yet, when Hyunjin had a bad day, it was Seungmin who'd silently offer him a freshly brewed coffee. And when Seungmin was deep in thought, Hyunjin was the only one who knew not to disturb him, just sat close by, sketching quietly.
"You guys are like an old married couple," Minho would deadpan, watching Hyunjin chase Seungmin around the living room, trying to steal his hat. "Except we're not married," Seungmin would retort, dodging Hyunjin with practiced ease. "Yet!" Jisung would chime in, wiggling his eyebrows from the couch. Chan just smiled, shaking his head gently.
One rainy afternoon, they were holed up in the dance studio, Hyunjin sketching while Seungmin worked on a new melody. The only sound was the scratching of Hyunjin's pencil and the soft hum of Seungmin's voice. Hyunjin looked up, catching Seungmin's profile bathed in the soft glow of the monitor. The way Seungmin's brow furrowed in concentration, the slight pout of his lips when he hit a wrong note, the way his hair fell across his forehead. It wasn't the first time Hyunjin had thought Seungmin was handsome, but today, it hit him differently. A strange warmth spread through his chest, something more than just friendly admiration.
Is it just the lighting? Or has he always looked like that? Hyunjin wondered, his pencil pausing mid-air.
Seungmin, sensing the gaze, looked up. "What?" Hyunjin quickly looked back at his sketchbook. "Nothing. Just wondering if you're ever going to finish that song." Seungmin rolled his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. "It's a masterpiece in progress, Hyunjin."
One evening, they were watching a movie in the living room. Hyunjin, sprawled across the sofa like a beautiful, broken doll, had somehow maneuvered his head into Seungmin’s lap, using his thigh as a pillow. Seungmin was used to it. Hyunjin was a naturally tactile person.
"Your hair smells like laundry detergent and expensive conditioner," Seungmin noted, running his fingers through the soft black strands absently.
"Gee, thanks," Hyunjin mumbled, eyes closed. "I aim for fresh yet high-maintenance."
Felix walked past, paused, and raised an eyebrow. "Looking cozy, guys."
Hyunjin just waved a languid hand. "It’s efficient napping. Don’t worry, Lix, Minnie’s leg is just a structural element."
Seungmin scoffed, but internally, his heart had done a weird little flip. Structural element. Right. He was comfortable, too comfortable, with this casual closeness. He found himself thinking about how warm Hyunjin’s head felt, and how much he hated when Hyunjin got up and the warmth was gone.
“Really, you two are practically married,” Changbin would deadpan sometimes, watching Seungmin feed Hyunjin a piece of his chicken, only for Hyunjin to swat his hand away with a fond grumble. "Wow, this is literally the first time I heard of that, Changbin hyung." Hyunjin retorts sarcastically.
“Just making sure he eats, hyung,” Seungmin would reply with a soft sigh, flashing his dazzling smile. Hyunjin would just roll his eyes, but a small, almost undetectable smile would play on his lips.
It was all casual, all fun and games.
Or, at least, that’s what they told themselves.
Hyunjin, with his dramatic flair and affectionate nature, was often the instigator. He’d tease Seungmin mercilessly, but his compliments were always sincere. "Your vocals today were insane, Min," he'd whisper backstage, making Seungmin flush slightly. He'd pull Seungmin into hugs that lasted a beat too long, or rest his head on Seungmin's shoulder during movie nights until he fell asleep.
Seungmin, the calm to Hyunjin's storm, would usually just endure it, sometimes with a sarcastic remark, sometimes with a quiet act of reciprocation. He’d fetch Hyunjin’s forgotten AirPods, or remember Hyunjin’s favorite coffee order without being asked. He’d let Hyunjin complain about his day for hours, offering simple, grounded advice. He was the anchor, and Hyunjin was the whimsical kite, always tethered back to him.
One blustery afternoon, they were holed up in their shared studio, Hyunjin sketching furiously in his art book while Seungmin worked on lyrics. The air was thick with the scent of charcoal and cheap instant coffee. It was quiet, comfortable.
Hyunjin put down his pencil, stretching his arms above his head with a groan. He glanced at Seungmin, who was biting the end of his pen, lost in thought. A sudden, unbidden thought sparked in Hyunjin’s mind, fueled by the easy intimacy of the moment. He knew he shouldn't say it, but the words were already forming. He wanted to test the waters, to see if there was more to this comfortable silence, this easy companionship.
He cleared his throat. Seungmin looked up, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, if I were to ask you out," Hyunjin began, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, though his heart was doing a strange little flutter against his ribs, "would you say yes?"
Seungmin blinked. He didn’t immediately burst out laughing or scold Hyunjin for being absurd. Instead, a tiny, almost imperceptible blush crept up his neck. He paused, considering, a playful smirk slowly spreading across his face.
"Depends," Seungmin said, leaning back in his chair, "where are you taking me? And is it on your dime?"
Hyunjin let out a relieved laugh, the tension easing out of his shoulders. "Wow, straight to the practical questions, Kim Seungmin. I'd take you somewhere nice, obviously. And yes, my treat. But that wasn't the answer to my question."
"Well, you didn't actually ask me out, did you?" Seungmin countered, a glint in his eye. "You asked 'if I were to ask.' It's a hypothetical."
"Right, a hypothetical!" Hyunjin echoed, playing along. "So, hypothetically, yes or no?"
Seungmin pretended to ponder deeply, tapping his pen against his chin. "Hmm. Maybe. Maybe not. You'd have to make a very compelling argument, Hwang Hyunjin."
Hyunjin rolled his eyes dramatically. "You're impossible."
"And you're ridiculous," Seungmin said, but he was smiling now, a soft, genuine smile that made Hyunjin's stomach do another flutter.
They left it there, a dangling, unspoken question mark in the air. The "hypothetical" became a running joke. Every now and then, Hyunjin would throw out a "Still thinking about that date, Min?" and Seungmin would reply with an equally vague, "Still waiting for the actual invitation, Jinnie."
But the question had altered something. Their casual touches became more intentional. Hyunjin found himself searching for Seungmin’s approval in everything. Seungmin, in turn, started to initiate more – a hand on Hyunjin’s arm to stop him from tripping, a silent offering of his hoodie when Hyunjin shivered.
The other members noticed. Felix, always the perceptive one, simply gave Hyunjin a knowing, gentle smile. Chan would just shake his head, a fond exasperation on his face. "Just confess already, you two," Han would shout from across the dorm. "The sexual tension is giving me anxiety!"
"It's not sexual tension, Han!" Seungmin would retort, cheeks slightly pink. "We're just friends."
Hyunjin would echo him, but each time, the word 'friends' felt heavier, less true. Because it wasn't just fun and games for him anymore. That casual hypothetial had blossomed into something real, something deep inside his chest. He was falling, head over heels, for the witty, grounded, surprisingly affectionate Kim Seungmin. And the casualness, once a comfortable shield, was now a torment. It was a suffocating blanket woven from unspoken desires.
He watched Seungmin joke with I.N, saw him laugh freely with Jisung, and a pang of possessiveness, sharp and unexpected, would twist in his gut. He was tired of pretending it didn't mean anything when Seungmin leaned into his space, tired of acting like it was just a prank when he’d tease Seungmin about their "future house."
He wanted more. He wanted everything.
One evening, after a particularly long day of shooting, Hyunjin found Seungmin curled up on the couch, scrolling through his phone. The dorm was quiet, the others either asleep or still out. Hyunjin felt a surge of raw frustration. He walked over, blocking Seungmin's view of the phone.
"Hey," Seungmin said, looking up, a faint smile on his face. "You okay?"
Hyunjin wasn't okay. He was far from it. He was a tangled mess of longing and hurt. "No, I'm not okay, Seungmin." His voice was rougher than he intended.
Seungmin slowly lowered his phone, sensing the shift in Hyunjin's mood. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Hyunjin scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "What's wrong is this. Us. Everything. I can't do this anymore."
Seungmin’s brow furrowed. "Do what? What are you talking about?"
"This casual thing!" Hyunjin’s voice rose slightly. "This friends charade. This… this hypothetical nonsense! It's not a joke anymore, Seungmin, not for me." His eyes, usually so bright and playful, were dark with raw emotion. "I like you. God, I like you. More than friends. More than anyone. I'm actually in love with you."
Seungmin stared at him, wide-eyed, his face paling slightly. He looked genuinely shocked, almost bewildered. "Hyunjin… what? You're being dramatic. We're… we're just us. You know how we are." He tried to brush it off, a nervous laugh escaping him. "This is just… a spur of the moment thing, right? You're tired."
Hyunjin felt a fresh wave of hurt. Always the casual dismissal. Always the easy escape. "Dramatic? Tired?" He clenched his fists, his voice low and trembling now. "You think this is drama? You think this is just me being tired?" He took a step closer, his eyes intense. "What do you even know, Kim Seungmin?"
Seungmin flinched at the sharpness in his tone.
"What do you know about how my heart drops every time you give me that soft smile?" Hyunjin continued, his pain evident in every word. "What do you know about how it feels to walk past you and want to reach out and hold your hand, but pretend it's just 'friendly'? What do you know about asking you if you'd say yes, and then having to laugh it off when you gave me a vague answer, when all I wanted was for you to actually say 'yes'?"
He was breathing heavily now, the confession pouring out of him, unfiltered and raw. "I watch you, Seungmin. I watch how you carefully fold my clothes, how you always know when I'm upset even when I hide it. I watch you, and I fall deeper, and then I have to pretend it's all just a joke, just Hyunjin being Hyunjin. And I can't do it anymore. It hurts too much."
Seungmin was quiet, his eyes fixed on Hyunjin. The initial shock had given way to something else, a slow dawning of understanding. He replayed every casual touch, every lingering glance, every shared laugh, but this time through Hyunjin's lens. And then, terrifyingly, he began to see them through his own. The way his stomach fluttered when Hyunjin's head rested on his shoulder. The inexplicable warmth that spread through him when Hyunjin complimented him. The genuine ease and comfort he felt only around Hyunjin.
He had been dismissing it as just their unique friendship, too afraid to label it, too used to the casual safety net. But Hyunjin's raw honesty shattered that net.
Seungmin swallowed hard, his voice barely a whisper. "I… I thought… I thought it was just you being you. I thought… it was just our thing." He met Hyunjin's gaze, a newfound vulnerability in his eyes. "But I think… I think I know, Jinnie. And I think I feel it too." He reached out, a hesitant hand touching Hyunjin’s arm. "I'm sorry. I just… I didn't want to mess things up."
Hyunjin's eyes softened, relief washing over him in a dizzying wave. He covered Seungmin's hand with his own, his thumb stroking gently. "You didn't mess things up. You just… made me wait a little longer than I wanted."
A small, genuine smile finally returned to Seungmin's face. "So," he said, a playful glint back in his eyes, "if you were to actually ask me out now… what would you say?"
Hyunjin laughed, a burst of joyful relief. "Kim Seungmin, will you go on a proper date with me? No hypotheticals this time. Just you and me."
Seungmin squeezed his hand. "Yes, Hwang Hyunjin. A thousand times, yes."
The casualness didn't disappear entirely. It was still their way. But now, it wasn't a pretense masking deeper feelings; it was a comfortable, honest extension of them. It was their unique, unusual way of being in love, finally acknowledged, finally real. They might still tease about hypotheticals, but now, the 'yes' was always implicit, always understood, always true.