Chapter Text
Maki was only fourteen when he first saw Taki on I-LAND. At that age, everything felt too big, too far away and too impossible. But there was something about Taki—just a few months older, standing in front of cameras with trembling hands but shining eyes,that made Maki stare and whisper to himself, “He’s so cool… I want to be like that.”
He didn’t dream of being an idol back then. He didn’t even think he could. But whenever Taki danced with all his heart on screen, something inside Maki stirred. Admiration? Motivation? Maybe both.
Two years later, the world played one of its strange jokes. Maki, now sixteen, walked into the training room of &AUDITION, saw Taki stretching at the mirror and nearly forgot how to breathe. The boy I admired… here? With me?
He wanted to scream out of excitement but ended up bowing awkwardly so fast he almost head-butted the floor. Taki blinked at him and smiled softly. Maki swore his heart had skipped at least five beats. It was the beginning of a journey.
Debuting together with eight other boys should have been the most exciting thing but puberty had other plans for Maki. Strange plans.
There were moments he couldn’t understand:
Whenever Taki laughed, Maki felt tiny fireworks in his stomach.
When they played video games late at night, wrapped under the same blanket, Taki’s cold feet would touch Maki’s leg and Maki would shriek dramatically like he had been electrocuted.
Once, Taki fed him a piece of chicken with chopsticks and Maki dropped his controller, forgetting he was in the middle of an online match. Their team lost. Everyone blamed lag. Maki knew the lag was in his heartbeat.
Maki told himself it was hero-worship. Admiration. Nothing weird. Nope. Absolutely not a crush.
But then why did he blush every time Taki called, “Maki~ come here!” in that sweet, whiny tone?
Why did he secretly collect every Polaroid where they happened to stand next to each other?
Why did he feel jealous when Taki hugged someone else for more than three seconds?
Why did he find himself looking at Taki’s smile and thinking, If the Japanese red string of fate were real… would mine be tied to him?
He didn’t even believe in the red string theory, but destiny seemed very obsessed with jokes because both of their last names were Riki. Fans called them “Rikiz.”
Every time he saw that nickname trending, Maki pretended he didn’t care. He cared a lot.
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Silly Moments for others but heartfluttering for Maki
1. The Water Bottle Incident
It happened during practice, when everyone was sweaty, exhausted, and too tired to think straight.
Taki reached for his water bottle, grabbed the nearest one instead and took a huge gulp.
Maki watched it in slow motion.
His brain malfunctioned.
That was his bottle.
Taki’s lips.
On his bottle.
Taki paused. Looked down at the bottle.
Saw Maki’s name scribbled in messy marker.
They both froze.
Maki’s face went red instantly.
He whispered, barely audible,
“Indirect kiss…”
Taki choked so violently he nearly dropped the bottle.He coughed like an old TV dying, stumbling back while Harua screamed and Kei looked concerned.
Meanwhile Maki stood there, mortified, wanting to sink into the floor and never return to earth again.
It got worse when Taki, still coughing, squeaked,
“WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT OUT LOUD!?”
Maki covered his face with both hands.
“I...I didn’t mean to—”
The rest of the group laughed for the next three days.
2. The Blanket Disaster (Aka maki's emotional damage)
It was supposed to be a relaxing movie night.Nine boys, popcorn everywhere and Taki claiming the spot next to Maki like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Halfway through the movie, Taki’s head slowly dropped onto Maki’s shoulder.Maki stiffened like someone had hit the pause button on his entire nervous system.
Okay.
Breathe.
It’s fine.
Just a head.
Just Taki’s head.
On his shoulder.
Right next to his neck.
Is that breathing?Why is Taki breathing on his collarbone?
Maki tried gently nudging him away.
Bad idea.
Taki mumbled something sleepy, rolled even closer and wrapped both arms around Maki’s waist like he was clutching a beloved plushie.
Maki’s soul left his body.
He didn’t move for the remaining two hours of the movie.When everyone else fell asleep, Taki just snored softly into his chest while Maki stared at the ceiling, heart doing parkour inside his ribs.
He did not sleep.His brain refused to shut up.
Taki is hugging me.
Why is he warm? Why is he always warm?
Is this allowed?
Is this legal?
The next morning Taki woke up, stretched and smiled lazily.
“Morning, Maki.”
Maki squeaked. Actually squeaked.
And that was the day Maki learned what emotional damage truly felt like.
Lastly when both of the boys did a live together,they were scrolling through comments after a live when they kept seeing the same phrase:
Rikiz. Rikiz. Rikiz.
Taki giggled.
“Fans are cute. They think we’re soulmates because our last names match.”
He leaned over, bumping shoulders with Maki.
“We’re truly soulmates, right?”
He said it like a joke.Bright, playful, casual.
But Maki...
Maki.exe stopped working.
His ears turned red. His fingers went numb. His heart actually forgot to beat for a second.
Soulmates?
SOULMATES???
He almost fainted on the spot.
Taki didn’t notice, still scrolling, humming happily.
Meanwhile Maki sat there, trying not to fall off the couch as his brain replayed Taki’s words on loop like a broken speaker:
We’re truly soulmates, right?
We’re truly soulmates.
Soulmates.
SOUL—
For the first time, Harua asked if Maki needed medical assistance because he looked paler than he usually is.
Maki never recovered.
He tried to tell himself this was just puberty messing with him—hormones, admiration, friendship. Everyone goes through stages of confusion, right?
But the truth stayed stubborn.
He looked at Taki the way people look at their favorite place in the world.
He felt comfort around Taki the way people feel when they return home after a long day.
He felt happy in a way he couldn’t explain when Taki grinned at him like he was the only person in the room.
He didn’t know if it was love. He didn’t know if he was allowed to feel this.
All he knew was
Being around Taki made everything feel right.
Maybe destiny didn’t tie them together with a red string.
Maybe it tied them with shared dreams, late-night laughs, matching last names and the quiet heartbeat Maki couldn’t control.
Whatever it was… Something was there. Something soft. Something scary. Something beautifully, confusingly teenage.
For a long time, Maki convinced himself that everything he felt around Taki had a simple explanation.
They were almost the same age.They were friends.They trained, lived, ate, cried and laughed together.
Of course he felt close. Of course he felt comfortable.
It was nothing special, right?
Whenever Taki leaned on him, Maki told himself, He does that with everyone.When Taki playfully poked his cheek or locked arms with him, Maki whispered internally, It’s just a joke. He’s always like that.
And when Taki sat too close, smiled too warmly or giggled while clinging onto him, Maki forced his heart to calm down.
Don’t be stupid. He laughs like that with everyone.
He repeated it so many times that it became a shield—a thin, weak one but a shield nonetheless.
Because believing these things was easier than admitting what might be the truth.
When Maki turned eighteen, something changed.
Not in Taki,he was still loud, affectionate, ridiculous, and painfully cute without realizing it.
But in Maki, something quiet and stubborn started forming.
He first felt it squeeze his chest on a random Tuesday, during a casual practice break. The boys were joking around, noisy as always. Taki was standing with Yuma, both laughing at something on a phone screen.
At first, Maki wasn’t paying attention.
Until he heard Taki’s voice.
“Yuma kun~ look!” Taki said making a pouty face, leaning so close their shoulders pressed.He sent a quick, fake kiss at Yuma with a playful wink.
Yuma burst out laughing and returned the gesture dramatic, exaggerated, completely unserious.
Everyone laughed and teased them.
Except Maki.
Something inside him tightened so fast it scared him.
A small, sharp pinch of jealousy.
A strange heaviness in his stomach.
A silent ache he couldn’t name.
He told himself it was nothing but his face heated, his throat felt dry and he suddenly couldn’t stand watching them act lovey-dovey even if it was just for fun.
He tried to look away but his eyes kept drifting back, as if drawn by instinct.
Taki does this with everyone, he repeated desperately in his mind.It’s just Taki being Taki. Don’t think weirdly. Don’t...
But the hurt was still there.
And it didn’t fade.
Later that night, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, Maki finally admitted something he had been running from:
He wasn’t jealous because he felt left out.
He wasn’t jealous because he wanted attention.
He wasn’t jealous because Yuma and Taki were close.
He was jealous because:
He wanted Taki’s kisses to be HIS.
He wanted Taki’s attention, warmth, smiles—just for him.
He wanted something more than friendship.
It hit him like a quiet storm.
His feelings were real.
And now that he noticed it, he couldn’t ignore it.
Every time Taki’s hand brushed his, Maki felt the spark.
Every time Taki giggled at his dumb jokes, Maki felt happiness bloom.
Every time Taki hugged someone else, Maki felt a tug of possessive longing he didn’t know he was capable of.
He wasn’t just fond of Taki.
He was falling for him.
Maybe he had been falling for years without realizing.Maybe the red string he didn’t believe in had been tugging gently all along.
But now, at eighteen, Maki could no longer lie to himself.
He loved Taki and that truth terrified him more than anything.