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Everyone in NEXZ knows one universal truth about Uemura Tomoya.
If he’s quiet, something is wrong.
If he’s loud, something is very wrong.
Today, he’s loud.
They’re filming a behind-the-scenes vlog after practice—the kind Nex2y eats up. The mirrors in the practice room are slightly fogged from heat and sweat, water bottles litter the floor, someone’s jacket lies abandoned in the corner like it gave up halfway through rehearsal.
Tomoya has not stopped talking for five minutes.
“And then—no, because listen—listen—” he says, waving his hands dramatically as the camera struggles to keep up with him. “The counts were definitely off, but I fixed it. You’re welcome.”
Yu sighs somewhere off-camera. Geon laughs. Haru mutters something about noise pollution.
Hyui, meanwhile, is sitting on the floor with his back against the mirror, towel draped loosely around his neck, breathing steady now that practice is over.
He’s smiling.
Tomoya spots it instantly.
“Ooooh,” he sings, crouching down in front of him with theatrical slowness. “Hyui is smiling.”
Hyui blinks, caught. “I’m just resting.”
“No, no,” Tomoya says, wagging a finger. “That’s not a resting smile. That’s a happy smile.”
Hyui’s ears turn pink.
The camera, as if sentient, zooms in.
“Did someone compliment you?” Tomoya presses, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Was it the staff? The producer? Nex2y?”
“They said my pitch was stable,” Hyui admits quietly.
Tomoya gasps like he’s just heard the plot twist of the century. “LOOK AT HIM.”
Yu groans. “Why are you like this?”
“I’m appreciating!” Tomoya protests. “Hyui deserves praise.”
Hyui presses his lips together, clearly trying—and failing—not to smile wider.
This is normal.
This is their rhythm.
Tomoya pokes. Hyui absorbs. Tomoya escalates. Hyui reacts just enough to make it worth it.
It’s harmless. It’s funny. It’s safe.
It’s muscle memory at this point—Tomoya pushing out his lower lip dramatically, tilting his head, fishing for reactions. He’s done it to everyone: Yu, Geon, Haru, Yuki, Seita. Even the camera itself.
Hyui just happens to be the most entertaining target.
Tomoya plops down beside him, pouting exaggeratedly.
Hyui glances over.
Without missing a beat, he leans in.
Not all the way. Just close enough.
Tomoya gasps and throws his hands up. “OH MY GOD!”
“HYUI JUST KISSED ME!”
Laughter explodes around them.
Hyui immediately leans back, smiling shyly. “I didn’t.”
“You almost did!” Tomoya points at him accusingly, then whips around to the camera. “Nex2y, did you see that? He must love me so much.”
Hyui doesn’t deny it. He just smiles.
Yu squints. “You’re the worst.”
Geon laughs. “Do it again.”
And they do.
It becomes a thing.
Backstage. Practice room. Dorm hallway. Live broadcasts.
Tomoya pouts.
Hyui leans in.
Tomoya fake-panics.
Every single time.
“Kiss me,” Tomoya says playfully during a live.
Hyui leans in.
Tomoya yelps. “HEY—HEY—THIS IS A FAMILY SHOW!”
Nex2y loses their collective mind in the chat.
Hyui never actually kisses him.
He just leans close enough — close enough to make Tomoya react, close enough to make something warm and unfamiliar curl in his chest.
And Tomoya, loud and dramatic and very bad at self-reflection, eats it up.
They’re filming a casual dorm vlog, sprawled across the couch, energy relaxed and lazy. Nex2y floods the comments, excited to see them off-stage.
Tomoya pouts automatically.
Hyui leans in automatically.
Tomoya laughs automatically. “Oh my god! Nex2y, look—Hyui giving me his love!”
Hyui doesn’t lean back.
The room freezes.
Hyui tilts his head slightly.
Then he closes the distance.
It’s not dramatic.
It’s not long.
Just a soft, quick peck.
The room detonates.
Geon screams. Yu drops the camera. Someone yells something incoherent. Something clatters to the floor.
Tomoya freezes.
His brain blue-screens completely.
Hyui pulls back, calm as ever.
Smiling.
Smug. Soft. Certain.
“What?” Hyui says mildly, glancing around. “Tomoya asked for it.”
Tomoya forgets how to breathe.
Hyui’s lips are warm.
That is the only coherent thought left in his body.
“WHAT—”
“DID THAT JUST—”
“HYUI?!”
“TOMOYA?!”
The camera is still rolling.
Tomoya finally inhales—and it comes out as a strangled, high-pitched noise. He stumbles backward on the couch, hands flying to his mouth like he can undo reality by covering it.
“H—HYUI?!”
Hyui sits back neatly, hands folded in his lap, expression serenely smug.
The members lose their minds.
Geon collapses laughing. Yu stares like he’s reconsidering every choice that led him here. Haru makes a noise that sounds like a kettle dying.
Tomoya points at Hyui with both hands. “YOU—YOU—YOU CAN’T JUST—”
“You told me to kiss you,” Hyui says calmly. “Many times.”
“That was a joke!”
Hyui hums. “You say that a lot.”
The camera zooms in.
Nex2y has stopped forming words entirely.
“I—” Tomoya looking at camera while touching his lips. “I think… I just got kissed.”
“You think,” Yu deadpans.
“HYUI JUST ENDED HIM,” Geon wheezes.
Hyui’s smile widens.
Staff cuts the live ten seconds later.
It’s more than enough to destroy the fandom.
The aftermath is loud.
“I DID NOT CONSENT TO FOLLOW-THROUGH,” Tomoya insists, pacing the living room.
“You literally asked for it,” Yu replies flatly.
“I ASKED AS A JOKE.”
Hyui, seated quietly, raises a hand. “To be fair, you never clarified.”
Tomoya points at him. “YOU KNEW.”
Hyui meets his gaze, calm. “Did I?”
Tomoya collapses onto the couch. “This is a nightmare.”
Hyui approaches later, softer now.
“You okay?” he asks.
Tomoya peeks up. “…You kissed me.”
“Yes.”
“On camera.”
“Yes.”
“In front of Nex2y.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“…I didn’t hate it.”
Hyui smiles — warm, not smug.
They don’t talk about it for two days.
Nex2y does not shut up for even one second.
It finally comes out when they’re alone in the practice room.
“You enjoyed this,” Tomoya accuses weakly.
“A little,” Hyui admits.
“You’re unfair.”
“You kept pretending it wasn’t real.”
Tomoya exhales. “Because if it was… I wouldn’t know how to joke my way out of it.”
Hyui hooks a finger into Tomoya’s sleeve.
“You don’t have to joke,” he says softly.
“…Kiss me?” Tomoya asks, quiet now.
Hyui smiles.
“See?” he murmurs. “You can ask properly.”
They still tease each other.
But now—
Sometimes Tomoya doesn’t pull away.
And sometimes Hyui kisses him again, smiling like he finally won something he was always meant to win.
Nex2y, naturally, never recovers.