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Hyeonbin knew. He knew that sitting between Yeonwoo and Jinhyuk would be dangerous, just like standing near Yoon when he was in the mood to grope the first human being he saw —which was usually every single time— or getting between Siyun and his favorite person in the whole wide world, who, ironically, also happened to be Jinhyuk. And yes, despite knowing all this, he had stood there, because right in front of him was something far more important than his physical and mental well-being.
“Move aside, I want cake.”
The New Year's live stream had just ended. Siyun and Yoon hadn't been able to participate, which had left the three of them alone with a wonderful selection of different pieces of cake, and yes, it had been exactly a week since the big Christmas Eve feast, but Hyeonbin was incapable of refusing a sweet treat, no matter how much he was supposedly on a diet.
Yeonwoo was different. Perhaps it was stubbornness, perhaps it was a willpower far stronger than Jinhyuk and Hyeonbin possessed, or perhaps it was that stupid, unnecessary guilt that their work and the society around them instilled in them. Whatever it was, Yeonwoo had decided not to eat the cake, and he hadn't.
"The live’s over, you can have at least a bite, we won't tell anyone." Hyeonbin mumbled, his mouth full of sweet vanilla-flavored cream and chocolate cake.
"I can't. We've just started the year and you're already expecting me to break my diet? Hyung, you're a terrible influence, I don't understand how you ended up being the leader."
Hyeonbin loved Yeonwoo, he truly did, he adored him, just as he adored the rest of the annoying little scumbags that made up his group, but sometimes he was overcome by an uncontrollable urge to rip his head off with his teeth so he could bathe in his blood. A fantasy he never planned to share, at least not sober, though he didn't think Yeonwoo would be scared or intimidated, considering how he looked at Yoon sometimes. Hyeonbin was sure that Yeonwoo's head harbored far more disturbing thoughts than his own.
"It's thanks to my incredible patience to put up with little gremlins like you." The truth was, that sentence would have sounded more threatening if his mouth hadn't been full of whipped cream.
To his right, he could hear Jinhyuk's characteristic chuckle, who, as always, seemed to have decided to enjoy the spectacle in complete silence. Hyeonbin had arrived last, yet he felt quite proud of being able to understand what his bandmates were feeling with just a glance… But Jinhyuk was different, as if his brain were molded differently from the rest, or perhaps he just spent too much time with Yeonwoo.
"Hyung, what if you could taste it without having to eat the cake?" A small, imaginary lightbulb went off right above Jinhyuk's head. He'd just had his best idea in years, maybe the best he'd ever had, or at least that's what Hyeonbin wanted to believe, judging by the smile that had spread across his face.
"I don't know, I don't feel like doing the chewing and spitting thing..." A hint of pain could be heard in Yeonwoo's voice, his eyes glued to the piece of matcha cake he'd been staring at since they'd gone to the store to choose the assortment.
"I don't mean that, there's another way." Jinhyuk raised his left hand to remove the mask that still covered half his face. He wasn't wearing makeup, though, to be honest, it wasn't like he needed it. "A much more fun way."
Silence fell, even Hyeonbin had stopped chewing for a split second —that was his last bite, he promised to himself. Something in the atmosphere had changed, specifically, something in the energy emanating from Yeonwoo and Jinhyuk had shifted, and Hyeonbin was starting to get nervous. Because, let's be honest, he knew it; he was the leader after all, and besides, he wasn't that stupid. They lived solitary lives, detached from any kind of relationship outside their own group or the work they shared with different members of the company. He'd seen it when he was still a trainee, even during Produce, he'd had to close his eyes and turn up the volume on his headphones to drown out the way some participants dealt with the loneliness that the idol life offered. And, perhaps in the past, he himself had accepted a helping hand or anonymous lips.
So yes, he knew, what happened on those nights when Jinhyuk decided to sneak into Yeonwoo's room, thinking he was the most elusive person on the planet, when in reality he looked like a huge bear trying to squeeze through a glass shop. And yet, Hyeonbin wanted to believe both would have the decency to wait until they were alone, to wait until Hyeonbin had finished swallowing his perhaps last bite of cake before throwing themselves upon each other under the guise of savoring sweet that Jinhyuk didn’t even try.
Unfortunately for Hyeonbin, he couldn't have been more wrong. Because if sitting between Yeonwoo and Jinhyuk was already dangerous in a mundane, public situation like a live, the moment their manager decided to leave them alone, Hyeonbin himself should have fled. Damn cake, why did it have to be so delicious?
Jinhyuk and Yeonwoo's lips were pressed together right in front of his nose, moving naturally, as if they'd done it hundreds of times, generating a disturbing number of little noises that seemed to pierce Hyeonbin's ears, who couldn't decide whether the auditory experience was pleasant or nauseating. His back was pressed completely against the sofa's backrest, a position that offered him zero to no escape route, while Yeonwoo and Jinhyuk's bodies seemed to be getting closer and closer, which meant they were getting closer and closer to him.
“Hey, guys…” Hyeonbin had an iron will, an innate talent for leadership that allowed him to handle any problem that came his way. Which didn't seem to include the fact that two of his closest people were practically making out on his lap, apparently at least, because he was absolutely certain his brain had melted and was starting to ooze out of his ears.
He wasn't quite sure when it happened, or more importantly, why it happened, but for some reason Jinhyuk's hand had started massaging his thigh. Had he put it on the wrong leg? Was he too busy sharing the sweetness of his lips with Yeonwoo that he hadn't even noticed? Hyeonbin didn't know, but it had been so long since anyone had touched him like that that the moment Jinhyuk's strong fingers dug a little deeper into the softness of his skin, an inevitable sound escaped his lips, sharp and utterly pathetic. God, if magic really existed, please let one of the cakes he'd just devoured come to life and take revenge for him and all his fallen sweet companions.
"Hyung?" There it was again, that soft chuckle that tried to sound innocent but really wasn't. Jang Jinhyuk was the evil personified, and Hyeonbin was becoming more and more certain of it.
"Do you like what you see or…?" Yeonwoo's eyes traveled from Hyeonbin's face to his legs, smiling as Jinhyuk's hand gently massaged his thigh. "Ah, I see." If Jinhyuk was the evil, Yeonwoo had to be some kind of mythological being, supreme and omnipotent, whose sole mission in life was to make him suffer every second of the day.
"Yeonwoo hyung, you wanted to try the matcha cake, right?" Hyeonbin's eyes darted between Jinhyuk and Yeonwoo, who seemed to be having an telepathic conversation he couldn't participate in.
"That's right, Jinhyuk-sii, but you didn't want to try that particular flavor because you don't like it." Yeonwoo's tone was unbearable, or perhaps it was just his normal tone and Hyeonbin was simply too busy trying to escape to notice.
Jinhyuk nodded slowly before facing Hyeonbin, who was staring at them like a deer staring at headlights before being cruelly run over. Why was he always the hunted one? He'd just realized it, but he was literally a rabbit fighting a dog, a fox, a bear, and a freaking dinosaur with koala-like demeanor every single day.
"But Hyeonbin hyung did try the cake, even if he didn't like it." Jinhyuk's lips were moving, but Hyeonbin's melting brain seemed to have plugged his ears because he was finding very difficult to follow his words.
Because, to tell the truth, the fact that Hyeonbin had noticed Jinhyuk lurking outside Yeonwoo's room all those nights hadn't been a coincidence. Perhaps, just perhaps, Hyeonbin had gone so long without encountering anonymous lips that he'd started noticing those with a big, specific, and dangerous name attached to them, and, unfortunately for him, the lips of the two people who were looking at him right then as if he were the last piece of cake on the face of the earth were the shiniest, softest, and most alluring lips he'd ever had the pleasure of beholding.
"Bbini hyung, would you do Yeonwoo hyung the huge favor of letting him try the matcha cake he's been craving so much? Hmm?" Jinhyuk tilted his head, digging his nails a little deeper into the fabric of his jeans.
Hyeonbin swallowed hard. Was he supposed to… refuse? No, that wasn't the right question he should be asking himself. Was he supposed to accept? Not a chance, he couldn't, no, never, not in a million light-years would he agree to kiss one of his bandmates. He could overlook the fact that Jinhyuk and Yeonwoo were together —or whatever— but that didn't mean he was going to participate. Did he want to? Quite possibly, but he wasn't planning on risking creating an awkward situation that would ruin the wonderful dynamic of his group.
"I…" And Hyeonbin was certain, he and his melting brain were going to accept the offer. No! They weren't going to reject the offer. Wrong again! Oh god, they'd only been in 2026 for half an hour and it was already turning out to be the worst year of his entire life. "We shouldn't, it's… Aren't you guys together, or something? It would be weird." Hyeonbin wanted to pat himself on the back, he'd managed to form a halfway decent thought.
"We are together." Yeonwoo said without thinking, smiling sweetly, completely contrary to the smile of pure malice and perversion that Hyeonbin was sure he'd seen just a few seconds ago. The funny thing was, he'd found both versions stupidly attractive.
"But we wouldn't mind sharing if it's with you, hyung." Jinhyuk bit his lower lip, his cheeks flushing a light pink that only made him look more precious. “Or with Siyun-ie and Yoon hyung.”
Okay, this was already way weirder than Hyeonbin had imagined. What was going on under the roof of their dorm, and how had he not noticed? Because Jinhyuk and Yeonwoo were painfully obvious, but it had never crossed his mind to include two more people in the equation.
“Wait a second…” Then something clicked in Hyeonbin’s completely empty head, a thought he wasn’t quite sure where it came from considering he’d just lost his brain in combat. “Why am I the last to find out about this? Have you guys already done something like this with Yoon or Siyun?” Hyeonbin was prepared to fight tooth and nail to deny the fact that a huge pout had formed on his lips.
“Oh hyung, you’re adorable.” Yeonwoo whispered, slipping his hand onto Hyeonbin's free thigh, letting a couple of seconds pass before asking, "Is that supposed to be a yes?"
And maybe it was the new contact on his skin, or the fact that the beanie he was wearing was starting to cut off the circulation to his already nonexistent brain, or Yeonwoo's sweet scent that had been intoxicating his senses since the beginning of the live, even overpowering the wonderful aroma of chocolate and cream from the cakes he had just devoured, but the moment Yeonwoo began to move closer, slowly, giving him time to refuse, Hyeonbin decided not to move, allowing himself to close his eyes, his lips slightly parted, his heart beating so fast that he wouldn't find it strange if at any moment it decided to burst out of his chest, leaving a comical hole in his ribs.
Yeonwoo's lips were soft, so ridiculously soft that Hyeonbin had to squint to make sure he was really being kissed, catching a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Jinhyuk watching them intently. Yes, Hyeonbin had stepped into a hole he wasn't quite sure how he was going to get out of… Or, rather, he'd been dragged by the ankles without the slightest chance of escape. But did he even want to escape? Hyeonbin closed his eyes again, ready to let go for once in his life.
Perhaps his body was tense, or maybe it was his lack of skill in kissing after so long without practice, but Yeonwoo seemed to notice, beginning to gently caress Hyeonbin's fingers resting on the sofa, slowly moving up to his wrist, slipping just a few centimeters under the cuff of his jacket. A soft sigh escaped his lips, lost in Yeonwoo's mouth, which was now half-open. Yeonwoo took the opportunity to lightly bite his lower lip, tugging at it just a few millimeters before closing the distance again, as if the taste of matcha could truly linger in his mouth for that long.
Completely lost in the kiss, Hyeonbin didn't notice how Jinhyuk's free hand —the one not gripping his thigh dangerously— began to move up his shoulder, caressing his neck until burying itself in his hair under his beanie, massaging his scalp. It was incredible, this new sensation of being completely surrounded, as if every inch of his skin belonged to Jinhyuk and Yeonwoo, as if Hyeonbin had opened the doors wide for them to touch him, and mark him, and kiss him, and…
“I'm curious to try the taste of matcha, too.” Hyeonbin thought he heard Jinhyuk whisper, almost beg, in that tone he used whenever he tried to use his "maknae" card to get his way. "Can I?"
And so, in a split second that seemed endless, Yeonwoo pulled away from Hyeonbin, giving way to a hungry Jinhyuk who didn't waste a single instant before pressing his lips to his hyung's.
Jinhyuk's kiss was completely different from Yeonwoo's. So much faster, more voracious, but at the same time, complementary, as if they had learned by kissing each other, completely adapting to each other's opposing needs. Yeonwoo was delicate, Jinhyuk was like a wild animal trying to devour Hyeonbin in one bite. His lips moved swiftly, capturing, nibbling, and pushing the boundaries that Hyeonbin had left behind long ago. The hand that had been buried in his hair now held him tightly, with a touch of possessiveness that even Hyeonbin seemed to feel, making his whole body tremble gently. Jinhyuk seemed to notice, smiling against his lips before slipping his tongue between them, savoring his sweetness, as if he himself hadn't tasted the same cakes that Hyeonbin had just devoured.
Hyeonbin was ecstatic, as if the amount of sugar he'd just consumed meant nothing compared to the incredibly sweet and delicious taste of Jinhyuk's lips. When they parted, Hyeonbin kept his eyes closed, noticing how his lips throbbed slightly, surely swollen and glossy, perhaps, just perhaps, waiting for more. More that arrived in the form of a small peck from Yeonwoo's lips. Ah, how had he been able to memorize the difference so quickly?
"Bbinibbini hyung, thank you for letting us taste the matcha, it was truly delicious." Yeonwoo whispered against his lips, placing a small, final kiss on the corner of his mouth.
"Yes, we should definitely try a new flavor sometime, hyung." Jinhyuk's hand, still buried in his hair, moved, gently caressing his cheek.
Hyeonbin had definitely lost the last two brain cells he had left, and the year had only just begun… Although, who knows, if two kisses had been enough to steal them, perhaps the power to recover them lay in only one place.
His lips.
And perhaps another disgusting bite of that odious matcha cake that, in some disturbing way, he was beginning to grow fond of.