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Seonghyeon arrived first, followed by Keonho, then Juhoon, James, and finally Martin—their leader entering the set with a full-face mask on, immediately earning laughter from the staff waiting inside the dressing room.
The room buzzed with hair dryers, makeup brushes, and overlapping chatter. Stylists moved quickly around them, fixing collars and trimming stray strands under the warm vanity lights.
Seonghyeon’s hair was neatly trimmed at the back, exposing more of his neck. Martin’s hair was styled damp and tousled, like he had just climbed out of the water. James and Juhoon kept softer looks—fresh, fluffy hair that framed their faces naturally.
Then there was Keonho.
His hair had been cut much shorter than usual. The stylist pushed his fringe back slightly, revealing more of his forehead and sharpening the bridge of his nose. The cleaner cut somehow made him look older despite being the youngest.
“My hair always ends up looking the same,” Keonho murmured while staring at himself through the mirror, fingers combing through the freshly styled strands.
But he wasn’t the only one captivated by it.
Juhoon, who had originally been standing near Seonghyeon, caught sight of Keonho through the reflection. His gaze lingered without meaning to. Keonho’s fingers threading through his own hair only made it worse.
Without thinking much about it, Juhoon crossed the room.
“Keonho, we’re going with just the tank top. No overshirt,” the director instructed for the Blue Lips music video shoot.
“Hm?”
Already aware that Juhoon had stopped behind him, Keonho slowly took off his checkered shirt with a teasing grin before tossing it onto the chair beside him.
“Only a tank top?” Juhoon repeated, sounding more shocked than he intended.
Keonho echoed him immediately, like he always did. “Only a tank top?”
“That’s pretty bold,” Juhoon added, his tone calm enough for anyone else to miss what sat underneath it.
“That is bold,” Martin chimed in from the side, smirking knowingly at how broad Keonho looked under the sleeveless shirt.
“Ah, I feel shy now,” Keonho laughed, suddenly embarrassed after realizing how obvious his teasing had been.
The filming began with Seonghyeon and James shooting repeated scenes by the refrigerator, opening and closing it under the director’s instructions until the mood felt right.
Soon after, Keonho was called to the poolside.
Even with the freezing night air, he managed to brighten the set effortlessly, laughing with the staff and joking around with Seonghyeon and James between takes.
Meanwhile, another camera filmed inside the dressing room where Juhoon and James waited for their scenes.
“I don’t know how to swim,” Juhoon admitted suddenly, remembering the pool sequence waiting for him outside.
James burst out laughing. “What if he drowns out there?”
Juhoon paused before answering, a small smile tugging at his lips.
I won’t. He’ll save me.
“You’d definitely leave me behind first,” Juhoon shot back when James continued teasing him, making the staff laugh again.
“But honestly, it’s not bad once you’re in,” James reassured him.
Still, when Juhoon finally stood by the edge of the pool, his usual calm persona cracked a little. The water looked cold. The night air was colder.
Then he spotted Keonho already inside the pool.
And somehow, that made it easier.
“Juhoon, go ahead,” the director called.
Juhoon stepped in, immediately inhaling sharply at the freezing water. Thankfully, the pool wasn’t deep enough to unsettle him too much.
Almost instinctively, he drifted toward Keonho on the opposite side.
Keonho smiled the moment he noticed him approaching.
Despite the icy water surrounding them, that smile alone felt warm enough to cut through it.
The shoot carried on naturally after that.
They laughed between takes, fingertips brushing underwater more than once—not entirely by accident. Their smiles softened the blue glow of the pool into something gentler, warmer.
Juhoon had never liked pools much. Not because he hated them, but because not knowing how to swim always left him uneasy.
But somehow, standing there with Keonho beside him, those thoughts faded into the background.
He really did save me
The cameras kept rolling, but for brief moments it almost felt like there were none at all.
Eventually, the filming wrapped for the night.
The members returned to the dressing room exhausted, immediately wrapping themselves in thick blankets while the staff hurried around with towels and heaters. Their bodies still trembled from the cold despite the warmth inside.
Keonho stood near Juhoon afteranother set of behind-the-scenes photos were taken.
“Don’t you think we should push at least one member into the pool?” Keonho whispered toward the camera dramatically, loud enough for Juhoon to hear.
“If Juhoon-hyung were there earlier, tossing him in would’ve been easy.”
He glanced sideways at Juhoon with a mischievous grin.
“Hyung, are you done changing?”
Juhoon only stared at him for a second before lazily waving him away with a quiet, “Bye.”
Keonho laughed before getting called for one last scene.
When it finally ended, he ran straight back toward the dressing room, shivering this time without trying to hide it.
The ride back to the dorm was quieter than usual.
Juhoon had already claimed the very back seats before anyone else climbed into the van, deliberately choosing the spot furthest from the direct blast of the air conditioner. After spending hours soaked in freezing pool water, the last thing Keonho needed was colder air hitting him the entire ride home.
By the time everyone settled in, blankets were draped messily over laps and shoulders.
Martin and James naturally filled the silence first, talking about the shoot while replaying clips on James’ phone. Seonghyeon chimed in occasionally, half listening while leaning back against his seat.
None of them paid much attention to the back.
After all, Juhoon and Keonho had it the worst tonight.
Keonho practically melted into Juhoon’s side the moment the van started moving.
A blanket covered both of them from the waist down, hiding how close they actually sat. Their thighs pressed together fully, shoulders touching without a single inch left between them.
For a few minutes, Keonho stayed quiet.
Then he leaned closer, lips almost brushing Juhoon’s ear.
“Juhoon-hyung,” he whispered softly, “is this okay?”
Juhoon turned slightly toward him, eyes calm despite how close they were.
Keonho’s hand had already slipped beneath the blanket, fingers resting carefully against Juhoon’s waist over the thin fabric of his shirt.
Juhoon answered with the smallest nod.
“Mm.”
Keonho smiled immediately at the permission.
His fingers moved slowly after that, rubbing warmth into Juhoon’s side while inching beneath the hem of his shirt. His hands were still cold from the pool, making Juhoon tense slightly at the sudden touch against bare skin.
“You’re freezing,” Juhoon muttered quietly.
“I know,” Keonho whispered back with a tiny laugh.
But he didn’t pull away.
Instead, he moved even closer until his head rested against Juhoon’s shoulder naturally. Underneath the blanket, his palm flattened against Juhoon’s stomach, thumb brushing slowly over warm skin.
Juhoon stayed still.
Anyone looking back would’ve thought they were simply sharing warmth after a tiring shoot.
Only the two of them knew how careful Keonho’s touches actually were.
Every movement was slow.
Intentional.
Keonho glanced up occasionally to check Juhoon’s reaction, eyes lingering longer each time their gazes met.
Juhoon looked unfairly composed about all of it.
That calm expression only made Keonho bolder.
His hand drifted higher first, fingers sliding over Juhoon’s chest beneath the oversized hoodie he’d changed into. He pressed lightly there, feeling the steady heartbeat underneath.
“You really are warm,” Keonho whispered.
Juhoon exhaled quietly through his nose.
“You’re acting spoiled.”
“Only with you.”
The younger’s voice came out soft and playful at the same time.
Outside the windows, city lights flickered across their faces every few seconds, briefly illuminating the way Keonho kept staring at him.
Then his hand lowered again.
Slowly.
Carefully.
His fingers traced down Juhoon’s waist before resting against the inside of his thigh beneath the blanket.
Juhoon’s gaze shifted toward him this time.
Keonho paused immediately.
“Too much?” he whispered.
Juhoon held his stare for a second before shaking his head once.
Keonho looked entirely too pleased hearing that.
His hand stayed there, thumb rubbing absentminded circles against Juhoon’s inner thigh, dangerously close to his crotch, while the van continued down quiet roads.
Every now and then, the movement of the vehicle made them press together harder.
Keonho seemed to enjoy that far more than he should have.
“You’re really clingy tonight,” Juhoon murmured.
Keonho only buried his face briefly against Juhoon’s shoulder to hide his grin.
“You looked good in the pool,” He whispered shamelessly.
Juhoon clicked his tongue softly, though the faint redness creeping across the tips of his ears betrayed him completely.
Keonho noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
His fingers squeezed Juhoon’s thigh gently beneath the blanket before sliding just a little higher—not enough to be inappropriate, but enough to make Juhoon inhale quietly.
“Keonho.”
The warning came low and calm.
Yet Keonho only looked up innocently. Those puppy eyes trying to work its magic on the older.
“I’m just warming up, hyung.”
Juhoon stared at him for another second before finally looking away toward the window again, clearly choosing not to stop him.
That alone made Keonho unbearably smug.
The younger shifted even closer after that, their legs tangled beneath the blanket now. His hand moved back upward, slipping beneath Juhoon’s hoodie once more to rest against his stomach while his thumb brushed lazily over skin.
The contrast between Keonho’s cold fingers and Juhoon’s warmth made the older tense every single time.
Keonho loved noticing it.
“You keep reacting,” he whispered teasingly.
“You keep touching me.”
“But you’re letting me.”
Juhoon had absolutely no comeback for that.
Keonho smiled victoriously against his shoulder.
The ride continued like that for nearly thirty minutes—quiet whispers hidden beneath the sounds of Martin and James talking in the front, lingering touches concealed safely under heavy blankets, and stolen glances that lasted just a little too long.
By the time the van finally pulled into the dorm parking lot, Keonho looked completely revived.
He climbed out smiling brightly, no longer shivering at all.
Juhoon followed behind him calmly, hands in his pockets as if nothing had happened.
Naturally, the others didn’t suspect much.
Well… almost.
Martin exchanged one knowing glance with Seonghyeon when Keonho immediately gravitated back toward Juhoon inside the dorm, practically attached to his side again.
Neither of them commented on it.
James, meanwhile, only laughed while removing his shoes by the entrance.
“Keonho seriously adores Juhoon too much,” he said casually. “He’s like a puppy that imprinted on him.”
From further down the hallway, Keonho’s laughter echoed right after Juhoon’s quieter one.
Martin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Yeah.
Definitely suspicious.