Work Text:
“Clover! Clover! CLO’VER!”
The crowd chantings in Tokyo was electrifying as Clover was literally shining in the stage
Clover, consisting of Ashi, Aungpao, Barcode, Keen and Sea is a rising Boygroup from Riser music. They're now performing in a sold out arena of their high demand show in Japan.
"Tokyo, make some noise!" Ashi roared into his mic, chest heaving.
The roar that bounced back nearly blew out Keen’s in-ear monitor. He was sitting on the edge of the stage, sipping water through all that sweating, basking in the rush and dopamine of performing and meeting the fans. Barcode and Aungpao were having a rap battle with a fan and Sea was recording them. Keen took a look at the crowd and his eyes landed on a banner that read “Sea and Keen give me a heart” Keen mischievously decided to do it as he bounced to Sea Pulling him in to complete his overhead heart. Sea gave Keen a confused look for a second before completing the heart with a smile, posing for the fans. Keen’s free hand casually crawled up and looped over Sea’s waist pulling him closer. Enough to make Sea blush. The fan screams increased, probably by seeing their favourite ship crumbs but little did they know that their dear ship is sailing comfortably, well away from the shore in the deep pacific ocean. They’ve been dating for 8 months duh.
🍀
It was the European leg of their tour. Late winter of February with the mild cold which still made people bundle up in thick fleece jackets and plaid scarfs, chasing the warmth. The air smelled of roasted coffee beans and Baked butter pastries. The rest of Clover was thoroughly knocked out back at the hotel which left Sea and Keen wandering out into the midnight, wrapped in scarves so thick they barely had faces. They ended up on a quite bench away from the people. In the backdrop the Eiffel Tower loomed massive against the pitch black sky, glowing in its golden night lights.
Keen had been a fidgeting disaster. His hands were lingering inside his coat pocket where a small velvet box containing a simple silver band sat.
I’m going to do it, Keen had told himself, throat dry. We’re in Paris. It’s romantic. We’ve been tiptoeing around each other since pre-debut. It’s time.
He had taken a deep breath, turning to face Sea on the wooden bench. "P'Sea"
"Hmm?" Sea had been looking up at the full moon nose adorably pink from the chill.
"I have... something to give you." Keen's heart was hammering against his ribs like a rock band drum. He shoved his hand into his heavy wool coat, fingers tangling awkwardly as he tried to pry the little box out without dropping it. "I’ve been thinking a lot and-"
"Wait," Sea interrupted softly.
Keen froze, hand half-stuck in his pocket. "What?"
Sea was looking at him with an expression that was entirely too serious, his jaw set, ears redder than the cold warranted. He reached into his own puffer jacket.
"Don't interrupt me first" Sea said, his voice dropping into that quiet register that always made Keen’s stomach do backflips. "I practiced this in French in my head for two days, but I forgot all the words the second we landed her, so I'm just going to say it in Thai."
Keen stared at him, blinking dumbly. "Wait, Sea-"
"No, let me finish before I lose my nerve" Sea insisted, clearing his throat. With clumsy fingers, Sea pulled out a familiar, pocket-sized black box. He popped the lid open with a tiny click.
Sitting inside was a sleek silver band, similar to the one currently in Keen’s pocket.
"I don't care if we're busy, or if the schedule gets crazy, or if we have to sneak around the dorm like thieves," Sea said, looking straight into Keen’s wide eyes, totally stripped of his usual stage coolness. "I want to be yours. Properly. Will you date me?"
For three agonizing seconds, the only sound was the distant hum of traffic along the streets. Then Keen burst out laughing. Sea’s face instantly fell, panic flashing across his features. "Hey wait, why are you laughing?! Is it too much? Did I ruin the vibe? Keen"
Still giggling until his eyes watered, Keen finally yanked his hand out of his pocket and thrust his own velvet box right into Sea’s hands.. He flipped it open with an aggressive flick of his thumb. Sea stopped talking. His gaze dropped from Keen’s face, to Keen’s box, to his own box, and back again.
"Are you serious?" Sea choked out, a disbelieving smile breaking across his mouth.
"I was literally in the middle of asking you, you idiot!" Keen wheezed, leaning his forehead against Sea’s shoulder as the absurdity washed over them. "I had a whole speech prepared! You cut me off!"
"You took too long" Sea laughed, the tension evaporating into the crisp Paris air as he wrapped an arm around Keen, pulling him against his chest. "So? What’s your answer then?"
"Obviously yes," Keen muttered into Sea's scarf, reaching out to slide the ring into Sea’s finger. It fit like it was made for him. "Now put mine on before my hands freeze off."
Right at that exact second, the clock struck 12:00 AM Indicating February 14th
Sea had just pulled Keen’s face up, cupping his chilled cheeks, and kissed him under the glittering tower until their lips were warm again.
“Happy valentines day boyfriend”
🍀
Its not like SeaKeen want to hide the fact of their dating to their group members, In fact they’re very open about their affection, clinging to each other, but they never bothered to pull up a speaker set and announce it to their friends and on the same hand, the boys also somehow didn’t question their clinginess, often dismissing it as Keen being a soft puppy. This brings us to the whole “Not secret but secretly dating” thing.
The backstage exit was a blur of bowing and hasty goodbyes. By the time Clover piled into their carnival the high-octane arena adrenaline had evaporated, leaving behind five utterly wrecked bodies. The seating arrangement was always the same
Ashi took the front passenger seat aggressively flipping through his Tablet being the overprepared friend he is. Barcode and Aungpao go into the middle bucket seats, instantly starting a game in their nintendo which left the back entirely to Sea and Keen
"Pao, give me half that sandwich or I'm deleting your progress" Barcode muttered eyes glued to the console screen.
"Touch my game and you're sleeping on the dorm balcony" Aungpao fired back with his mouth full.
Behind them, the atmosphere was operating on an entirely different plane of reality. Keen hadn’t even waited for the van to start before melting. With a bone-deep exhaustion, he kicked off his sneakers, curled his legs up onto the leather seat, and dropped his head straight into Sea’s lap. Sea didn’t flinch or Jump. It was pure, instinctual muscle memory. His left hand immediately found its place in Keen’s messy, hairspray held hair fingers gently threading through the strands and lightly massaging his scalp, soothing him to sleep.
"My back is dead" Keen mumbled. "That lift during the encore almost took my spine out."
"Because you were reckless with the jump" Sea said, his tone quiet and scolding, but the touch of his hand was infinitely soft. He reached over with his free hand, grabbed his jacket and draped it over Keen like a blanket. Ashi glanced up in the rearview mirror. He saw Keen practically using Sea as a human sofa, but Ashi’s only thought was a mild, weary fondness. Keen is such an overgrown puppy. Good thing Sea has the patience of a saint to babysit him.
"Make sure he actually drinks some water" Ashi said to Sea without turning around.
"Already on it" Sea replied smoothly.
"Up. Two sips."
Keen whined, burying his face deeper into Sea’s stomach. "Too tired to lift my head."
Sea let out a soft, breathy chuckle through his nose. "Stop being dramatic."Still Sea didn’t make him sit up. Instead, he slid his hand under Keen's neck lifting Keen’s head just an inch and tilted the bottle to Keen’s lips. Keen obediently parted his lips, gulping down several mouthfuls while blinking sleepily up at Sea adorably. When stray droplets of water trickled toward Keen's chin, Sea casually caught it with his thumb and wiped it away against his own trousers. Barcode turned around in his seat to rummage through the back pocket for tissues. He saw Sea literally hand-feeding Keen water like a medieval prince.
"Man, Keen, you’re so shameless," Barcode scoffed shaking his head as he pulled out a tissue. "You have Sea wrapped around your finger. If I asked P'Sea for water, he’d probably throw the bottle at my forehead."
Sea didn't look up. "Because you're annoying code."
"See! Unfair treatment!" Barcode complained, turning back to Aungpao.
"Whatever, just let him sleep before he gets cranky" Aungpao muttered, aggressively tapping through a game oblivious to the fact that under the jacket, Keen’s hand had reached up to clasp Sea’s free fingers, their rings clicking softly together in the dark.
🍀
The members settled comfortably in their rooms. The room arrangement, like the car seating is always the same. Ashi Aungpao and Barcode sharing a double bedroom, always fighting over who gets the single bed. The other room belongs to Sea Keen. Always together. No one minded it like usual. However the walls in this roomstay was thin…… A particularly sharp and muffled yell came from the room besides them “Ah-wait, wait harder, please…oh god-!”
Aungpao paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth, eyes wide. He tilted his head toward the adjoining wall that connected their room directly to Sea and Keen’s suite.
"Damn" Aungpao whispered, reverence lacing his tone. "P'Sea’s physical therapy skills are no joke."
Ashi didn't even look up from the tablet where a movie was playing which him and Pao are currently watching. Barcode was playing games again.
"Keen’s back was strained during the encore" Ashi murmured solemnly, scraping a spoonful of ice cream. "I told Sea to help him relive some spasms. You know Keen he won't stretch unless someone literally pins him down and forces him."
Another muffled thud vibrated through the walls, followed by a strained, choked-off whimper that sounded suspiciously like Keen begging for mercy: “N-no stop, Sea I can’t-it hurts so good ah!”
Aungpao winced in sympathy, instinctively rubbing his own calves. "Jeez. Hear that? That's crazy work there P'Sea must be putting his whole weight into massaging his back. Remember when Sea cracked my neck tension during trainee days? Felt like I saw my ancestors."
"Sea has very strong skills" Ashi agreed, nodding in approval. "He’s thorough. Keen will complain tonight, but he will better for the morning schedule"
Right at that exact second, from the actual bed inside the room there was certainly no clinical physiotherapy taking place. The room was bathed in the warm dimness of a single bedside lamp. The air conditioner was humming on low, but the air around the king-sized mattress felt thick, heavy with heat smelling of sweat and passion. Keen was pinned flat on his stomach against the rumpled white sheets, his fingers clutching the bedsheets for life. His back was arched and his body carried that blush pink color. His lips were parted, swollen and wet, letting out little whimpers every time the mattress creaked.
Looming right over him is the person who's causing him to scream… Its Sea.
Sea wasn't using his arms to "relieve back spasms." He had one arm kneading Keen's waist, keeping him steady while his other hand threaded through Keen's palm above his head
"Sea... please..." Keen gasped out into the pillows, his toes curling in pure, overstimulation as Sea shifted his hips, driving into him with pure precision. "Too much-ah, you’re you're doing that on purpose-"
"Doing what on purpose?" Sea’s voice was a low and raspy.
He leaned down, pressing his chest against Keen's back and started leaving fresh love marks on his neck. "I'm just taking care of the tension baby. Helping you relax."
Keen let out a broken sob that he barely managed to muffle against the pillow though his body desperately chasing the heat back. "You're an asshole- ah! Not there, Sea, wait, harder don't stop-"
Sea chuckled, the vibration rumbling straight through Keen's neck. He caught Keen’s left hand, pinning it flat against the mattress above their heads, interlacing their fingers until their matching silver rings clicked sharply.
"Make up your mind teerak" Sea whispered into Keen’s cheek “you're the one who wanted this, climbing up my lap instead of sleeping now you tell me, Harder or stop?"
“Don't you dare stop but let me ride you”
Sea smiled before swiftly shifting their position making Keen sit on his lap
Next door, Aungpao took another peaceful scoop of vanilla ice cream, listening to the headboard rhythmically knocking against the wall with a muffled thump. Aungpao sighed, turning to Ashi with profound admiration in his eyes. "Hear that steady rhythm? P'Sea is good, Clover is truly blessed to have a brother like him." Ashi nodded solemnly, keeping his eyes glued to the movie screen. "A true professional”
Keen slumped on Sea's chest, utterly spent but a small smile looming on his lips, he tilted his head little upwards to nibble on Sea’s sharp collarbone before firmly biting down. Sea let out a small yelp, his hands on Keen’s back tightening a bit.
“I can make you scream as well, next time it'll be me” Keen mumbled, slowly kissing the bite he made.
“For that you should have some self control of not begging me to take you” Sea laughed as Keen hit his chest. Their dazy post Sex happiness was sharply interrupted by a knocking on the door. Its 1.15 am
“Its me Barcode I need Keen’s powerbank!”
Keen jumped off Sea’s lap yelping in the process and buried himself underneath the blanket and motioned Sea to open the door. Sea scrambled up put on his Tshirt and sweatpants hastily fixing his messy hair with his hands as the knocking got more desperate.
“Coming ”
Sea opened the door with nonchalant and sleepy expression as Barcode barely acknowledged him before storming inside the room, his focus on the game in his hands. “My Phone is dying and those dumbos don't have the high watt charger for this. I can't loose this game- Ah got it thanks Sea!” He hurried out with the same speed, didn't acknowledge Keen even once. They sighed as Sea looked the door again.
“Never knew code's attention issues will come in our favor” Keen mumbled throwing grabby hands at Sea. Sea gently cleaned them first and pulled Keen into his arms letting him rest his head on his chest. Keen sighed snuggling closer chasing the body heat.
“Love you baby” Keen mumbled sleep already getting to him.
“I love you to daring” Sea whispered back gently kissing his forehead “I‘m sorry if I went harsh on you”
Keen smiled “Worth it”
🍀
The morning after, they had to leave to the airport by 8. Everyone assembled in the lobby by 7.45. Sea and Keen were the last one to arrive. Sea walked in first pushing both of their rimorwa suitcases. There was a calm radiating off him that defied the four hours of sleep they had collectively got. Half a step behind him stumbled Keen. Keen was all cozy and bundled up, still sleepy. He was wearing an oversized zip-up hoodie that clearly belonged to Sea. His eyes were puffy, his lips still possessed a suspicious bruise.
"Morning" Sea said, his voice smooth.
Aungpao, leaning against the hallway with a tray of coffees, immediately straightened up. His face transformed into an expression of solemn respect.
"P'Sea" Aungpao said, his voice hushed, stepping forward like a knight presenting an offering to the king. He thrust a double-shot espresso directly into Sea’s palm. "For your service. Take it"
Sea blinked at the coffee, then at Aungpao’s deadly serious expression. "I already had coffee downstairs but... thanks?"
"No, don't thank me," Aungpao insisted looking meaningfully at Sea’s forearm, patting his shoulder. "You did heavy labor last night. Your need to regain strength"
Sea paused, fingers tightening fractionally around the cup. Behind him, Keen froze mid step, his half-asleep brain suddenly misfiring in blind panic. Keen’s eyes snapped wide scanning Aungpao’s face to see if their cover was blown if Barcode had blabbed something, or if someone had seen the marks. Before either of them could speak, Ashi walked over, his eyes traveling through Keen's frame.
Ashi observed the slight trembling in Keen’s knees, the way Keen leaned his entire body weight into Sea’s side the moment they stopped moving, and the way Sea’s free hand instinctively hovered near Keen's waist back. He gave a slow, proud nod of approval.
"See?" Ashi said, pointing the tip of his i-pencil at Keen’s legs. "Look at that leg, you completely loosened his muscle spasms"
Keen’s mouth fell open. "The... what?"
"Don't play dumb Keen" Ashi scolded teasingly "We heard you through the walls. You were screaming like someone was butchering you alive."
Keen went from ghostly pale to the exact shade of a ripe cherry in a nano seconds. His soul violently exited his body. "You-you heard it"
"Of course we did!" Aungpao piped up, shaking his head in agony. "Harder, please, stop, it hurts so good" Aungpao pitched his voice into a mocking, shrill squeak, mimicking the exact words "Man, you sounded like you were being exorcised! P'Sea must have buried his whole elbow into hamstring"
Keen choked on his on air.. He coughed violently into his hoodie sleeves.
Sea didn’t flinch. In fact, if you weren't looking closely, you would have missed the way Sea’s lips curled into a subtle smirk. With calm Sea raised a hand and patted Keen firmly on the back to clear his throat.
"I told him it was necessary" Sea said smoothly, his baritone completely level as he met Ashi's earnest gaze. "He was holding a lot of tension from the encore. I had to massage him to relieve it all out."
Keen looked like he wanted the plush hotel carpet to open up and swallow him into the earth's core. He reached out with two trembling fingers, pinching the back of Sea’s hip through his flannel with enough force to bruise. Sea didn't even twitch. He just casually shifted his arm, catching Keen’s hand and slowly pulling it away and locking it into his grip.
"Well, whatever you did, it worked" Aungpao declared, slapping Keen’s shoulder with breezy camaraderie. Keen nearly buckled at the knees, letting out a faint wheeze. "Look at him! He can barely walk! That’s how you know the lactic acid got totally drained. Good job P'Sea."
"I do what I can for the group" Sea said, his voice dripping with saintly humility.
"A true pillar of Clover" Ashi agreed solemnly. "Alright, luggage to the lobby. The car leaves in ten minutes."
As Ashi and Aungpao turned to lead the way down toward the elevator, Barcode shuffled past Keen, sipping his latte through a straw. Barcode paused, glancing up and down at Keen and then Sea. “I think your room had a lot of mosquitoes”
Barcode stepped into the waiting elevator, completely unbothered.
Left alone in the hallway for three seconds before the elevator doors closed, Keen whipped his head around, his whisper furious, "I am going to murder you in your sleep!"
Sea looked down at him, eyes crinkling with effortless, wicked amusement. He leaned down just close enough that his lips brushed the shell of Keen’s burning ear, his fingers giving Keen’s hand a tight, possessive squeeze.
"Make sure you stretch those hamstrings on the flight, baby" Sea murmured, grinning. "Don't want you getting tight again before Bangkok."
🍀
The return to their Bangkok dorm resulted inthe distinct scent of stale takeout boxes, tropical humidity and aircon
Within two hours of dropping their luggage, the living room had become a crime scene of unpacked bags, souvenirs and dirty laundry piles. But the real trouble started when Aungpao, tasked with grabbing the accumulated mail from the lobby let out a bloodcurdling shriek from the front entryway.
"CODE RED! CODE RED! EVERYBODY GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"
Ashi came sprinting out of his room in panic. Barcode stumbled out of the bathroom with a toothbrush foaming in his mouth. Sea and Keen who had been lazily unpacking their suitcase together, strolled out at their usual unhurried pace.
"What's burning?" Sea asked, leaning a shoulder against the hallway wall.
Aungpao was standing in the middle of the foyer holding a padded silver bubble-mailer like it contained an active bomb.
"Look at this" Aungpao hissed, trembling with righteous panic. He thrust the contents of the package right into Ashi's face. "The security handed this to me with the parcel stack! A bottle of silver jewelry polish... and an official warranty certificate!"
Barcode spat into a paper cup. "Wait. Silver polish? For what?"
"Read the card!" Aungpao pointed an accusatory finger at the cream paper.
“Thank you for your custom titanium-silver couple band order. Warranty covers re-sizing and complimentary polishing for pair serial numbers 1024-A and 1024-B. Engravings verified."
Barcode’s jaw dropped. "Wait. Couple bands?"
"Riser Music's idol contract explicitly states romantic entanglements during rookie year must be disclosed to senior management!" Ashi quoted from memory, his pupils dilating with corporate terror as his brain scrambled to make sense of the initials. "One of us has a secret lover! A whole secret girlfriend! Who’s that"
Keen stood behind Sea, his lips twitching violently. He had to bite his bottom lip until it bruised to keep from barking with laughter. Underneath his loose graphic tee, the hot topic titanium band was currently resting securely on the chain around his neck, engraved with a tiny S.
Sea didn't even blink. He crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze sweeping over the frantic three-man detective squad with the patience of a kindergarten teacher.
"Maybe someone bought it for their sister" Sea said mildly.
"A couple band with matched serial numbers for a sister?!" Aungpao slammed the padded envelope onto the shoe rack. "No! Someone in Clover is living a double life! The late-night calls! The secretive smiling at screens! The lingering scent of fancy perfume that nobody admitted to buying!"
Ashi pushed his glasses up his nose, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. "We are setting up a covert watch tonight. Nobody leaves the dorm. Nobody orders courier deliveries without my inspection. We find out who the loverboy is before the media does."
Keen cleared his throat, burying his face directly into Sea’s back under the guise of an exhausted cough. His whole torso was vibrating with suppressed giggles.
Sea reached behind his back, casually tapping Keen’s arm in a silent command to behave, before looking back at Ashi. "Good luck with the investigation, Captain."
By 1:45 AM, the living room was quiet.
Ashi, Aungpao, and Barcode were huddled in the living room couch everyone suspicious of each other books. They waited for the "phantom boyfriend" to sneak out of the living room to make his midnight phone call to this mysterious 'girlfriend'.
Meanwhile, the kitchen door swung open with a soft, magnetic click.
Keen drifted in, barefoot and utterly spent. He was wearing Sea’s oversized gym shorts and a worn out tank top, his hair still damp from a midnight shower. The kitchen was lit only by the light seeping from the living room. He walked over to the stainless steel sink, turning the lever to fill a glass of tap water. Soft footfalls padded in behind him. Keen didn't need to turn around to know, the familiar warmth radiating against his back was unmistakable. Sea closed the distance without a sound, stepping right into Keen’s space until Keen’s hips were boxed firmly against the cold rim of the sink. Sea’s long arms came around from behind, not to hug, but to plant his large palms flat on the counter on either side of Keen, trapping him entirely in a cage of muscle and love.
"Still laughing about the warranty card?" Sea murmured, his lips brushing the warm skin just beneath Keen’s earlobe.
Keen shivered, tilting his head back to rest against Sea’s broad shoulder, abandoning the glass under the trickling tap. "Aungpao looked like he was about to faint. Did you really order the polish to the dorm address?"
"I needed it" Sea said, his voice dropping into that low, intoxicating hum that made Keen’s stomach flip. "The chain tarnishes when you sweat during rehearsal."
Sea shifted his weight, turning Keen around until they were face-to-face. He hitched one of Keen’s thighs up over his hip, pulling him forward until there wasn't a millimeter of air left between their chests. Keen’s hands went straight home, fingers tangling into his soft hair, nails lightly scraping against his scalp.
"Baby" Keen whispered, eyes glittering in the dim light. "They're literally on stakeout in the living room."
"Let them" Sea said ruthlessly. He tilted Keen’s jaw up with a firm thumb and kissed him.
It was nothing like their sleepy, docile kisses in the van. It was deep, hungry, and heavy with the pent-up tension of four days of travel. Sea parted Keen’s lips with a firm slide of his tongue, swallowing Keen’s muffled gasp right there. Keen’s other leg hitched up, his body begging sea to carry him. Sea obeyed carrying him and placing him on the granite counter his legs still locked behind his legs, one large hand sliding under Keen’s tank top to hold him tight. Who is he to refuse his doe eyed baby
The faucet was still running. Water was splashing softly against the drain.
CREAK.
"AHA! WE CAUGHT YOU SNEAKING TO CALL HER-"
Aungpao burst through the kitchen door like a SWAT officer, phone flashlight blazing on high-beam. Ashi and Barcode piled in right behind him, ready to tackle the secret lover to the floor.
The blinding white beam illuminated the sink in crystal-clear, 4K high definition.
Sea did not leap back. He didn't drop Keen. In fact, he took a solid three seconds to finish the kiss, lazily pulling his lips away from Keen’s mouth with an audible click, a string of saliva still connecting them. His hand stayed planted firmly under Keen's shirt, thumb resting against the bare skin. Keen thoroughly kissed remained hitched on the edge of the sink, his legs wrapped loosely around Sea’s hips, chest heaving.
Aungpao froze. Ashi’s phone slipped out of his fingers, hitting the kitchen mat with a dull thud. Barcode’s bag of sour cream chips emptied on the floor dramatically. Silence descended upon the room. The only sound was the steady drip of the kitchen faucet.
Aungpao’s flashlight began to shake uncontrollably, the beam bouncing between Keen’s flushed, dazed face and Sea’s entirely calm, dark eyes. "You..." Aungpao choked out, his vocal cords snapping into a pitch dogs could hear. "You're... he's... the lover?!" Sea turned his head slowly toward the blinding light, blinking once like an owl. "Aungpao, turn the flash off. It’s two in the morning."
"YOU'RE EATING HIS TONGUE BY THE SINK!" Barcode yelled, grabbing his own hair with both hands in sheer bewilderment. "THE JEWELRY WAS FOR HIM?! KEEN IS THE SECRET GIRLFRIEND?!"
"I am not a girlfriend" Keen croaked, finally finding his voice, though he didn't bother untangling his legs from Sea's waist. "And we’ve been dating for eight months, you absolute morons."
Ashi looked like a man watching the collapse of the Roman Empire. He clutched his chest, stumbling back against the refrigerator. "Eight... eight months?! Since the showcase tour?! The back row of the van?! The hot hotel room in Tokyo?! The 'sports massage'?!"
"Wait," Aungpao gasped, his eyes bulging as puzzle pieces violently slammed together in his brain. "Harder, please, stop, it hurts so good... THAT WASN'T A FOAM ROLLER?!"
Keen slammed both hands over his face, a muffled shriek echoing through his fingers.
Sea, entirely unrepentant, reached up to pull Keen’s hands away from his face, casually kissing Keen’s burning temple in front of the entire group. "I told you it was pure hard work."
"I’m calling the manager" Ashi whispered, hyperventilating as he fumbled for his fallen phone. "I’m calling him right now. We have to prepare for the fallout. Clover is over. We’re getting sent to the dungeon. The scandal-"
Before Ashi could dial, the dorm front door clicked open.
P'Dome, their thirty-two-year-old road manager who lived in the unit two floors down, walked in holding a clipboard and a spare box of tour merchandise. He took one look at the kitchen, Ashi having an existential crisis against the kitchen wall, Aungpao staring at the scene, Barcode on the floor among potato chips, and Sea still casually holding Keen pinned against the sink.
P'Dome sighed, utterly exhausted, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Did you guys just figure it out?" P'Dome asked flatly. Ashi froze, thumb hovering over the call button. "What?"
"They’ve been sharing a hotel room since October," P'Dome said, flipping a page on his clipboard. "The company approved their couple ring insurance four months ago. The stylists have been coordinating their airport outfits since December. Even the CEO knows.
P'Dome looked at Ashi, Aungpao, and Barcode with profound pity.
"You three are genuinely the only people in this entire company who didn't know."
P'Dome grabbed a bottle of green tea from the fridge, turned around, and walked right back out of the dorm, letting the door click shut behind him.
In the kitchen, the silence returned, heavier and infinitely more humiliating.
Keen peeked out from behind Sea’s shoulder, a slow, brilliant grin spreading across his flushed face as he looked at the three shattered detectives.
"So" Keen whispered, his voice dripping with pure, unadulterated triumph "who’s cleaning the potato chips spill"
🍀
The potato chips were swept up by 2:30 AM, but absolute spiritual peace did not return to the Clover dorm.
At 9:00 AM sharp, the couch was arranged into a court.
Ashi sat in the center with his glasses pushed high up his nose, armed with a whiteboard he usually reserved for weekly schedules. On it, drawn in red marker, was an a title THE 8-MONTH BETRAYAL
Barcode was curled on the left, nursing an iced chocolate like a traumatized child in a courtroom drama. Aungpao was on the right, arms crossed over his chest, glaring with all the fury of a man whose world had collapsed between the kitchen sink. Across from them sat the accused.
Sea was slouched back comfortably against the wall, his back supported by pillows looking entirely refreshed. Keen sat directly between Sea’s thighs, leaning his back against Sea’s chest while mindlessly scrolling through TikTok. Sea’s arms were looped loosely over Keen’s shoulders, his hands idly playing with the hem of Keen’s collar. They looked nauseatingly peaceful and domestic.
"Court is now in session" Ashi announced, tapping the marker against the board with a sharp clack, unable to watch the domestic drama. "Situation one. October. The Busan showcase" Ashi’s eyes narrowed into slits behind his lenses. "Sea, you claimed you were staying behind in the hotel to review audio monitors because Keen had 'acute food poisoning.' Explain."
Keen didn't even look up from his phone screen. "We ordered room service dumplings and made out on the balcony for four hours."
Aungpao clutched his own chest in agony. "I went down to the convenience store in the freezing rain to buy you electrolyte drinks, Keen! I walked four blocks!"
"And they helped great Pao thank you," Keen chirped brightly, tilting his head back to plant a quick, upside-down kiss against the underside of Sea’s jaw.
Sea hummed in approval, his fingers casually tangling into Keen’s air dried hair, completely ignoring the fact that Aungpao looked ready to throw a remote in their faces.
"Situation two" Ashi barked, vein pulsing at his temple as he held in his fury. "Singapore. The backstage greenroom. I explicitly remember walking into the wardrobe room and finding Sea on his knees in front of Keen."
"His zipper was genuinely stuck," Sea said, his deadpan tone unshakeable.
"For fifteen minutes?!" Barcode yelled, pointing his straw across the table like a weapon. "I literally asked you if you needed help P’Sea! You said its not a multiple people job"
"It was true tho" Sea said without blinking.
Keen choked on a snort, hiding his red face against Sea’s bicep. Sea reached down, lightly pinching Keen’s forearm to stop pissing them off, though his own lips were twitching into that smug smirk that usually drove fans insane.
"I demand refunds" Aungpao declared, standing up and slamming a fist onto the coffee table. "All those double-shot coffees I bought you in Tokyo! I praised your physical therapy skills! I told Ashi you were a pillar of clover! and I quote myself- “P'Sea’s arms must be exhausted from easing the tension!"
Aungpao shuddered violently, eyes wide with horror as the memory replayed in his skull.
"You were having sex against the headboard! Harder, please, stop, it hurts so good that was you taking him apart while I was eating vanilla ice-cream"
“Only you guys were having Vannila” Sea mumbled
Keen buried his entire head under a sofa pillow, letting out a muffled shriek. "Pao, shut up, shut up, shut up, I am begging you to shut up"
"No, I won't shut up!" Aungpao yelled. "I lived in a lie! Clover was built on lies!"
"P'Dome literally told you last night that the entire company already knew," Barcode muttered, slumping back. "Even the CEO sent congratulations."
"Which reminds me, why didn’t you tell us?”
Sea sighed, resting his chin on top of Keen’s head, finally speaking with the calm that always grounded the room. "Ashi. We didn't hide it to scheme behind your backs." Ashi paused, marker hovering.
"We just didn't think we needed to make an announcement," Sea continued his thumb gently smoothing down the mess of Keen’s head. "We hold hands. We share clothes. We sleep in the same bed. We've been doing that since we were seventeen in the trainee basement. If we came out and said 'Hey, we're dating,' you three would have spent the last eight months making weird jokes and acting awkward around us."
Barcode blinked, looking down at his drink. "I mean... we probably would have."
"You definitely would have" Keen said, peeking out from under the pillow, his cheeks still flushed pink but his voice steady. "Aungpao would have asked if we share toothbrushes. Barcode would have refused to sit in the same car row. And Ashi would have made weird jokes."
Ashi opened his mouth to argue, realized that was exactly what he would have done, and slowly lowered the marker.
"Still" Ashi grumbled, though the tension had completely drained from his shoulders, leaving behind just the fond, exasperated older brother they all knew. "Next time you decide to renew vows or whatever you tell us first. I don't need to see it first in news tabloids."
"Understood, Captain" Sea said, offering a casual two-finger salute.
-
Two weeks later, the Riser Music live showcase was in full swing.
The stadium in Bangkok was an ocean of green lightsticks, the bass vibrating through the metal staging with bone-rattling intensity. Clover was running the final encore, breathless and drenched in sweat, trading high-fives with the fans along the runway.
Keen jogged across the center stage, mic in hand, bouncing to the rhythm of their bridge. He caught sight of a massive handmade LED banner in the third row of the VIP zone: "SEA & KEEN: HEART OR WE RIOT."
Keen grinned, a wicked glint in his eye. He didn't hesitate. He turned left cutting right across the runway, and deliberately collided into Sea’s side throwing his free arm around Sea’s waist and pulling him tight. The arena erupted into a wall of ear-splitting screams.
Eight months ago, Sea would have smiled politely, played along with the fanservice script, and kept a safe distance to protect their secret.
Now?
Sea wrapped his arm straight around Keen’s shoulders, pulling him flush against his chest right under the center spotlight. As the confetti canons exploded along the stage rim, showering them in glittering green and silver foil clovers, Sea leaned down bold and unbothered by the forty-thousand fans and pressed his lips firmly against the crown of Keen’s head, lingering just a second longer than idol etiquette allowed. Keen giggled.
Across the stage, Aungpao caught sight of the whole thing on the giant LED. He lowered his mic, looked dead into the roving crane camera, and mouthed for the entire stadium to see:
Get a room.
Right beside him, Barcode let out an exhausted laugh and threw a handful of confetti straight at Aungpao's face, while Ashi simply turned to the crowd, raised his gold mic and shouted their final greeting with a grin splitting his face.
The ship was no longer sailing in secret out in the Pacific Ocean.
It was sailing right in plain sight unbothered, laughing through the noise, and flanked by three hopeless idiots who would guard it with their lives anyway. duh
🍀