nineteen

͙⁺˚*･༓☾

a week in which felt like a lifetime had flew by. the clip of jungwon's viral speech had been trending all over social media, and to everyone's surprise, the majority of the response was positive. various hashtags and posts had arisen like noting how enhypen supports lgbtq+, praising sunoo as the newest member, and of course jungwon's crush; to be more specific, his crush on a guy. despite enhypen knowing who it is, the fandom and anyone else is yet to know ni-ki is said crush.

throughout the week, the boys hadn't really heard word from their boss. not since the show. in the meantime, they've been told to go to dance rehearsals as usual, (this time to practice for shooting the paradoxxx invasion music video), and continue their regular routines through their manager. the eery silence from their boss has kept them on their toes all week, but aside from that, everything felt like cloud 9.

"i still can't believe jungwon and ni-ki technically came out before us," sunghoon comments suddenly one calm morning in the living room of heeseung and sunoo's apartment complex, all seven boys relaxing during some down time.

sunoo stills momentarily, but then he laughs from beside sunghoon on the sofa. he's tempted to glance over at the other, but his coyness smothers that. "it's not like anyone knew that was gonna happen," he replies, choosing instead to fiddle with the fingers of the bigger hands belonging to sunghoon resting in his lap.

"i sure as hell didn't," ni-ki chimes in, his eyes glued to the video game he's currently playing with heeseung on the television.

jungwon lays horizontal on the couch, his head rested upon ni-ki's thighs as he games. jungwon holds his phone up to his eye level, typing away. "to be fair," he begins, inserting his own input into the conversation, "i didn't mention ni-ki's name or anything. i'm on weverse right now though and engene are practically making up theories at this point."

suddenly entranced by curiosity, jay, who emerges from the kitchen with a bowl of shrimp chips in hand asks, "what are they saying?" before joining sunghoon, sunoo, and jake on the oversized sofa.

"most people are assuming it's sunoo because he's new to the group," jungwon answers, not bothering to look up from his phone screen.

sunghoon doesn't stop himself before protectively draping an arm over sunoo's shoulders. once again, sunoo is taken over by a sheepish feeling he remembers having experienced back in freshman year of high school with his first crush. so far, sunghoon has been resurfacing those types of feelings he'd long forgotten about and it makes his heart stutter, despite the fact that they're long past the pining stage in their relationship.

jake, who all the time had been mesmerized by the two members gaming on the television, decides to throw in his two cents. "i guess it makes sense they'd assume sunoo, but then again, not many engene would probably guess ni-ki anyways. he's only been in one livestream and he's the choreographer, so he's behind the scenes."

jungwon hums in assent as he continues scrolling through his weverse feed. a particular post catches his eye and he instantly shoots up into an upright position, his eyes widened. "hey!" he yelps, "this engene actually guessed ni-ki! they said 'y'all ever think maybe it could be that handsome choreographer they had in their livestream once?'"

at that, ni-ki smirks smugly, not only at the comment, but at the fact that he had just beat heeseung in their second round of KartRider. "that engene is so real for that," he notes.

"so what, are you gonna keep them guessing then?" heeseung asks, diverting his attention momentarily from the tv screen as the game resets.

jungwon considers heeseung's question, resuming his previous position with his head in ni-ki's surprisingly comfortable lap. he could leave engene guessing, especially since he isn't sure where the boss stands and he doesn't want completely coming out with ni-ki to be the final straw. but then again, everything that's happened so far has only done good for enhypen and their career. plus, and most of all, jungwon couldn't help but find sunghoon's jealousy kind of amusing.

without directly responding to heeseung, jungwon chooses instead to search through his camera roll until he lands on a picture he's content with. seconds later, he's posted it. "done," he proudly announces.

sunghoon raises an eyebrow, his attention suddenly grabbed by the outburst. "done with what?"

jungwon shrugs knowingly, slipping his phone into his pocket and cuddling up onto his side, readjusting his head on ni-ki's lap so he's facing the television screen, watching him play. ni-ki takes a hand off his controller to gently pinch jungwon's cheek before gripping the controller again to beat heeseung's character. "yah!! let me win!" he yells.

"never!" heeseung shouts back, poking his tongue out the side of his mouth in concentration.

meanwhile, sunghoon has now unlocked his own cellphone his phone, desperately trying to figure out what jungwon was "done" with. using common sense and context clues, he guesses weverse was the culprit of jungwon's scheme, so the app is instantly opened. by now, sunoo and jake are leaning over his each of his shoulders, their curiosity getting the best of them.

unsurprisingly, sunghoon is right about weverse. however, what appears first on his feed still shocks him into a loss for words.

we took this "serious photo" after rehearsal yesterday...he's so cute haha ♡

even if he had the slightest inkling the moment jungwon shot him that knowing grimace, his assumption is only confirmed after the all-too-real weverse post consumes his eyesight. in utter disbelief, sunghoon let's out an ear piercing shriek of "what?!?!"

jungwon immediately flips over to witness the priceless look of incredulity on his best friend's face. "it's not that big of deal, it's just a picture," he states, purposefully trying to irk sunghoon at this point.

instead of being on the same wavelength as sunghoon, sunoo instead coos at the adorableness of the photo. to him, all he sees is his best friend posing with his new lover, which makes him happy for the person who's like a brother to him. "awe, this photo is so cute!" he exclaims.

at this, sunghoon lightly frowns, wanting sunoo to feel as jealous as he is. not only that, but the fact that it's so easy for jungwon and ni-ki to be so public about everything felt unfair to him, especially since he has always been the only openly gay member (and the only targeted one for that matter) all this time they've been a group. jungwon's sexuality didn't bother him of course and none of this was his fault, but the fact that everything he's wanted all this time for not only him, but him and sunoo, is all happening so freely and simply without any consequences from the boss makes him feel hurt and a bit betrayed.

he knows for a fact that the boss will see this weverse post. will it finally be what brings him out of the dark?

͙⁺˚*･༓☾

evening strikes and upon schedule, the boss is sitting in his office, working. without a moment to waste, enhypen's social media manager rang the boss the second the weverse post went up. as much as the boss wanted to be furious, his eyes couldn't help but avert toward the number of comments and likes, which stuck out to him like a sore thumb. they only increase by the moment, and the more he scans through their social media accounts, the more he sees growing numbers.

something changes within him like the flip of a switch. he verbalized his thoughts to the socials manager over the phone after a few minutes of silent scrolling in which he asks, "you're telling me that they gained over one million new instagram followers in an hour?"

"and it's only going up," the muffled voice over the phone answers. "their tiktok is currently going crazy, too. have you seen the twitter hashtags?"

he hasn't seen it, but he doesn't have to. the boss grins, maliciously. some people count sheep to fall asleep, but this guy counts dollar signs. "this may be just what we've needed. funny though, i didn't expect jungwon and the choreographer, i expected sunghoon and sunoo."

"perhaps you can persuade them to come out next, sir," the social media manager offers.

the boss calculates all this information in his head, stirring up a plan only a business man like him could make. eventually, he hands up the phone call, perching his elbows onto the desk in front of him and clasping his sweaty hands together in thought.

"if this homosexual shit is what the audience wants, then i guess we'll just have to give them what they want."

rehearsal goes smoothly, which is more than the group could say back when they had to practice for the live show. nowadays, dance practices felt fun, even when some of the choreo was difficult. the atmosphere had been lighter, and the members were closer than ever. even though a child could predict it, the positive environment had definitely been impacted by the lack of interactions with the boss. the group had gotten over their previous concerns, adapting pretty quickly to a boss-less life.

sunghoon hasn't stopped thinking about jungwon's weverse post for the past five days since he posted it, relaying over and over again in his mind what it would be like to do the same with sunoo. would sunoo want that? would he find it weird? is it too risky? even if there hasn't been any consequences for ni-ki and jungwon yet, who's to say there won't be? plus, the boss has always had it out for sunghoon, maybe just his luck alone would get him into trouble.

sunoo sort of senses something slightly off with sunghoon, but he chooses not to question it. ever since the day they confessed to each other in the hall, sunghoon has been much more open with his feelings, sunoo learning that when sunghoon is ready to talk, he will. but that doesn't mean sunoo will stifle his feelings about it.

the spell keeping him daydreaming his broken when the very boy he's thinking of asks, "what are you thinking about?" a pair of delicate fingers gently swiping the loose hair strands from his eyes.

sunoo leans into the touch, wanting to tell him that he is what he was thinking about. so he does. "you."

sunghoon's innocent smile shifts into that of a smirk, taking advantage of the moment to be teasing as he replies with, "sounds like fan behavior to me."

sunoo rolls his eyes, even though he's smiling back whilst doing so. although he acts as if he gets bothered by sunghoon's cocky commentary, it's just another one of the many things he likes about him.

the practice room is full of the members having dispersed into their own worlds, since the past two hours have consisted of nothing but dancing until their limbs ache.

a chiming sound dings from jungwon's phone, which lays atop the wooden desk their laptop is on, displaying their music. without hesitation, jungwon heads over to retrieve it, in case it's important. once he sees the notification, his face turns a ghostly pale.

ni-ki, who had just been conversing with him, noticed the change. worriedly, he asks, "wonie? what's wrong?"

this captures the rest of the attention from the group, all eyes now on jungwon. the leader swipes his tongue over his lips, which feel drier than they had been moments prior. finally, he says, "it's a message...from the boss. he wants us all to meet him in his office. ni-ki included."

͙⁺˚*･༓☾

reluctantly, all seven boys do as told, once again finding themselves outside the all too familiar door that opens into the depths of hell 😍.

taking one for the team, jungwon wraps his knuckles against the wooden frame. in return, a "come in" sounds from the other side.

it's a feeling sunghoon had gotten used to living without the last almost two weeks. a feeling of anxiety that crawls on his skin and stirs up his insides. a fear of the unknowing that eats at his brain and feasts on his sanity. how could a company of such good and talented people be run by such a monster?

the room is cold, likely due to the blasting air conditioner. sunghoon also thinks it's cold because of the cold-blooded human sat before them, patiently waiting for the seven to take their seats.

they do so in silence, anxiously awaiting the reason for their summoning along with an explanation as to why the boss had gone awol.

at last, the boss speaks. "your team and i have been working hard this past week and half. many things have...changed since then." he emphasizes that word, not missing the chance to look at both sunghoon and jungwon in the eye.

sunghoon wishes to sink into the seat and disappear.

but then something unexpected happens.

"this change has been...incredible. enhypen is the talk of the industry and majority of the feedback is positive."

the air lightens instantly, as if everyone has released a breath of relief they didn't know they'd been holding. the weight on sunghoons shoulders settles and it's replaced by bewilderment. is this the same man he's known this past year?

taking the words from everyone's mouths, jungwon pipes up to ask, "what do you mean, boss?"

the boss, chuckles (a foreign sound that makes sunghoon's eye twitch) before following it with a scoff. "oh please, you know what i mean. your relationship with ni-ki? ringing a bell?"

the spotlight suddenly being on ni-ki and jungwon produces a sheepish blush on both their cheeks, a mix of discomfort and embarrassment laced in their expressions. where is the boss going with this? sunghoon thinks to himself.

"and sunghoon, sunoo. you can't tell me there isn't something between the two of you," he then states, gesturing toward both boys who act as deer caught in the headlights. the boss looks to the other three boys. "are any of you three homosexuals, too?" he blurts out, almost hopefully.

awkwardly and much to the boss's dismay, the other three boys shake their heads no. the boss just shrugs it off. although it's muttered under his breath, sunghoon is almost certain he hears the boss say something along the lines of "four out of seven is good enough."

he claps his hands together and his lips stretch into an unnatural smile. sunghoon believes he doesn't smile very often and even his lips are unsure of how to curve in such a way.

"this...this is just great. enhypen will be the faces of the gay community. do you know how much success this will do for your group?"

the boss seems almost excited, doing a completely 180 from the previous outlook he had on the lgbtq+ community. sunghoon would know. despite the fact that his boss's acceptance is all he's wanted for so long, his blood is boiling at this current state. he may be supporting him, but it's anything but genuine. his support his for all the wrong reasons, and it's clear that the group can see that, too.

sunoo can't help but scout out sunghoon from a few seats away. he knows that the boss's sudden change of heart is completely insincere and selfish, hence the reason he longed to see sunghoon's reaction. the sight tugs his heart. sunghoon is readable, and his expression shows that of anger and hurt.

a boost of courage he didn't know he'd conjured up leads sunoo to say what he says next. "with all do respect, boss, our sexual orientation doesn't define us. if the world sees enhypen as the faces of the..'gay community' and nothing else, it will take away from everything else about us as musical artists. we're more than just our sexualities."

the room goes so silent, you can hear a pin drop. sunghoon is moved by sunoo's words and the fact that he spoke up in the first place. the action warms his heart and has him longing to reach out for the younger and smother him with kisses.

the grin the boss once wore fades into the grimace the boys were much more familiar with. it's as if all his plans had been tossed to the side without a care. he's left somewhat stunned, assuming enhypen would've been happier with this decision. he wants to bubble up with rage, but something veeeeery deep inside him produces a tiny pang of...guilt? shame? he can't even pinpoint the unknown feeling, but whatever it is, it's suddenly preventing him from lashing out.

something about the way sunoo spoke pulled a different reaction from him that he didn't quite understand. it's almost like he felt...bad. the feeling scares him and before he can act on it, he ushers the boys out of his office, claiming he'll talk with them again soon.

the seven boys remained just as if not more confused. regardless, they go on their way, wondering what the boss could possibly have to say or do next.

once he closes the door, the boss whips out his phone, urgently typing in some numbers. he holds the phone to his ear, waiting for his call to be picked up.

"hi, it's me. i think we need to rethink everything."