Bed of Roses, Chapter Five
Title Bed of Roses
Author: Aquariuslover
Pairings: SungGyu/WooHyun
Rating: R
Genre: Friendship, Love, Humor, Angst
Length: Chaptered
Beta: tahoeturquoise
Summary: WooHyun’s perfect life…his bed of roses is tossed into disarray when SungGyu makes a bold move changing their friendship forever.
Previous Chapters
“Stop it! Just let me go to bed!” WooHyun said desperately as SungGyu pressed his thigh up against his groin. WooHyun cursed his body, which he could feel starting to respond to the other man’s closeness.
The grip on his face tightened and SungGyu ordered, “WooHyun, answer me. I have to know. Is this some cowardly act of yours? Did something happen? Are you afraid?”
“No,” WooHyun denied, and with a burst of strength he pushed SungGyu off of him before his body alerted SungGyu to the affect he was having on him. “I’m not a coward! My wanting to sleep with you has nothing to do with sex! I don’t want to have sex with you. I want to sleep with you…because I miss you. I miss us being close. Do we have to kiss and make-out to be close, now? We have kissed exactly six times! Six times! We have been close for years…years! Is all that gone, because I don’t want to be in a sexual relationship with you?”
“Argh!” SungGyu exclaimed, frustrated, as he turned away from the younger boy and headed back to his bed. “You drive me crazy! I am too close to you! So close that I can’t even see you! Just now I was convinced that you were lying, but now you have me doubting my gut instincts again! I need a shrink!”
“No, you don’t.”
SungGyu lay back down on his bed and admitted, “My gut tells me that I’m being an idiot to believe you, but I can’t help but remember all the times you rejected me. You have never initiated anything.”
WooHyun walked over to the bunk bed and sat down on it. “No, I didn’t, but I rejected the kisses, not you.”
“It doesn’t feel like that,” an irritated SungGyu told WooHyun as he sat up and pushed him off the bed again. “Kisses are not all we have done…there was more.”
WooHyun grimaced, sitting on the floor where he had been pushed. “That was only one time. I made it clear that I didn’t like it.”
“Didn’t like it?”
WooHyun blushed hearing the skepticism in SungGyu’s voice. The nice part of SungGyu that didn’t confront WooHyun when he was obviously lying was apparently already asleep, and the part that was awake had little tolerance for WooHyun’s self delusions. “I am going to go to bed now,” WooHyun said, standing up quickly.
“I think I was sucking on your cock all of five seconds before you shot cum down my throat-”
“Okay! I liked it! I’m young and healthy, and I am forced to live like a monk! I would have just liked it more if a girl had done it,” WooHyun lied, stalling as he avoided climbing the ladder to the top bunk.
SungGyu frowned at the mention of a girl, but he had to concede that WooHyun had a point, “Yeah, I know. I mean, somebody could probably kick me in the balls and I would mistake it as foreplay at this point.”
WooHyun stepped away from the ladder, sensing a change in SungGyu’s mood. “It was much better than getting kicked in the balls.”
SungGyu lowered himself back down on the bed unable to keep from smiling. “WooHyun, that might be the nicest compliment I’ve ever had.”
WooHyun smiled down at the leader, and asked, “Is your back feeling better?”
“When I was on the verge of either kissing you or strangling you earlier…I completely forgot about it.”
“Glad I could be of help.”
“Feel free not to help like that again…we are screwed up enough.”
WooHyun sat back down on the bottom buck and quickly told SungGyu, “I am not going to lie down. Just listen to me.”
“You have exactly one minute before I knock you off again! Do you hear me? One minute.”
“One minute,” WooHyun agreed. “It won’t take a minute. Like I said before, I know you’re disappointed in me. I know I hurt your feelings, and I hate that the most. I know my still wanting to be close to you must seem really insensitive, and I will try to work on it….” WooHyun paused as the selfish part of him took over. “I just don’t want it to work, though! Because we should always be close…we are a team…we are best friends. I don’t want you uncomfortable around me. I’m not uncomfortable around you. Nothing has changed for me. Can’t we please go back to how we were? You barely touch me! I miss how affectionate you used to be with me! You are still affectionate with the others, but I get nothing! Nothing! It is like you are afraid to touch me! Why should I have to be punished because you are afraid? If you accidently kiss me again it isn’t like the world is going to end. I am not going to hit you or hate you. I could never hate you. Accidents happen and-”
“Your minute is up,” SungGyu warned as he rubbed his face.
WooHyun stood up quickly and asked, “Did you hear anything I said?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“I will try to more affectionate with you.”
“Thank you.”
“But I need to think of you as a friend.”
WooHyun gritted his teeth and squeezed his hands tightly together as he informed the leader, “Not like a friend…as your best friend! Your essential someone.”
“My essential someone?” SungGyu repeated, amazed at WooHyun’s wording.
“Yes, your favorite person…not just a friend, but the best of best friends. Your favorite person in the whole world,” WooHyun explained. “You said I was your most important person…act like it!”
“I did,” SungGyu agreed, as he continued to rub his sleepy face. “But what if I don’t want a most important…sorry, an essential someone that I can’t have sex with? I want to be in a sexual relationship with my essential person.”
“Hyung!”
“Well, I am just being honest; but until I find them you can be my essential person. I will try to be better with you.”
WooHyun, whose mood had darkened at the mention of SungGyu having sex, hid his displeasure and said instead, “Good. I expect to be treated like it tomorrow. You’ve been treating me no differently than you treat the other members, and that isn’t going to work for me. I expect obvious favoritism from now on.”
SungGyu chuckled and ordered, “Go to bed.”
“Okay,” WooHyun agreed as he climbed up to the top bunk.
“I am going to warn you. If I wake up and you are in bed with me…I am going to kick you out! Essential person or not! Do you hear me?” SungGyu warned from below in the bottom bunk, highly doubtful that the younger man had given up on his sleeping plans.
“Yes, Hyung. Goodnight, Hyung.”
“Goodnight.”
************
“Again!”
The other six members tried their best not to wilt under the intense stare of their leader as he searched their reflections in the practice mirror for any signs of weakness.
The music started again, and the sweat covered members began to dance again. They had been practicing for hours, and it was proving nearly impossible to please their demanding leader.
“Stop,” SungGyu ordered, and the music instantly stopped. “SungJong, on the third beat your elbow has to be completely extended,” SungGyu said from behind SungJong as he stretched out his arm demonstrating for the younger member.
“Hyung,” SungJong couldn’t keep from whining.
“Hyung, what?” SungGyu snapped, not liking the sound of weakness he was detecting in the younger boy’s voice. “Am I being too hard on you? Do you want to take a break?”
“No, Hyung!” SungJong quickly replied, sensing no good would come from complaining.
SungGyu prowled between the other members, studying them intensely. “Perhaps you all think I’m being too hard on you?”
“No, Hyung,” all the other members quickly replied in unison.
“We have a reputation for being synchronized that we must maintain! Unless you think it’s too hard maintaining it? Perhaps the little success we have achieved has gone to your heads? Perhaps you think practicing isn’t important? Do you feel like our fans don’t deserve your hard work anymore?”
“No, Hyung,” the boys replied instantly to the leader.
“Should we lip sync too? Singing and dancing is hard to do at the same time, perhaps we should take that easy route too. Other groups do it all the time, why not us? Is that what you are thinking?” SungGyu asked as he continued to prowl among the members.
“No, Hyung!”
SungGyu stopped, looked directly at the members reflections in the mirror, meeting each one of them in the eye, and demanded, “And tell me why? Why can we never take the easy road? Why must we always give one hundred percent? Why?”
“Because We Are Infinite!” the members shouted loudly.
SungGyu’s firm look remained on his face and he yelled, “Again!”
The loud music started playing, filling the practice room, and the members danced with renewed energy, perfectly in sync. And when they were done, they did it again, and then they did it again.
An hour later, when their manager, Hyoan, walked into the room and motioned for the music to stop, even WooHyun and Hoya, the two members in the best physical shape, felt like they were going to collapse. “SungGyu, the boss wants to see you, now,” the manager told the leader of the group.
“Now?” SungGyu repeated, looking down at his sweat covered body.
The manager nodded his head. “Now.”
“Okay,” SungGyu agreed, and headed out of the practice room door without looking back at the members. Manager Hyoan looked at the six exhausted boys and grinned before he followed behind SungGyu, shutting the door to the practice room behind him.
The moment the door was closed all six members dropped to the floor, gasping for air.
“You think…he is going to get in trouble for trying to kill us?” SungYeol said between gasps.
L rolled over on to his back and answered, “No, he is probably going to get a bonus.”
“I thought his back hurt?” DongWoo blurted out. “How can he keep going? My back doesn’t even hurt, and I think I am going to die. How can he even stand up?”
“It’s to torture us! Knowing that he is torturing us gives him strength, and dilutes the pain,” SungJong explained as he panted for breath.
Hoya struggled to sit up and then with a burst of energy kicked SungJong in the butt, and complained, “And it’s your fault!”
“Yeah,” SungYeol quickly agreed, catching his breath. “You just had to bitch and moan about him yesterday! You are never allowed to talk during television appearances again!”
“Hey, it wasn’t just me! We all did it!” SungJong yelled back at them defensively. “It wasn’t just me!”
“I was nice yesterday!” DongWoo quickly pointed out! “I don’t backstab my friends when they are hurting, unlike the rest of you scummy traitors!”
“I didn’t know his back was hurting!” L informed them. “Nobody warned me!”
“Well, SungJong knew! He went and got his pain medication yesterday morning, but it didn’t stop the little blabber mouth!” SungYeol reminded them all.
SungJong stood up, flinging his arms into the air. “I was told to do it! It was for the show! We were all told to do it!”
“Some of us enjoyed it more than others,” Hoya hissed at the maknae.
L turned, gave Hoya an annoyed look and pointed out, “You weren’t innocent. At least he didn’t make up shit!”
“Hey, that was funny,” Hoya proclaimed. “Normally, Leader Gyu would have laughed! It was funny, because everybody knew it wasn’t true! It was funny!”
“Well, he is a bit sensitive lately…but I really can’t get into that,” SungYeol informed the others as his eyes were glued to WooHyun, whose gaze was fixed on the door that SungGyu had exited through.
“Why is he sensitive?” DongWoo asked, immediately concerned for his friend. DongWoo could tell something was really bothering SungGyu, and he wanted to help. “What is bothering him?”
SungYeol pretended to give the big hearted DongWoo a sad smile. “I really shouldn’t betray his confidence, but you see…no, I can’t. He would be upset if I told.”
“What!” SungJong and DongWoo immediately demanded.
SungYeol reached up and scratched his neck and said in a low voice, “I might have heard…there is a rumor going around that he confessed his feelings to somebody, and he was rejected.”
WooHyun, who had been awakened early in the morning when he got kicked out of SungGyu’s bed, just like his hyung had promised, had been ignoring the whining and bickering members. His thoughts were focused on why the CEO wanted to talk to SungGyu. In the past, WooHyun could have been sure that SungGyu would have told him everything, but now…now he wondered if he would ever find out. SungGyu had not followed through on his promise to be more affectionate with WooHyun. The most physical contact they had during the day was when SungGyu kicked him out of bed. The rest of the day had been spent with SungGyu working them like dogs, but WooHyun didn’t mind. He was strong, he could take it.
The sounds of shocked gasps coming from SungJong, DongWoo, L, and Hoya grabbed WooHyun’s attention. He turned around to look at the other boys, and the big grin on SungYeol’s face let him know the tallest member was up to something.
“Who did Leader Gyu confess to?” SungJong asked immediately, after finding his tongue.
“I really can’t say,” SungYeol told him, trying to control his laughter as he noticed the outraged look on WooHyun’s face.
“You have to tell us who she is! Hoya insisted. “We have to know!”
“You have to tell us!” SungJong agreed, suddenly filled with the desire to protect SungGyu. Who would dare reject Leader Gyu, SungJong wondered. He needed to find out who she was so he could give her a piece of his mind. Better yet, he would love to accidently trip her on a live music show.
L just shook his head. “He doesn’t have time to confess to anyone,” L told the taller, sneaky member. “SungYeol, you’re so full of shit.”
DongWoo rubbed his hands together excitedly, ignoring the good sense L was making to ask, “Was it Bora?”
WooHyun was up off the floor instantly, standing over DongWoo with his hands on his hips, demanding, “Why would you think it was her?”
DongWoo smiled up at WooHyun and said, “They were awfully cozy at the idol-”
“They were not cozy!” WooHyun snapped. “He was just talking to her! He talks to people all the time!”
“Wait? Don’t you know who she is?” Hoya asked WooHyun, suspicious now. “If he liked somebody you’d know about it before anyone else.”
“That’s right, you would know. Hyung, who does Leader Gyu like?” SungYeol asked WooHyun. SungYeol’s eyes were gleaming with amusement. This was more fun than playing gay chicken.
WooHyun flipped around quickly to glare down at SungYeol, and told them all, “He didn’t confess to any girl. L is right, he doesn’t have the time…none of us do. SungYeol was just trying to start something.”
L smiled, glad that his conclusion was right. “Thought so.”
“You thought Leader Gyu was mad at me,” SungJong told SungYeol sharply. “You just wait till I tell him you were spreading rumors that he got rejected.”
“No, don’t,” WooHyun responded alarmed. “He’s grumpy and he doesn’t feel good. Let’s just let this slide, and hopefully he will get some sleep tonight and feel better tomorrow.”
“WooHyun’s right!” DongWoo quickly agreed. “He might feel embarrassed.”
“Why would he feel embarrassed? It was a lie, right? SungJong pouted, wanting badly to turn grumpy SungGyu loose on SungYeol.
“I told you it was a rumor I heard, I didn’t make it up. I heard he confessed to somebody and he was heartlessly rejected,” SungYeol insisted.
“Heartlessly?” DongWoo repeated, putting his hand up to cover his heart.
“If he confessed to anybody, WooHyun would know,” Hoya pointed out. “They tell each other everything.”
SungJong frowned. “Unless-WooHyun is keeping his secret for him.”
“No! I’m not!” WooHyun denied instantly. “I swear he didn’t confess to a girl. He always pushes us hard…there doesn’t have to be a reason. He wants us to do our best.”
“Very true,” L agreed, but even he looked skeptical now.
“But still we were hard on him yesterday,” SungJong admitted guiltily.
“Hey, I wasn’t!” DongWoo quickly reminded everybody.
WooHyun tried his best not to glare at SungYeol, who had started all of this. “He’s okay. He can handle some ribbing. He’s fine,” WooHyun assured them, trying his best to get them off the topic.
“Still, I feel…like we should be nice to him,” DongWoo told them. “If we give any interviews today…maybe we should say something about him being a great leader.”
“That’s a good idea,” Hoya quickly agreed.
SungJong nodded his head. “I will be really nice! Promise!”
***********************
“Ah, SungGyu, please take a seat,” the CEO of Woollim Entertainment told the leader of Infinite. He was sitting behind his desk, with a welcoming smile on his face.
SungGyu pulled at his sweaty shirt to show where it was plastered to his skin and told his boss, “I’m awfully sweaty.”
“You are sweating because you are working hard, I admire that. Now, please take a seat. You must be very tired. You have been practicing very hard since early morning.”
SungGyu eyed the leather chair nervously, and then sat down as he had been told to do.
The CEO eyed the singer with keen eyes, and it did not escape his notice how gingerly the younger man sat down. “After our talk is finished you are going to the hospital to have your back looked at.”
“Sir, it reall-” SungGyu stopped, noticing the unrelenting look in his boss’s eyes. The CEO of Woollim was not easily managed. If he wanted SungGyu to go to the hospital, then the hospital is where SungGyu would be going. “Thank you, Sir.”
The CEO smiled at SungGyu and got straight to the point, “You’ve been acting differently, since the concert. Is something troubling you?”
SungGyu swallowed nervously; he knew lying to the CEO was not an idea he should entertain even for a moment. The CEO knew SungGyu well, knew of his past and accepted him. He had given SungGyu a chance when others had not. If anyone deserved his honesty it was the CEO. But honesty was hard to part with at the moment, so SungGyu gave him a half-truth instead. “I was not pleased with our performance during the concert. When I watched it afterwards, I was ashamed. The singing was off and the dancing was not up to our standards; we just looked tired. I don’t want the fans to look at our performances and go on and on about how tired we look. It’s embarrassing. It makes us appear weak. We are not some weak group that needs to cower behind its fan base.”
The CEO leaned back in his chair, taking in the younger man’s words. “Is this why you are pushing your members so hard today?”
“Mostly.”
“And what would the other reason be?”
“Their actions at the television recording irritated me yesterday. I know my viewpoint might be tainted by the fact…that I was the subject of their ridicule, but we can not attack each other. We must exude teamwork at all times.”
“I think you might be overly sensitive, it was funny. It was meant to be funny. It was obviously done in fun,” the CEO said unable to keep from grinning. “You can take it.”
“Yes Sir.”
There was a short period of silence in the room, and the CEO asked, “Is there tension between you and WooHyun?”
SungGyu closed his eyes in dread, knowing there was no getting out of it now, “Yes.”
“WooHyun is very young, even younger than his years indicate, whereas you are much older than your years indicate.”
SungGyu nodded his head, stared at the floor, and agreed. “He’s very innocent.”
“Yes, he is, but you are not.”
“No.”
“Although you seem much younger now, than the boy I first accepted into this company. And I highly approve of this younger version of you. I like this smiling, laughing, happy you; it’s very refreshing. I have enjoyed watching you age backwards, while maintaining all those qualities that I first admired in you.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“For the longest time, you have appeared very joyful, especially around WooHyun, almost as if you were in love.”
SungGyu raised his head and met his CEO’s eyes, and replied to the unspoken accusation, “You knew about my sexual orientation when you accepted me into this agency. You knew about it when you cast my dreams of rock bands aside and made me the leader of Infinite.”
“I did.”
“I can’t help how I feel, but it is not mutual. I will not allow it to become a problem.”
The slight widening of the CEO’s eyes was the only sign of his surprise as he repeated, “Not mutual?”
SungGyu shook his head, and decided on full disclosure. “WooHyun can be very…very naive at times. I confused him. I thought our relationship was leading up to a grand romance, and he just saw it as a grand friendship.”
The CEO leaned forward in his chair and then suddenly leaned backwards again, unable to hide his puzzlement. “You two have never?”
“We kissed a few times, and I blew him after our last concert. That’s the extent of it,” SungGyu told the CEO bluntly. He had come too far to lie now. He was well aware of the fact that the CEO had him thoroughly researched before accepting him into his company.
“You what?”
“Sir, you heard me correctly; but it was the end of my delusions of any romantic relationship with him. WooHyun suddenly realized what we were doing, and he freaked out. He made it very clear to me, that although he loves me as friend….” SungGyu paused and his face hardened. “He made it clear, he isn’t a filthy faggot.”
“He called you that?”
“He will deny it, but he made his feelings known.”
CEO shook his head slightly, trying to come to terms with what the young man had just confessed to him, and what he had believed to be true. “WooHyun is not very mature, but he adores you. I mean, from the minute he met you he’s followed you around like a puppy. He idolizes everything you do. I have watched you two for years. If he uttered such words, I know he must deeply regret them.”
“He does, and if I were a better person I would forget that I ever heard them,” SungGyu said with sadness, because those words replayed constantly in his head. The pain he had felt that night in the van, try as he might…he just couldn’t shake it.
“I do not believe that he would ever intentionally hurt you…not like that. He is very fond of you.”
“I know he is. Like I said, he says it was a misunderstanding; that he never aimed such vile words at me, and a part of me believes…that he really believes he didn’t. I know he cares for me. This is why it was so easy to convince myself that my feelings were returned.”
“I know it must hurt, but you can’t allow this to affect the group.”
“I won’t,” SungGyu assured the CEO.
The CEO told him firmly but kindly, “You are just a young man. It is easy for me to issue orders, but I know it must be difficult for you to follow them. But any conflict with you and WooHyun could be disastrous for the group. There must not be any.”
“There is no conflict,” SungGyu insisted.
“How can there not be?”
“I do not love him less,” SungGyu told the older man truthfully.
“Is he not awkward around you now? After learning what your true intentions were?”
SungGyu couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape his lips. “He tried to avoid me for a day, but once he realized I was also avoiding him, he became extremely offended and informed me I was not allowed to be mad at him. He doesn’t shun me at all. If anything he wants things to continue on as they were before. If I even attempt to withdraw from him a little, he looses it. He shows no sign of being uncomfortable with me.”
“That is rather odd.”
SungGyu adjusted his shoulders, trying to get his back into a comfortable position. “Truthfully, it’s driving me insane.”
“Oh.” The older man grimaced, realizing the problem. “What do you need?”
“I need to get laid,” SungGyu told the CEO frankly.
“Excuse me?”
“You asked me what I need and I need to have sex. I have been living as a gelding for too long.”
The CEO mastered his surprise as the leader’s request and reminded him, “You know the terms of your contract. You can not have a serious-”
“You misunderstand me. I don’t want a relationship with anybody…well, anybody I can have. I just need one night off, so I can go relieve some of this sexual tension I have built up. I need to get laid…badly,” SungGyu told the CEO as earnestly as he could.
“I am sure all the members feel that way, but unfortunately I don’t have a brothel at my disposal. I know some companies have arrangements…but not mine!”
“Sir, I don’t need a brothel. I know all the members feel this way, but they are not in love and lust with their clingy roommate,” SungGyu pointed out. “He wants me to be touchy with him, and I can’t do it. I feel like I am going to explode.”
The CEO leaned farther back in his chair, cringing, “This is…you were always the more affectionate one.”
“I know, and he expects it. He’s being extremely dense. Do you know how many times I had to kick him out of my bed last night? Literally kick him out of it, and still when I woke up he was right beside me! He has no concept of personal space!”
CEO watched as SungGyu ranted on about WooHyun, and could not deny that the younger man was in a predicament. He was very glad he did not have SungGyu’s problem. “If I let you have a night off…”
“I would never speak a word of it.”
“Wouldn’t the other members be suspicious if you suddenly disappeared?”
SungGyu tilted his head and sighed realizing the elder’s point. “It wouldn’t take WooHyun five minutes to begin searching for me…if I didn’t answer his calls. We could lie? I could lie? I could say I was going to go see my parents…but then he would insist on going with me.”
“Perhaps, I could give you all a night off.”
SungGyu’s eyes lit up. “That would be great. They have worked very hard. They need a night off, but I think the six of them should stick together. They should relax and have fun together, since it’s only for a night.”
“Then a night of relaxation for the group will be the plan. How you manage to get out of it is up to you.”
A smile appeared on SungGyu’s face as he realized he was going to get a free night. If he couldn’t have what he really wanted, then a night with some carefree sex would do nicely. “I would just have to find a way, and it would be worth it…it would so be worth it.”
“There can be no scandal…do you understand me?”
“My friend is very discreet,” SungGyu reassured his boss.
“For both our sakes I hope you are correct,” the CEO said unable to hide his displeasure at his own actions.
“Nobody will know,” SungGyu guaranteed, unable to keep from smiling.
“It will take some time to arrange a night off for all of you,” the CEO informed the eager leader. “Don’t get too excited.”
“I will do my best to contain my excitement,” SungGyu said, trying now to hide his smile.
The CEO shook his head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all, but I like to reward hard work, and even more I want this group to continue to run smoothly.”
“It will,” SungGyu vowed.
Author: Aquariuslover
Pairings: SungGyu/WooHyun
Rating: R
Genre: Friendship, Love, Humor, Angst
Length: Chaptered
Beta: tahoeturquoise
Summary: WooHyun’s perfect life…his bed of roses is tossed into disarray when SungGyu makes a bold move changing their friendship forever.
Previous Chapters
“Stop it! Just let me go to bed!” WooHyun said desperately as SungGyu pressed his thigh up against his groin. WooHyun cursed his body, which he could feel starting to respond to the other man’s closeness.
The grip on his face tightened and SungGyu ordered, “WooHyun, answer me. I have to know. Is this some cowardly act of yours? Did something happen? Are you afraid?”
“No,” WooHyun denied, and with a burst of strength he pushed SungGyu off of him before his body alerted SungGyu to the affect he was having on him. “I’m not a coward! My wanting to sleep with you has nothing to do with sex! I don’t want to have sex with you. I want to sleep with you…because I miss you. I miss us being close. Do we have to kiss and make-out to be close, now? We have kissed exactly six times! Six times! We have been close for years…years! Is all that gone, because I don’t want to be in a sexual relationship with you?”
“Argh!” SungGyu exclaimed, frustrated, as he turned away from the younger boy and headed back to his bed. “You drive me crazy! I am too close to you! So close that I can’t even see you! Just now I was convinced that you were lying, but now you have me doubting my gut instincts again! I need a shrink!”
“No, you don’t.”
SungGyu lay back down on his bed and admitted, “My gut tells me that I’m being an idiot to believe you, but I can’t help but remember all the times you rejected me. You have never initiated anything.”
WooHyun walked over to the bunk bed and sat down on it. “No, I didn’t, but I rejected the kisses, not you.”
“It doesn’t feel like that,” an irritated SungGyu told WooHyun as he sat up and pushed him off the bed again. “Kisses are not all we have done…there was more.”
WooHyun grimaced, sitting on the floor where he had been pushed. “That was only one time. I made it clear that I didn’t like it.”
“Didn’t like it?”
WooHyun blushed hearing the skepticism in SungGyu’s voice. The nice part of SungGyu that didn’t confront WooHyun when he was obviously lying was apparently already asleep, and the part that was awake had little tolerance for WooHyun’s self delusions. “I am going to go to bed now,” WooHyun said, standing up quickly.
“I think I was sucking on your cock all of five seconds before you shot cum down my throat-”
“Okay! I liked it! I’m young and healthy, and I am forced to live like a monk! I would have just liked it more if a girl had done it,” WooHyun lied, stalling as he avoided climbing the ladder to the top bunk.
SungGyu frowned at the mention of a girl, but he had to concede that WooHyun had a point, “Yeah, I know. I mean, somebody could probably kick me in the balls and I would mistake it as foreplay at this point.”
WooHyun stepped away from the ladder, sensing a change in SungGyu’s mood. “It was much better than getting kicked in the balls.”
SungGyu lowered himself back down on the bed unable to keep from smiling. “WooHyun, that might be the nicest compliment I’ve ever had.”
WooHyun smiled down at the leader, and asked, “Is your back feeling better?”
“When I was on the verge of either kissing you or strangling you earlier…I completely forgot about it.”
“Glad I could be of help.”
“Feel free not to help like that again…we are screwed up enough.”
WooHyun sat back down on the bottom buck and quickly told SungGyu, “I am not going to lie down. Just listen to me.”
“You have exactly one minute before I knock you off again! Do you hear me? One minute.”
“One minute,” WooHyun agreed. “It won’t take a minute. Like I said before, I know you’re disappointed in me. I know I hurt your feelings, and I hate that the most. I know my still wanting to be close to you must seem really insensitive, and I will try to work on it….” WooHyun paused as the selfish part of him took over. “I just don’t want it to work, though! Because we should always be close…we are a team…we are best friends. I don’t want you uncomfortable around me. I’m not uncomfortable around you. Nothing has changed for me. Can’t we please go back to how we were? You barely touch me! I miss how affectionate you used to be with me! You are still affectionate with the others, but I get nothing! Nothing! It is like you are afraid to touch me! Why should I have to be punished because you are afraid? If you accidently kiss me again it isn’t like the world is going to end. I am not going to hit you or hate you. I could never hate you. Accidents happen and-”
“Your minute is up,” SungGyu warned as he rubbed his face.
WooHyun stood up quickly and asked, “Did you hear anything I said?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“I will try to more affectionate with you.”
“Thank you.”
“But I need to think of you as a friend.”
WooHyun gritted his teeth and squeezed his hands tightly together as he informed the leader, “Not like a friend…as your best friend! Your essential someone.”
“My essential someone?” SungGyu repeated, amazed at WooHyun’s wording.
“Yes, your favorite person…not just a friend, but the best of best friends. Your favorite person in the whole world,” WooHyun explained. “You said I was your most important person…act like it!”
“I did,” SungGyu agreed, as he continued to rub his sleepy face. “But what if I don’t want a most important…sorry, an essential someone that I can’t have sex with? I want to be in a sexual relationship with my essential person.”
“Hyung!”
“Well, I am just being honest; but until I find them you can be my essential person. I will try to be better with you.”
WooHyun, whose mood had darkened at the mention of SungGyu having sex, hid his displeasure and said instead, “Good. I expect to be treated like it tomorrow. You’ve been treating me no differently than you treat the other members, and that isn’t going to work for me. I expect obvious favoritism from now on.”
SungGyu chuckled and ordered, “Go to bed.”
“Okay,” WooHyun agreed as he climbed up to the top bunk.
“I am going to warn you. If I wake up and you are in bed with me…I am going to kick you out! Essential person or not! Do you hear me?” SungGyu warned from below in the bottom bunk, highly doubtful that the younger man had given up on his sleeping plans.
“Yes, Hyung. Goodnight, Hyung.”
“Goodnight.”
************
“Again!”
The other six members tried their best not to wilt under the intense stare of their leader as he searched their reflections in the practice mirror for any signs of weakness.
The music started again, and the sweat covered members began to dance again. They had been practicing for hours, and it was proving nearly impossible to please their demanding leader.
“Stop,” SungGyu ordered, and the music instantly stopped. “SungJong, on the third beat your elbow has to be completely extended,” SungGyu said from behind SungJong as he stretched out his arm demonstrating for the younger member.
“Hyung,” SungJong couldn’t keep from whining.
“Hyung, what?” SungGyu snapped, not liking the sound of weakness he was detecting in the younger boy’s voice. “Am I being too hard on you? Do you want to take a break?”
“No, Hyung!” SungJong quickly replied, sensing no good would come from complaining.
SungGyu prowled between the other members, studying them intensely. “Perhaps you all think I’m being too hard on you?”
“No, Hyung,” all the other members quickly replied in unison.
“We have a reputation for being synchronized that we must maintain! Unless you think it’s too hard maintaining it? Perhaps the little success we have achieved has gone to your heads? Perhaps you think practicing isn’t important? Do you feel like our fans don’t deserve your hard work anymore?”
“No, Hyung,” the boys replied instantly to the leader.
“Should we lip sync too? Singing and dancing is hard to do at the same time, perhaps we should take that easy route too. Other groups do it all the time, why not us? Is that what you are thinking?” SungGyu asked as he continued to prowl among the members.
“No, Hyung!”
SungGyu stopped, looked directly at the members reflections in the mirror, meeting each one of them in the eye, and demanded, “And tell me why? Why can we never take the easy road? Why must we always give one hundred percent? Why?”
“Because We Are Infinite!” the members shouted loudly.
SungGyu’s firm look remained on his face and he yelled, “Again!”
The loud music started playing, filling the practice room, and the members danced with renewed energy, perfectly in sync. And when they were done, they did it again, and then they did it again.
An hour later, when their manager, Hyoan, walked into the room and motioned for the music to stop, even WooHyun and Hoya, the two members in the best physical shape, felt like they were going to collapse. “SungGyu, the boss wants to see you, now,” the manager told the leader of the group.
“Now?” SungGyu repeated, looking down at his sweat covered body.
The manager nodded his head. “Now.”
“Okay,” SungGyu agreed, and headed out of the practice room door without looking back at the members. Manager Hyoan looked at the six exhausted boys and grinned before he followed behind SungGyu, shutting the door to the practice room behind him.
The moment the door was closed all six members dropped to the floor, gasping for air.
“You think…he is going to get in trouble for trying to kill us?” SungYeol said between gasps.
L rolled over on to his back and answered, “No, he is probably going to get a bonus.”
“I thought his back hurt?” DongWoo blurted out. “How can he keep going? My back doesn’t even hurt, and I think I am going to die. How can he even stand up?”
“It’s to torture us! Knowing that he is torturing us gives him strength, and dilutes the pain,” SungJong explained as he panted for breath.
Hoya struggled to sit up and then with a burst of energy kicked SungJong in the butt, and complained, “And it’s your fault!”
“Yeah,” SungYeol quickly agreed, catching his breath. “You just had to bitch and moan about him yesterday! You are never allowed to talk during television appearances again!”
“Hey, it wasn’t just me! We all did it!” SungJong yelled back at them defensively. “It wasn’t just me!”
“I was nice yesterday!” DongWoo quickly pointed out! “I don’t backstab my friends when they are hurting, unlike the rest of you scummy traitors!”
“I didn’t know his back was hurting!” L informed them. “Nobody warned me!”
“Well, SungJong knew! He went and got his pain medication yesterday morning, but it didn’t stop the little blabber mouth!” SungYeol reminded them all.
SungJong stood up, flinging his arms into the air. “I was told to do it! It was for the show! We were all told to do it!”
“Some of us enjoyed it more than others,” Hoya hissed at the maknae.
L turned, gave Hoya an annoyed look and pointed out, “You weren’t innocent. At least he didn’t make up shit!”
“Hey, that was funny,” Hoya proclaimed. “Normally, Leader Gyu would have laughed! It was funny, because everybody knew it wasn’t true! It was funny!”
“Well, he is a bit sensitive lately…but I really can’t get into that,” SungYeol informed the others as his eyes were glued to WooHyun, whose gaze was fixed on the door that SungGyu had exited through.
“Why is he sensitive?” DongWoo asked, immediately concerned for his friend. DongWoo could tell something was really bothering SungGyu, and he wanted to help. “What is bothering him?”
SungYeol pretended to give the big hearted DongWoo a sad smile. “I really shouldn’t betray his confidence, but you see…no, I can’t. He would be upset if I told.”
“What!” SungJong and DongWoo immediately demanded.
SungYeol reached up and scratched his neck and said in a low voice, “I might have heard…there is a rumor going around that he confessed his feelings to somebody, and he was rejected.”
WooHyun, who had been awakened early in the morning when he got kicked out of SungGyu’s bed, just like his hyung had promised, had been ignoring the whining and bickering members. His thoughts were focused on why the CEO wanted to talk to SungGyu. In the past, WooHyun could have been sure that SungGyu would have told him everything, but now…now he wondered if he would ever find out. SungGyu had not followed through on his promise to be more affectionate with WooHyun. The most physical contact they had during the day was when SungGyu kicked him out of bed. The rest of the day had been spent with SungGyu working them like dogs, but WooHyun didn’t mind. He was strong, he could take it.
The sounds of shocked gasps coming from SungJong, DongWoo, L, and Hoya grabbed WooHyun’s attention. He turned around to look at the other boys, and the big grin on SungYeol’s face let him know the tallest member was up to something.
“Who did Leader Gyu confess to?” SungJong asked immediately, after finding his tongue.
“I really can’t say,” SungYeol told him, trying to control his laughter as he noticed the outraged look on WooHyun’s face.
“You have to tell us who she is! Hoya insisted. “We have to know!”
“You have to tell us!” SungJong agreed, suddenly filled with the desire to protect SungGyu. Who would dare reject Leader Gyu, SungJong wondered. He needed to find out who she was so he could give her a piece of his mind. Better yet, he would love to accidently trip her on a live music show.
L just shook his head. “He doesn’t have time to confess to anyone,” L told the taller, sneaky member. “SungYeol, you’re so full of shit.”
DongWoo rubbed his hands together excitedly, ignoring the good sense L was making to ask, “Was it Bora?”
WooHyun was up off the floor instantly, standing over DongWoo with his hands on his hips, demanding, “Why would you think it was her?”
DongWoo smiled up at WooHyun and said, “They were awfully cozy at the idol-”
“They were not cozy!” WooHyun snapped. “He was just talking to her! He talks to people all the time!”
“Wait? Don’t you know who she is?” Hoya asked WooHyun, suspicious now. “If he liked somebody you’d know about it before anyone else.”
“That’s right, you would know. Hyung, who does Leader Gyu like?” SungYeol asked WooHyun. SungYeol’s eyes were gleaming with amusement. This was more fun than playing gay chicken.
WooHyun flipped around quickly to glare down at SungYeol, and told them all, “He didn’t confess to any girl. L is right, he doesn’t have the time…none of us do. SungYeol was just trying to start something.”
L smiled, glad that his conclusion was right. “Thought so.”
“You thought Leader Gyu was mad at me,” SungJong told SungYeol sharply. “You just wait till I tell him you were spreading rumors that he got rejected.”
“No, don’t,” WooHyun responded alarmed. “He’s grumpy and he doesn’t feel good. Let’s just let this slide, and hopefully he will get some sleep tonight and feel better tomorrow.”
“WooHyun’s right!” DongWoo quickly agreed. “He might feel embarrassed.”
“Why would he feel embarrassed? It was a lie, right? SungJong pouted, wanting badly to turn grumpy SungGyu loose on SungYeol.
“I told you it was a rumor I heard, I didn’t make it up. I heard he confessed to somebody and he was heartlessly rejected,” SungYeol insisted.
“Heartlessly?” DongWoo repeated, putting his hand up to cover his heart.
“If he confessed to anybody, WooHyun would know,” Hoya pointed out. “They tell each other everything.”
SungJong frowned. “Unless-WooHyun is keeping his secret for him.”
“No! I’m not!” WooHyun denied instantly. “I swear he didn’t confess to a girl. He always pushes us hard…there doesn’t have to be a reason. He wants us to do our best.”
“Very true,” L agreed, but even he looked skeptical now.
“But still we were hard on him yesterday,” SungJong admitted guiltily.
“Hey, I wasn’t!” DongWoo quickly reminded everybody.
WooHyun tried his best not to glare at SungYeol, who had started all of this. “He’s okay. He can handle some ribbing. He’s fine,” WooHyun assured them, trying his best to get them off the topic.
“Still, I feel…like we should be nice to him,” DongWoo told them. “If we give any interviews today…maybe we should say something about him being a great leader.”
“That’s a good idea,” Hoya quickly agreed.
SungJong nodded his head. “I will be really nice! Promise!”
***********************
“Ah, SungGyu, please take a seat,” the CEO of Woollim Entertainment told the leader of Infinite. He was sitting behind his desk, with a welcoming smile on his face.
SungGyu pulled at his sweaty shirt to show where it was plastered to his skin and told his boss, “I’m awfully sweaty.”
“You are sweating because you are working hard, I admire that. Now, please take a seat. You must be very tired. You have been practicing very hard since early morning.”
SungGyu eyed the leather chair nervously, and then sat down as he had been told to do.
The CEO eyed the singer with keen eyes, and it did not escape his notice how gingerly the younger man sat down. “After our talk is finished you are going to the hospital to have your back looked at.”
“Sir, it reall-” SungGyu stopped, noticing the unrelenting look in his boss’s eyes. The CEO of Woollim was not easily managed. If he wanted SungGyu to go to the hospital, then the hospital is where SungGyu would be going. “Thank you, Sir.”
The CEO smiled at SungGyu and got straight to the point, “You’ve been acting differently, since the concert. Is something troubling you?”
SungGyu swallowed nervously; he knew lying to the CEO was not an idea he should entertain even for a moment. The CEO knew SungGyu well, knew of his past and accepted him. He had given SungGyu a chance when others had not. If anyone deserved his honesty it was the CEO. But honesty was hard to part with at the moment, so SungGyu gave him a half-truth instead. “I was not pleased with our performance during the concert. When I watched it afterwards, I was ashamed. The singing was off and the dancing was not up to our standards; we just looked tired. I don’t want the fans to look at our performances and go on and on about how tired we look. It’s embarrassing. It makes us appear weak. We are not some weak group that needs to cower behind its fan base.”
The CEO leaned back in his chair, taking in the younger man’s words. “Is this why you are pushing your members so hard today?”
“Mostly.”
“And what would the other reason be?”
“Their actions at the television recording irritated me yesterday. I know my viewpoint might be tainted by the fact…that I was the subject of their ridicule, but we can not attack each other. We must exude teamwork at all times.”
“I think you might be overly sensitive, it was funny. It was meant to be funny. It was obviously done in fun,” the CEO said unable to keep from grinning. “You can take it.”
“Yes Sir.”
There was a short period of silence in the room, and the CEO asked, “Is there tension between you and WooHyun?”
SungGyu closed his eyes in dread, knowing there was no getting out of it now, “Yes.”
“WooHyun is very young, even younger than his years indicate, whereas you are much older than your years indicate.”
SungGyu nodded his head, stared at the floor, and agreed. “He’s very innocent.”
“Yes, he is, but you are not.”
“No.”
“Although you seem much younger now, than the boy I first accepted into this company. And I highly approve of this younger version of you. I like this smiling, laughing, happy you; it’s very refreshing. I have enjoyed watching you age backwards, while maintaining all those qualities that I first admired in you.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“For the longest time, you have appeared very joyful, especially around WooHyun, almost as if you were in love.”
SungGyu raised his head and met his CEO’s eyes, and replied to the unspoken accusation, “You knew about my sexual orientation when you accepted me into this agency. You knew about it when you cast my dreams of rock bands aside and made me the leader of Infinite.”
“I did.”
“I can’t help how I feel, but it is not mutual. I will not allow it to become a problem.”
The slight widening of the CEO’s eyes was the only sign of his surprise as he repeated, “Not mutual?”
SungGyu shook his head, and decided on full disclosure. “WooHyun can be very…very naive at times. I confused him. I thought our relationship was leading up to a grand romance, and he just saw it as a grand friendship.”
The CEO leaned forward in his chair and then suddenly leaned backwards again, unable to hide his puzzlement. “You two have never?”
“We kissed a few times, and I blew him after our last concert. That’s the extent of it,” SungGyu told the CEO bluntly. He had come too far to lie now. He was well aware of the fact that the CEO had him thoroughly researched before accepting him into his company.
“You what?”
“Sir, you heard me correctly; but it was the end of my delusions of any romantic relationship with him. WooHyun suddenly realized what we were doing, and he freaked out. He made it very clear to me, that although he loves me as friend….” SungGyu paused and his face hardened. “He made it clear, he isn’t a filthy faggot.”
“He called you that?”
“He will deny it, but he made his feelings known.”
CEO shook his head slightly, trying to come to terms with what the young man had just confessed to him, and what he had believed to be true. “WooHyun is not very mature, but he adores you. I mean, from the minute he met you he’s followed you around like a puppy. He idolizes everything you do. I have watched you two for years. If he uttered such words, I know he must deeply regret them.”
“He does, and if I were a better person I would forget that I ever heard them,” SungGyu said with sadness, because those words replayed constantly in his head. The pain he had felt that night in the van, try as he might…he just couldn’t shake it.
“I do not believe that he would ever intentionally hurt you…not like that. He is very fond of you.”
“I know he is. Like I said, he says it was a misunderstanding; that he never aimed such vile words at me, and a part of me believes…that he really believes he didn’t. I know he cares for me. This is why it was so easy to convince myself that my feelings were returned.”
“I know it must hurt, but you can’t allow this to affect the group.”
“I won’t,” SungGyu assured the CEO.
The CEO told him firmly but kindly, “You are just a young man. It is easy for me to issue orders, but I know it must be difficult for you to follow them. But any conflict with you and WooHyun could be disastrous for the group. There must not be any.”
“There is no conflict,” SungGyu insisted.
“How can there not be?”
“I do not love him less,” SungGyu told the older man truthfully.
“Is he not awkward around you now? After learning what your true intentions were?”
SungGyu couldn’t help but let a small laugh escape his lips. “He tried to avoid me for a day, but once he realized I was also avoiding him, he became extremely offended and informed me I was not allowed to be mad at him. He doesn’t shun me at all. If anything he wants things to continue on as they were before. If I even attempt to withdraw from him a little, he looses it. He shows no sign of being uncomfortable with me.”
“That is rather odd.”
SungGyu adjusted his shoulders, trying to get his back into a comfortable position. “Truthfully, it’s driving me insane.”
“Oh.” The older man grimaced, realizing the problem. “What do you need?”
“I need to get laid,” SungGyu told the CEO frankly.
“Excuse me?”
“You asked me what I need and I need to have sex. I have been living as a gelding for too long.”
The CEO mastered his surprise as the leader’s request and reminded him, “You know the terms of your contract. You can not have a serious-”
“You misunderstand me. I don’t want a relationship with anybody…well, anybody I can have. I just need one night off, so I can go relieve some of this sexual tension I have built up. I need to get laid…badly,” SungGyu told the CEO as earnestly as he could.
“I am sure all the members feel that way, but unfortunately I don’t have a brothel at my disposal. I know some companies have arrangements…but not mine!”
“Sir, I don’t need a brothel. I know all the members feel this way, but they are not in love and lust with their clingy roommate,” SungGyu pointed out. “He wants me to be touchy with him, and I can’t do it. I feel like I am going to explode.”
The CEO leaned farther back in his chair, cringing, “This is…you were always the more affectionate one.”
“I know, and he expects it. He’s being extremely dense. Do you know how many times I had to kick him out of my bed last night? Literally kick him out of it, and still when I woke up he was right beside me! He has no concept of personal space!”
CEO watched as SungGyu ranted on about WooHyun, and could not deny that the younger man was in a predicament. He was very glad he did not have SungGyu’s problem. “If I let you have a night off…”
“I would never speak a word of it.”
“Wouldn’t the other members be suspicious if you suddenly disappeared?”
SungGyu tilted his head and sighed realizing the elder’s point. “It wouldn’t take WooHyun five minutes to begin searching for me…if I didn’t answer his calls. We could lie? I could lie? I could say I was going to go see my parents…but then he would insist on going with me.”
“Perhaps, I could give you all a night off.”
SungGyu’s eyes lit up. “That would be great. They have worked very hard. They need a night off, but I think the six of them should stick together. They should relax and have fun together, since it’s only for a night.”
“Then a night of relaxation for the group will be the plan. How you manage to get out of it is up to you.”
A smile appeared on SungGyu’s face as he realized he was going to get a free night. If he couldn’t have what he really wanted, then a night with some carefree sex would do nicely. “I would just have to find a way, and it would be worth it…it would so be worth it.”
“There can be no scandal…do you understand me?”
“My friend is very discreet,” SungGyu reassured his boss.
“For both our sakes I hope you are correct,” the CEO said unable to hide his displeasure at his own actions.
“Nobody will know,” SungGyu guaranteed, unable to keep from smiling.
“It will take some time to arrange a night off for all of you,” the CEO informed the eager leader. “Don’t get too excited.”
“I will do my best to contain my excitement,” SungGyu said, trying now to hide his smile.
The CEO shook his head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all, but I like to reward hard work, and even more I want this group to continue to run smoothly.”
“It will,” SungGyu vowed.