Behind The Scene

"I really don't give a fuck whether you guys are friends or fuck, but for God's sake, couldn't you not get caught? Don't you know how to be discreet at all? Do you have any idea how much money this is going to cost?!"

The angry statement of Kim Tae Ho, the CEO of BE:LIFT Lab, is still echoing in the now-silent practice room, where our five protagonists are standing next to the Enhypen members. Pacing the room in front of them, the group's manager doesn't seem more relaxed as he lets out an umpteenth sigh.

"Okay, everybody relax; there is no need to panic. I will ask Mrs. Kim to come with me as she is the one in charge of the interns, and we will go talk to the CEO to try and convince him not to kick you guys out."

Not giving anyone the time to even nod, Sejin (the manager) heads out of the room, leaving the twelve of them alone.

24 hours earlier

"We have a problem."

Arya has been knocking on all of her friends' doors with the same serious expression on her face, asking them to come downstairs.

Less than twenty minutes ago, she herself was awoken by a call from manager Sejin (they exchanged numbers when Meri was in the hospital, for those who don't remember). For a split second, she thought he had made a mistake, but the tone of his voice quickly convinced her that this was anything but a mistake and that they were in unimaginable trouble.

And so, gathering all of our protagonists in the living room, she made them sit down, each one of them worried about what on earth might have happened for their friend to be so serious this early on a Sunday morning. Arya took a deep breath and let out everything in a single shot.

"Dispatch might have been somewhere near us last night because manager Saejin just called me and said that the agency received pictures of us and the boys almost "hugging" near the karaoke place. The CEO is furious, so I believe I don't need to tell you in how bad of a situation we are right now."

Too shocked to even say something, the seated one could just look at their friend in hope she would pull out a camera saying this was a prank. But none of that happened, as she was still staring at them in desperate search of a way out of this mess.

Meri, who, as the oldest, has kind of naturally taken on the role of leader in the small group since their first day in the company, was the first one to recover from the announcement. She stood up, asking her right-hand mate if anything else was said to her.

"- He simply said that we would talk more about it with the CEO first thing tomorrow morning"

Repressing a scream, Meri reaches for a cup of water on the coffee table in the middle of the sofas.

"- Giving in to panic won't take us anywhere. We should find a way to defend ourselves.

- That would be fantastic, but how do you intend to accomplish this?

- I have no idea, Ailen. But one thing is for sure: we have to insist on the fact that we are only friends.

- Meri is right, adds Nai, we don't have anything to reproach ourselves with, so there is no reason for them to be mad, right?"

As they all nodded, a silence settled in the room. No one said anything for a while, way too preoccupied with finding a solution, when suddenly Kai stood up, defeated.

Back to the present

"Honestly, it would be a miracle for us to not get fired."

The Hawaiian words intended for the interns somehow also express the concern of the Enhypen members. But sadly, there is nothing for them to do except wait in this room until the manager and the head stylist return from the CEO's office with more or less good news.

In an attempt to lift the mood, Jay breaks the line they were still standing on and starts to wander around the room.

"At least we had fun that night, right?"

His members nod to him as they recall their endless karaoke session on Saturday.

"We had fun too, right girls?"

Not letting his friends answer, Kai adds.

"- Though I don't recall most of the end since I kind of passed out, I think...

- You didn't "kind of" pass out; you were completely wasted trying to pick fights with Jay and I."

Jake's smile widens as he remembers trying his best not to get hit by the brown-haired boy.

"- Did I? Oh my, I'm so sorry guys...

- Don't worry, the singer answers, it was fun meeting you guys outside of work."

Simply smiling back, the Hawaiian's discussion with his ex-boyfriend from the morning before flashes before his eyes as he looks at the Australian. Was it jealousy that Chris experienced when he saw the two of them together? Was he regretting breaking up? What if... No. He can't do that. But can he? It wouldn't be for long, and he would tell Jake about it the second he feels like it would be going too far. And it's not like the young man loves him, right? So he is not really playing with any feelings, is he?

As lost as ever, he finally decides to simply sit in the back of the room and think about it later. First, they have to not get fired.

Taking advantage of the light mood and having no idea of the questioning thoughts going on inside Kai's head, Arya decides to thank the idols for their help one more time.

"- Without you guys, who know what would have happened. Even if we kind of brought you troubles on this one...

- Hey, it's okay; first of all we were the ones who offered and second of all you are even more in trouble that we are, quickly answers Heesung. But now you owe me one.

- ..."

Not really paying attention to Arya and Heesung's discussion, Jungwon and Nai are in their own world in a corner of the room.

"- You cried a lot back then; is anything fine? Like I know some people cry when drunk but I just want to be sure...

- It's nothing, really... Can we not talk about it? It is kind of embarrassing enough that you had to almost carry me.

- It is not I promise, I am glad I could help you and I would do it again without a doubt."

Nai can feel her cheeks burning as she looks at the young man's eyes and smile. Why is he being like that? Why is he being so nice to her? Why her?

"Why her?" is also the question that Meri is asking herself as she stares at the young man in front of her with almost disgust.

"- You look at me like that now, but I wasn't the one laughing like the Joker two days ago.

- Listen, she says as she takes a step toward him, if you ever even only think about that night, or think about me at all, I might indeed turn into the Joker, and it wouldn't be for the good reasons. Now you better fuck off and not show your annoying face in front of mine if you don't want your so-called man's ego to get crushed like I'm about to crush your feet if you don't leave me alone."

Not letting the stunned man any time to replicate, she offers him her back as she walks away to Ailen on the other side of the room. Maybe it is easier this way. He was scared of getting attached anyway. But why does it lowkey hurt... in both of their hearts?

Sunoo and Niki, today joined by Sunghoon, who still has no clue as to why Ailen is getting shy every time their eyes meet, can't help but gossip about the scenes playing out in front of their eyes.

"This is getting even more interesting, I really hope Mr. Kim won't throw them out"

Agreeing with his maknae, the brown-haired boy can't help but let out a sigh. Looking back, if someone had told him two months ago that this room would have been as animated as it is now, he would have probably laughed at that person.

Sure, most of them have friends outside of the group, especially Niki and the 02 line, but their tight schedules make it difficult to meet, and he is not going to lie; it often gets lonely in here.

But now they have new friends-to-be, and he can't wait to see where all of this is going.

Are you really ready for all of this, though, Sunoo? 

Hello guys and welcome back to a new chapter ! 

Hope you liked it and see you next time ~