“Darling,” Tae said, pulling his flirtiest face while walking over to Jiwoo. Lacking any shame whatsoever, he leaned his face barely two centimeters from hers and tucked a stray strand of hair that had escaped her loose hairdo behind her ear. “I think we’ve got that covered.”

Jiwoo blinked, seemingly a bit breathless even. A rare sight, to be honest. I didn’t blame her. Tae could be pretty charming when he wanted to. It just took Jiwoo by surprise because he rarely wanted to. 

“Oh, I’m sure you have,” she replied with a warm smile after collecting herself. “But that wasn’t what I had in mind.”

I tensed again. Right after managing to relax a little  during Tae’s and Jiwoo’s brief word exchange. Shit. 

Then Jiwoo turned to look at me again. “I’m talking about a very special kind of fanservice. DoMino kind of fanservice.”

A heavy silence settled inside the meeting room. 

Yes, we knew all about the controversial gay-shipping-thing. We had even used it to our advantage back in the day. For some reason—maybe because even I could acknowledge that there was some unexpected chemistry between our stage personalities—the pairing between me and Do-hyun was by far the most popular. It would’ve been funny if it didn’t make my life a living hell because we both hated the whole concept with passion.

They even called us the chaotic DoMino pair. It baffled me. What romance is there in the plain old domino piece that the fans loved to shove our way at every fan meeting?

I glanced at Do-hyun, who looked exactly as uncomfortable as I felt. My fluttering heart sank at the sight. Good. I was not about to torture myself and repeat my past mistake which was also my deepest, darkest secret: that I accidentally fell for Do in real life once. 

I wasn’t about to let that happen again. Not in a million years. 

“Do we really have to?” Do-hyun asked, running his hand through his hair in a frustrated manner. “I mean...can’t we just focus on making good music for once?”

If my heart had sunk before, it now was drowning. Even better. It was good to remind the useless organ right from the start that me and Do acting like we were secretly together was only just that: acting for the fans. In reality, we were merely close friends. At least that’s what I tried to tell myself all over again.

“Look, I know you two aren’t very enthusiastic about this. But I have no choice other than to bring this up,” Jiwoo said. “The higher ups are expecting it. The publicity team is expecting it. Heck, the fans are expecting it.”

Do-hyun turned to look at me questioningly with a crease between his eyebrows. Then, he shrugged, which I already had predicted. He always gave up when it came down to doing something that would get our fans excited. 

“Up to you, I guess,” he said, eyeing me. 

I almost gave up right then and there. If Do-hyun was this okay with it—which I had not anticipated, to be honest—then who was I to fight about it? Then I realized that if I didn’t speak up about this now, I might never have the chance to do so again. And I refused to accept everything and anything all over again. I was done being trampled over like I was a goddamn doormat. 

So, I ripped my eyes off Do-hyun’s face and turned to look at Jiwoo while taking a deep breath. “Jiwoo…this is exactly the kind of shit I’m not comfortable with. I’m not doing it.”

While Jiwoo only nodded, it took the rest of the guys exactly seven seconds to process what I had just said. I know; I counted. I was expecting their reaction. I rarely opposed anything. Back in the day, that is.

Then they started speaking on top of each other.

“Minjae, I’m siding with the label on this,” Tae said, his voice oozing that famous leader authority he rarely used but which was even more powerful due to that exact reason. “We can’t afford to lose even one fan. May I remind you that we’re making a comeback after disappearing for three years. It’s not going to be easy and we have to use everything we can to get back on top.”

“If Minjae isn’t doing it, I’m backing off too,” Do-hyun stated.

“I mean, we could just focus on making good music,” Chris countered, looking at Tae. “Though this DoMino thing is huge.”

Joonie threw his arms up when everyone turned to look at him. “I’m staying out of this one.”

“I knew this would happen,” Jiwoo said, shaking her head so the curls bounced around. “Let me handle this. Minjae, can I speak to you alone?”

“But—” Tae started, but got cut off by Jiwoo who only raised her hand at Tae while looking at me.

I nodded. Was there even any other choice? If I wanted to avoid a full-blown fight between us right before the comeback concert. 

“Everyone, take a break,” Jiwoo said to the others and stood up. 

I didn’t bother moving. They all walked out—well, Tae with some reluctance. Jiwoo walked up to me and sat on the edge of the table right next to me. 

When the door closed behind the others, I immediately said, “I’m not doing this.”

“Why are you making this so difficult? I honestly expected this from Do-hyun…but not from you.”

Obviously I wasn’t disclosing the real reason to her. Instead, I plainly stated, “I find it degrading.” 

“Fine,” she said. “But I’m still afraid I must press you on this. This is a direct request from director Hangyeol-nim. You and I both know the company can make our lives a living hell if they want to. Especially if the director is not on our side.”

Well, shit. She was, of course, right. Even still, I was about to say something like “bring it on,” when Jiwoo spoke again. 

“Look, how about this? We try this thing, and once we get through the comeback and gain back our previous standing within the company, I’ll try to convince them that this isn’t necessary. I’m sure we can do whatever the hell we want then. Or maybe this time some other ship will sail better than DoMino, who knows.” 

I gave it a thought. “And how long do you think I’ll have to put up with this?” 

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe a year or so? I’m sure we can prove ourselves within that. Sooner, if you’re willing to give it some actual effort.”

Fuck. A year of torture? Dealing with Do-hyun’s mood shifts? Trying not to get too caught up in the fairytale? Hell no.

Then again…what was one year more? It’s not like I hadn’t done it for years before the army. “Ugh, fine.” 

Jiwoo smiled and tapped my shoulder while hopping up from the table. “Good. Take five if you need to.”

I was up and through the door to the hallway before she could even finish what she was saying. 

The door banged shut behind me.