Shihwan nearly growled when Insu placed his hand on top of his open palm.

Finally.

He wrapped his hand around Insu’s fingers and promptly pulled him in until Insu was tucked securely against his chest.

Then he looked up. And met the stranger’s eyes.

The man looked back at him curiously, thoughtfully. Then his gaze shifted slightly to look at Insu, and Shihwan felt himself wrap his arms around Insu’s shoulders.

Insu stiffened beneath him, but Shihwan did not care.

Every fiber of his body was telling him not to let Insu get near this stranger.

He didn’t understand why he was acting like this. But he couldn’t stop himself. Even the startled look on Insu’s face had done little to calm these feelings.

Only a few minutes ago he had been down on the stage, laughing with Boram when something had shifted in the air.

A familiar, comforting scent had drifted down toward him. But it was closely followed by a scent that he was not familiar with—a dangerous scent.

Then, before he was even conscious of it, he was bounding up the steps three at a time toward the main exit.

His eyes suddenly sharpened; every line became as clear as day as they settled on the two shadowy forms in the darkness. Immediately he homed in on the hand on Insu’s shoulders, and something within him snapped.

He didn’t know what drove him; he had never in his life commanded anything of Insu before.

“Come here.” The words had come from somewhere deep within him. Aching, powerful, desperate.

Insu had taken a tentative step forward. But then he paused and stared at him, his eyes wide with shock. But Shihwan had been too preoccupied with getting Insu away from this stranger to question the reason behind the expression.

Shihwan took a deep breath; Insu’s scent began to slowly dissolve his anger. Now that Insu was in his arms, he found himself questioning his behavior.

What the hell was he doing?

Shihwan released him and looked down.

Insu slowly met his gaze. And Shihwan found that he could not look away.

His normally pale cheeks and the tip of his nose were a deep reddish pink. The eyes that were normally disinterested were wide and glistening from shock. 

In all the years he had known him, Insu had never blushed. The pink tinge to his cheeks and the uncertain expression made him seem softer, vulnerable. 

His eyes would not leave his face.

Shihwan’s fingers twitched.

He wanted to hold him again.

“Shihwan!” came a voice from behind them, and Shihwan’s arms, which had begun to move toward Insu, fell back to his sides. 

They both quickly turned to look down the set of stairs.

Boram was running up toward them, puffing slightly, his light brown hair bouncing adorably like an excited pup.

He stopped a few steps before reaching them. “Where’d you go?” he said, taking a deep breath, his pink tongue briefly hanging out before disappearing into his mouth. “You can’t just run off when you’re helping me with my lines. Jii hyung was—huh?”

Shihwan watched as Boram’s entire body froze, and he turned slightly to see him gazing at the stranger. “Hajoon?” he said softly.

And Shihwan once more felt his body tense up.

Boram’s expression was one he had never seen before. His eyes lit up and nearly sparkled.

Shihwan turned to look at Hajoon and glared. Who the hell was he that he was able to so easily get close to Insu and Boram?

“When did you get back?” asked Boram, and Shihwan couldn’t help but notice a slight note of restrained interest in his voice.

Hajoon leaned against the doorway and smiled. “A week ago.”

The small smile fell from Boram’s face. “Why didn’t you call?” he began to ask, but the words fell from his lips before he could finish them. He then shook his head as if to reset himself and quickly ran up the remaining steps to stand before them. His eyes were wide, and the excitement was now visible on his face.

Shihwan felt himself frown.

“How was Spain? I thought you said you weren’t coming back until next year.”

Hajoon shrugged. “It was fun, but I found myself missing home.”

Shihwan watched as the man’s eyes lazily met Insu’s. His smile widened slightly, and Shihwan automatically reached for Insu’s hand.

“There are just some things here that I can’t find abroad.”

“Then does that mean you’re coming back to the drama club?” Boram asked.

Hajoon shrugged again. “I’m not sure. I had planned to just join in name, but if we have some interesting newcomers—” and again his eyes met Insu’s “—I might be tempted to return.”

“Who?” said Boram as he angled his head to better look at who Shihwan had been blocking from his view. 

Insu met Boram’s gaze and felt a sense of displacement. Boram was even cuter up close. Shihwan’s analogy of a pomeranian perfectly explained this man—-wide happy smile, bright big eyes, fluffy hair, and a lively, friendly demeanor.

“Oh hello,” said Boram, blinking rapidly.

Insu stared at him.

“Hyung,” said Shihwan, breaking the awkward silence. “This is Insu. My friend.”

Insu tensed beneath Shihwan’s hands, but before he could think much of it, Insu pulled away from him.

Immediately, Shihwan felt a little empty.

Not noticing the exchange, Boram took a step forward toward Insu and grabbed his hands.

Shihwan expected Insu to immediately shake him off and was surprised when all he did was stare at him.

“Would you consider joining our group? We could always use more members—even if you can’t act, there are tons of other jobs. And honestly, with how beautiful you are, I bet we’d pack the house.”

Shihwan made a move to step in, knowing that Insu was feeling overwhelmed. Insu had never been good with high energy, enthusiastic people like Boram, saying that their vivacity drained him of his spirit.

“Hyung—” Shihwan began when Insu suddenly shook Boram’s hands off and opened his mouth to speak.

“Oh wait, no! Don’t answer yet,” exclaimed Boram, unfazed by Insu’s reaction. “Shihwan and I had dinner plans. Why don’t you guys join us? Let me tell you about our club and the benefits, and then you can decide? Yes?” His smile was wide and his face bright, and Insu looked as though he had been caught in a trap.

Insu began to shake his head when Boram took his hand and began to drag him out of the theatre, calling back to the group below them still moving around on the stage, “Guys! We’re going to head out early for some recruiting!”

“No,” said Insu in a small, awkward voice, trying to be heard through Boram’s chattering. “I don’t want—”

But it was too late. The pomeranian was dragging him out of the building, his hands clasped tight around Insu’s, giving him no room to escape.

There wasn’t an ounce of deceptiveness in the touch, and Insu found that he could not hate him.

Inside, he began to panic. He needed to get away… he didn’t know for how long he would be able to keep his unhinged emotions in check.

What the hell was this? He nearly laughed as he watched Boram pull him out of the darkened theatre into the bright, sunny world outside as Shihwan and the man whose name Insu couldn’t bother to remember followed after them.

What sick twist of fate had led him down this path—to be having dinner with the childhood friend he loved and the man that friend was in love with?

.