"Did you talk to him today?" Kaede murmured, teeth catching at Lan Yu's ear.

"...Huh?" They'd barely gotten back from a long day of shooting before Kaede had him pinned and busy. Was his stamina always this insane? Lan Yu couldn't help wondering.

"I saw you and Luke chatting a lot." Kaede's hand slid under Lan Yu's shirt, found a nipple already tightening, and rolled it between his fingers.

Lan Yu jolted at the touch, heat rushing straight to his chest. "niisan, if you keep doing that... do you want me to answer or not?" Lan Yu watched, a little amused, as Kaede stroked his body.

"Aren't you answering just fine?" Kaede popped the rest of the buttons, peeled the shirt away, let it fall, then buried his face against Lan Yu's chest. His tongue flicked over those pink peaks; now and then his teeth closed on one, a deliberate little bite, like he was punishing Lan Yu.

"...mm—" The licking left Lan Yu weak enough that he had to brace against the wall, hands on Kaede's shoulders like a man clutching a life ring in open water.

Kaede's hand traveled down, slipped inside, and wrapped around the cock already lifting its head. His fingertips traced lazy circles around the rim of the glans; with each pass, more slick welled from the slit.

"Ha... ha..." It was getting hard to breathe. Under Kaede's stroking, his cock was as stiff as his nipples, precum threading over Kaede's knuckles.

"Yu, won't you answer me?" Kaede's face, before Lan Yu noticed, had edged up to his; their lips pressed together, and their tongues tangled as they exchanged each other's taste.

"niisan..." Kaede knew that whenever Lan Yu wanted something, he liked to call him that. "You... you keep doing this... how am I supposed to answer..."

"You can beg me—just not answer?" Kaede held his gaze. Up close, Lan Yu realized how dark those eyes really were—like a deep sea that never gave up its secrets.

Lan Yu nudged him back with an elbow to steal a breath. "The company's put me with Leader-nim for the group reality show," he said between exhales.

"The group reality?" Kaede arched a brow. "Aren't we all on that?"

"Just... the company probably wants to pair me with Luke and hype a ship." Lan Yu couldn't meet Kaede's eyes, answering a little awkwardly.

"..."

Kaede didn't comment. His hand simply kept moving—down from Lan Yu's belly, lower, then back between his cheeks.

"Ah..." Lan Yu couldn't help moaning as Kaede's fingers slid into his hole.

"Is it because I fucked you open this morning?" Kaede's breath sounded at his ear. "I slid right in all at once."

Fuck. Lan Yu had no defense against Kaede's filthy talk—especially when it was the kind of truth he couldn't argue with.

"You like it?" Kaede's breath brushed his ear again. "You're squeezing my fingers so hard."

"Yeah..." Lan Yu let his weight melt into him. "I like you."

Kaede's fingers were long; as soon as they curled, they found the spot. "Ah—" The cry leapt out of Lan Yu. His cock twitched, flinging a few clear drops. "Here?" Kaede teased the bump like a prank, watching Lan Yu's cock thump his own stomach, slick smearing across his abs. "So indecent."

Lan Yu didn't need to hear Kaede narrate how lewd he looked. His dick felt ready to burst. He looped his arms tight around Kaede's neck and caught his mouth again; Kaede met him without holding back.

With Kaede's thick cock inside him, driving hard into his sweet spot, they climaxed together in no time.

The dorm beds were small. After Kaede finished cleaning him up, they each lay back on their own. Staring at the ceiling, Lan Yu replayed the day. None of it felt real—debuting, actually having sex with Kaede. In the middle of it flickered Luke on set, the way he'd bitten back a comment. Why had he made that face when he heard today was their first time? He hadn't looked like that even when he'd walked in on them. Maybe it's hard to imagine someone's first time happening in a utility closet at the company.

Lan Yu blinked. It was true—he was the one who had suggested they be friends‑with‑benefits. But he had never really pictured it coming true, just as he had never really thought he would end up debuting in the same group as Kaede. He had only put a possibility on the table, without thinking through what it would look like if it actually came to pass. Should I be happy? After all, he and Kaede did debut together, and in some sense they had come together, too. And Kaede? Honestly, Lan Yu had never thought Kaede would take the proposal to heart. When Kaede said he wouldn't date, he meant it—he had truly shut the door on the possibility of romance, and he wouldn't let these things derail his future. But does being friends‑with‑benefits really not affect him? Thinking back on all the reasons he himself had given, Lan Yu found he could barely convince himself—yet Kaede had agreed, and it was Kaede who had brought it back to the table.

Does he really want a friends-with-benefits arrangement? Lan Yu felt puzzled. Absurd as his own invitation had sounded back then, at least one thing was certainly true: he had seen for himself how strong Kaede's sex drive was. It was obvious without Lan Yu having to pry. Even with the grind of trainee life, Lan Yu would sometimes wake in the middle of the night to pee and catch Kaede masturbating—on the bed or in the bathroom—sometimes two or three times in a row. Before long, once Kaede realized Lan Yu already knew, he got bolder: he would start jerking off openly before Lan Yu had even fallen asleep. Kaede didn't look at anything while he did it, either, so every now and then Lan Yu couldn't help asking what he was thinking of when he got himself off. Kaede would just look at him and say nothing, and Lan Yu never pressed the question.

For someone like Kaede, accepting the offer shouldn't be surprising.

"Awake?" Drifting in a haze of thoughts, Lan Yu noticed his phone light up. He rubbed his eyes, unlocked it, and saw that the message was from Luke.

"Not yet. What's up, Leader-nim?"

As soon as Lan Yu sent the reply, Luke sent over a document.

"This is the script for tomorrow's group reality. Manager-nim asked me to go over our parts with you ahead of time. Might be good to get familiar."

Shit. Coming back and going at it with Kaede, he'd forgotten completely. "Got it. Thanks, Leader-nim," he typed, polite out of reflex.

Which reminded him—Lan Yu rolled to look at Kaede's bed. From the shape of his back, Kaede was already asleep. He had asked about it earlier... then they got busy. Thinking of himself back then made Lan Yu flush.

But... does he actually care? Lan Yu couldn't help turning the question over. If it were someone else, he might chalk it up to possessiveness; but this was Kaede Fujiwara—the guy who got even more turned on with Luke watching them have sex. Lan Yu thought helplessly. Every time today's caught-in-the-act scene replayed in his head, his urge to slit his own throat didn't waver.

Forget it—let's see what we're performing this week. Lan Yu opened the file and began to read. Until now, he hadn't realized the group reality show they shot every week actually worked from a script. It didn't spell out every line, but the overall framework was already in place; the rest came down to each person's own understanding and how they played it.

"Reading?" Another ping from Luke—probably because Lan Yu had gone a while without replying while he read.

"Yeah. Looks like we're going out for ramen this week."

"Looks like it's the super-spicy kind..."

"That tone—Leader-nim, are you scared?" Even over text, Lan Yu could almost hear Luke's expression and voice.

"Yeah... I really can't do spicy at all TT"

"I figured Leader-nim would be good with it." The crying emoji was... honestly cute. For someone that tall to type like this, Lan Yu had to admit it was endearing.

"I grew up in the States and just never ate spicy. Even after moving back to Korea for a while, I'm still not used to it. Why do you sound like you can handle spice, Yu? I thought you didn't eat spicy." Luke even popped a little puzzled emoji on at the end.

"Why would Leader-nim think that? I eat spicy just fine."

"I've never actually seen you eat anything spicy."

"We'll get to see each other this time." Lan Yu smiled. Why do I sound like I'm actually looking forward to this week's group reality show? "Leader-nim, turn in early, okay? We're meeting at the ramen shop first thing tomorrow, remember."

Luke replied with a wounded-puppy sticker.

God. Lan Yu tapped to save it, then typed fast: "Go to sleep, Leader-nim. Can't wait to see you cry from the heat tomorrow."

"TT"—another pleading little emoji, and then, as if conceding, "nighty night."

Seriously—treating me like a kid, when he's the one acting even younger. Smiling at Luke's reply, Lan Yu thought for a second and deliberately typed back "安安"—just to even the score.

Then he flung the phone aside and burrowed into sleep.