The dressing room buzzed with the familiar chaos of a comeback.
Stylists darted between clothing racks, makeup artists called out for missing brushes, and somewhere down the corridor, an assistant director reminded everyone they had less than thirty minutes before filming resumed.
Fifteen years had passed since their debut.
Some things had changed.
Sungkyu stood by the monitor, discussing camera angles with the director.
Myungsoo sat quietly in the corner, flipping through the storyboard.
Dongwoo was laughing at something only he found funny.
Sungjong was, unsurprisingly, looking for something he'd misplaced.
Sungyeol was staring at his reflection longer than usual.
"Sungjong." You called him.
"...Yes?" He answered.
"What are you looking for?"
"...My phone I lost it."
"It's on the sofa." You replied without even looking at the sofa.
"...Oh!!" Sungjong exclaimed.
Dongwoo burst into laughter.
"That's the third time today."
"I was nervous!" Sungjong tried to explain himself for being panicky.
"You've been nervous since 2010." Dongwoo added.
"I'm not joking!" Sungjong tried to sound serious but failed.
"So am I." Dongwoo tried to give him some assurance, like a big brother.
You couldn't help but smile.
Fifteen years.
Their hairstyles had changed. The wrinkles around their eyes had become just a little more obvious. Their schedules were no longer as packed with endless music shows and overseas tours like how it was years ago.
Yet backstage... they were still exactly the same.
Your thoughts were interrupted when the changing room door slid open.
Woohyun had barely stepped out of the changing room when you frowned.
"...Come here." You called him out.
You stepped in front of him before he could even ask what I meant.
Woohyun's collar had folded inward beneath the lapel of his jacket.
Without hesitation, you reached up.
"Your collar." Your fingers brushed lightly against the stiff fabric, smoothing the crease before adjusting the tie knot a fraction to the left. It wasn't intimate. It was routine. The same thing any stylist or coordinator would do before someone walked onstage.
Woohyun looked down at himself. He didn't answerZ
"It looks like you got dressed in the dark." You murmured.
"I... I've been dressing myself for 34 years." He stammered as you tugged the collar straight one last time with your hands accidentally tickling his neck.
"And still doing a bad job." That's how the both of you always bickered.
Just then—
"Noona!" Sungjong hurried past with an armful of accessories.
"Sorry, sorry—"
His shoulder clipped Woohyun's arm.
Caught off balance, Woohyun instinctively stumbled forward.
ŞİMDİ OKUDUĞUN
Never Just Us
Hayran KurguFor fifteen years, they protected the same family. They protected the group. They protected each other. They protected every secret. Except their own hearts. What began as friendship quietly became longing. What should have been a confession became...
