The Secrets We Keep - Taekai

the one with the progress? or maybe not?

To say things had been awkward not only between Jongin and Taemin but also Jongin and Baekhyun since then would be far from a lie.

"So we ever gonna talk about you telling me to fuck off?" Baekhyun asked after one of their long practices.

Jongin glanced around the room, the NCT kids were all gone but Taemin was across the room still packing up his stuff. "No we're not."

"I'm the leader, Jongin. And I think we need to talk it out. Junmyeon would want to talk it out if it had been him you had told to fuck off."

Jongin risked another glance back at Taemin - who was, as Jongin had feared, glancing over at them; obviously overhearing everything Baekhyun was saying. "You're not Junmyeon though."

"No I'm not because Junmyeon would have made you talk it out right then and there. I gave you a few days to cool down."

"Baekhyun, cut it out." Jongin muttered, shaking his head. "Look I don't know what you want me to say. I was pissed off, sorry for telling you to fuck off."

Baekhyun glanced past Jongin for a second before he nodded. "Thanks for the apology." Baekhyun said, small smirk on his face before he turned and walked out of the practice room.

It was quiet for a minute, Jongin gathering his things and getting ready to leave the practice room and head back to EXO's dorm - wanting nothing more than to just crash into his bed.

"You and Baek get into it?" Taemin asked, catching Jongin by surprise.

"Yeah we did. Nothing too big though, he was making it out to be a much bigger issue than it really was."

"You apparently told him to fuck off, so that sounds like a big deal."

"Yeah well I was being a dumbass." Jongin said, shrugging. He glanced over quickly, catching a glimpse of how jumpy Taemin looked standing beside him. "You don't have to be so jumpy around me, you know?"

Taemin let out a small nervous laugh, nodding. "Yeah. Look, Baek seems to he taking this whole leader thing very seriously - so try to give him a little bit of a break. However I'm sure he deserved being told to fuck off."

Jongin smiled slightly, "He did. He was being a dumbass as well. But like he said, he's the leader so I shouldn't have said it - no matter how much he deserved it."

"I gotta get going, but I'll see you around - I mean obviously I'll see you here."

"Yeah, see you later Taem."

■

When Jongin got to practice the next day and was told by Baekhyun that one of the main parts of what he was going to be practicing that day was going to be the choreo for their song No Manners Jongin swallowed hard.

"You mean the one with only me, Taemin, Taeyong, and Ten?"

"Yes that is our only song titled No Manners, Jongin." Baekhyun said, shaking his head.

"But that's not even slated to be performed at our debut showcase."

"No but it's slated to be performed at our tour that starts the month afterwards."