"...And then Heeseung hyung and Sunghoon hyung kissed!"
Heeseung quickly opened the door, barging into the meeting room.
"Heeseung and Sunghoon did what?!"
Yeonjun snatched the iPad from Ni-ki, shoving it under the table, out of sight. A startled Beomgyu knocked over a pencil holder and accidentally elbowed Jungwon while trying to keep it from falling completely. Four pairs of eyes sheepishly slid over to the entrance.
"I- I can explain," Jungwon winced, slowly sitting back down. He lowered his arms to nurse his injury.
"Do I even want to know?" Heeseung groaned as he slid into an empty seat next to Jungwon.
"Probably not," Beomgyu replied.
Yeonjun kicked him under the table. The door opened again, and the rest of the Enhypen and TXT filed into the room.
"Soobin hyung! Yeonjun kicked me!" Beomgyu complained, immediately earning himself another kick from the older boy for not using honorifics.
Soobin rolled his eyes as he took a seat next to Yeonjun.
Sunoo glanced over nervously. "Are they always like this?"
"Nah, they just lose their ability to behave when they're with new people," Taehyun reported.
Huening Kai grinned, nodding in agreement.
That answer seemed to satisfy Sunoo, and he cheerfully joined the others at the table. Heeseung leaned back, happily watching his current members interact with his old trainee friends.
The first time the two bands met, he had dealt with an awkward clash of friend groups, TXT being tall, loud, and overbearing, while Enhypen was shy, inexperienced, and easily intimidated. Fortunately, a few months ago, they all had the opportunity to grow closer while collaborating to perform a special stage for BigHit's new year's eve show.
Heeseung felt a familiar hand rest on his left knee, and he looked up, smiling. Sunghoon met his gaze, tilting his head to ask why he was so quiet today.
Heeseung didn't respond, secretly intertwining their fingers under the table instead. During their time in I-Land, the pair had grown closer, Sunghoon being someone he could always turn to when things got hard. And sure, maybe he did find himself crying in Sunghoon's bed a few times late at night after the cameras had turned off.
That wasn't important, though.
Nothing had happened between the two yet, but Heeseung was sure the boy liked him back. Nevertheless, he wasn't in any rush to make a move. They had just debuted. They would have all the time in the world to be together.
***
"Alright, is everybody here?"
TXT's manager walked into the meeting room, followed by Enhypen's, and then a mysterious man in a business suit.
The boys stood up and respectfully greeted the newcomers before settling back down, glancing at one another nervously.
It had been nearly two hours since they first entered the room, and they had run out of casual conversations long ago. The air was now hot and stuffy, only adding to the uncomfortableness of the situation.
"This is the CEO of Be:Lift," Enhypen's manager introduced.
The man in the suit took a seat at the head of the table. He waved his hand to dismiss the staff. The managers shuffled out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind them. Heeseung felt like a farm animal that was just locked in the slaughterhouse. He shivered, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants.
Something didn't feel right.
"I have a lot to talk about today, so I'm going to be very straightforward with you all."
The air in the room felt heavy.
"Be:Lift is going bankrupt."
Heeseung's breath hitched.
"We can not afford a comeback for Enhypen."
Was that sweat trickling down his cheek?
"BigHit offered us a solution. A lifeline, I'd call it."
How long had he been holding his breath? He let out a shaky sigh.
The CEO turned to face Soobin and Yeonjun, his expression almost apologetic.
Soobin lowered his head and let out a small sob before pulling himself together. Yeonjun's face remained blank, but Heeseung could see him slightly shift in his chair to hold Soobin's hands under the table.
"We'll do it," TXT's leader replied before the CEO could say anything else.
Heeseung met Jay's eyes, and they shared a look of confusion. The CEO stayed quiet for a minute, his face now unreadable.
"Okay," he finally said. He turned towards Jungwon, who looked as clueless as Heeseung felt.
"I'm sure you all remember the joint stage for BigHit's new year's eve special, where you covered BTS's 'Boy in Luv' together, correct?"
The boys all nodded. The popularity of both groups had skyrocketed after the event, earning them a pat on the back from BTS themselves.
"Because the stage proved to be such a success, BigHit is allowing us to form a temporary merger," the CEO continued.
Everyone except Soobin and Yeonjun looked around, lost once again.
"So... we're combining groups?" Jake questioned. "Like right now?"
Nobody dared to breathe as they waited for an answer.
"Correct."