The first time Jaewon met him was on accident. He had been heading home after grabbing a few spare items from what would become his past residency and was striding through the bustling town. One hand holding onto the strap of his bag, and the other with his phone in his hand, he used his thumb to scroll through his messages while contemplating whether he should ask the boys if they wanted something to eat. Smiling to himself, he already knew the answer.
Dongho was fine, as long as he didn't have to cook, Minsoo was always down for free stuff, and Daehyun was a bottomless pit begging to be fed. It was astounding how he never seemed to gain weight. Still looking down at his phone, he winced as his shoulder made contact with another.
"Ah, sor-" he stopped, then trailed off "ry." He could feel the curiosity etching itself on his face as he looked at the man before him. He had blue and pink hair, large eyes, and pretty lips. Jaewon blushed at the last thought. But his hair... is he an idol, too? Jaewon's train of thought broke once those lips opened.
"Hey, I know you. You're that kid from Mayhem. Wyld, right?" the boy's voice was pleasant, and seemed slightly curious, too. A smile played on Jaewon's lips as he went to speak again.
"Ah, yeah... Are you a fan-" He started to ask but was cut off, and a strange sense of frustration coursed through him as a sarcastic laugh left the pretty boy's mouth.
"Fan? No, I'm more like your competition," he said with a lazy grin. Sighing quickly, Jaewon's eyebrows furrowed as the man chuckled, starting to walk away.
"What do you mean by that?" Jaewon called after him, and he stopped. Who exactly is he?
"So, you don't know who I am, huh? That's going to change, I'm sure," he grinned, looking more malicious as time passed. "Well, now that I've finally met you in person, I've come to realize something. Mayhem's just a group full of nobodies."
Jaewon's blood ran cold as he stared at the boy who had once looked so soft and attractive and now seemed to have grown two heads. Why does he hate us so much? Jaewon was used to the backlash towards himself, but not towards the others. They were good, and he was nothing. He wanted to walk away, but his mind chose his mouth over his legs.
"Is there something you have against us?" He asked quietly, turning away. Although he was familiar with people acting odd with him, or even explaining how disgusting of a human he is, he had never had it in front of him like this. Normally it was through a screen, which was easier to ignore. Yet, every word out of this kid's mouth was a punch to the chest. It was getting hard to breathe.
"It's personal, actually. But I do need you to deliver a message for me," he started, and Jaewon whipped around in curiosity. "About SSC... Tell Minsoo I said let the better group win."
And with that, he was gone. Then, suddenly it started to make sense, but for confirmation, he hurried home to the others, deciding takeout was the best option.
-
Opening the front door and kicking off his shoes, while replacing them with slippers, he called out for Minsoo. His head peeped out from the kitchen, a bag of chips in hand.
"Do you need anything, Jae?" His eyes were wide and concerned. If you took away the concerned look, it was almost an exact replica. Clearing his throat, he ran his hand through his hair.
"Would you happen to know about a rude pretty boy with cotton candy hair who seems to have something against you?"
Minsoo grimaced, and Jaewon took that as a confirmation. He had just met Lee Minsoo's brother, Minsung, and thought he was attractive. That would be something best left out of his explanation of how he came across the other's brother.
-
As SSC came closer, more fake scandals were made, and a phone call filled with lies had been answered. Feeling sick, but not wanting to disappoint the fans, he carried on and prepared to compete. He looked out at the pond's worth of idols, splashes of pastels everywhere. Mayhem was currently in pink, and his nerves were getting to him. What if he screwed up? What did he even choose? Minyoung explained it, but Jaewon was too busy slapping his name next to the ones with SA1NT. In the end, he could only choose a few, but Minsoo was happy, nonetheless.
Jaewon felt a guilt inside knowing he was excited to see the boy who made his heart race and hurt at the same time. Maybe the allure came from it being an idol who hasn't hit on him. He was well acquainted with both sexes flirting with him, although in private, but no one had ever regarded him with such disdain, it almost amused him.
Things had already taken a turn for the weird, with Daehyun catching a ride on the back of a navy-haired idol, whose face was four different shades of red. Surprise seeped through him as he realized the group that the stranger was from SA1NT. Even with Daehyun on his back, together they were in first place. It was a funny but shocking sight. Looking over at SA1NT, Jaewon felt a smirk slide onto his lips. Minsung looked appalled even though the man announced as Young J won first place. The smirk fell quickly though, as the next event was announced.
This doesn't look good, Jaewon thought to himself. I shouldn't have picked randomly. There's no way I could hit that. His deprecating train of thought was interrupted by the loud musings of others.
"Isn't he the one on the news all the time?" One asked their friend loudly, and Jaewon's stomach turned.
"Yeah, I was surprised he's here too. He's probably just here to hit up girls, though," the friend responded. Jaewon scoffed, and mentally screamed 'hey, I'm gay.' He could feel sweat beading on his hairline and took a deep breath.
"Ah, last year's winner is here, too," he heard being announced. Curious, he looked around, eyes landing on a familiar head of hair as the announcer finished. "Lee Minsung."
"You're here too? This is gonna be easy then," Minsung laughed. "Is this your first time doing this? If you know how to aim, you should be fine. Besides, you get two tries," Minsung readied himself with his bow and arrow, smiling as he finished his thought, "But if you're like me, you only need one."
With that, he released, and Jaewon just watched in awe as the whizzing arrow stopped just barely away from the center. Nearly a bullseye. White noise filled his head as the announcer spoke and all he could ask himself is 'What did I get myself into?' Taking another deep breath he picked up his bow, and his arrow.
As he steadied his breathing, more stray thoughts filled his mind. 'Okay, it's my turn. Just focus on the target. I only have to aim at it, right?' He drew his arm back, pulling and hoping he was doing it right before letting go. It went astray.
"Looks like I was right. This is going to be easy, like you I guess," Minsung taunted, He faked a yawn as criticism began to flood in. Part of Jaewon wanted to through the boy at Minsung. No matter how cute he was, he was Minsoo's asshole brother, who was really pushing the being an asshole. Just when he was getting down on himself, he perked up at encouraging shouts of his name. He blushed, realizing his fans were encouraging him on. He can still do this. Steadying himself, he drew back again and released. He can do this.
Bullseye.
He let a disappointed smile fill his face as the shock filled Minsung's once more. This shot didn't count because it wasn't Jaewon's board, but he still got a bullseye. Yet, instead of a leer, he got a curious look from Minsung and a half smile. What the hell was that? Shaking his head, he walked back to his group, where they decided that he, Minsoo, and Dongho would be wrestling, and smiling as they did a group cheer.
Dongho and the lavender-haired boy announced as Taeseok went up against each other, and unsurprisingly, Dongho won. Though wanting to compete right away, suddenly Minsoo groaned. "Hey, my mom is calling me. I'll be right back. Jaewon, you can take Young J on, right?" Jaewon nodded, smiling as he waved him off. Stepping up to the mat, he took a deep breath before stepping forward.
Yet, rushing up to the mat wasn't Young J at all, but Minsung instead. Reeling back, he cursed at the fact that Minsoo was in the bathroom. Not only was the silver-haired boy waiting to go up against his brother, but Jaewon was not looking forward to being in such close proximity to that man. Sighing, he knew he couldn't back out now. As the match was signaled to start, he stepped closer to Minsung, and his nerves went haywire. They grabbed each other's waists and started pulling, but Jaewon wasn't the stronger one. He started to fall, and so did the elder. Back hitting the mat, his breath dispersed. Not because the wind was knocked out of him, but because of their proximity. Minsung's hands steadying himself on either side of Jaewon's head, Jaewon almost choked at the words escaping the older man's mouth.
"I had thought about it before, but now I have confirmation. You really do look so pretty underneath me."
by: Kayla