BACKSTAGE - OT8

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Almost a year later...

Things have been good. No, it's been better than good. It's been great. Their careers are doing better than ever, and their relationship is thriving.

Everyone seemed happy—hopefully, they were. After what happened to Seungmin, they couldn't handle anything else.

They all shared that nightmare. The younger ones who found him would remember him in the bathtub. The others who only saw him in the hospital couldn't forget that moment either. The first few months, it felt like their brains were playing tricks, and they couldn't believe it was real that he'd ever woken up.

When one of them woke from the nightmare, Seungmin felt guilty. It broke their hearts even more that he felt like that when it was he who was hurting the most.

They went to court months after the incident. It was rushed through the system since it became such a high-profile case. Seungmin didn't want to face them in court and have so many cameras on him, so he had a private testimony.

Surprisingly, his sister showed up to testify on his behalf. Telling the jury how abusive their parents had been to him throughout their childhood. It was why she left not long after he did. Without him to vent their frustrations, they turned to her to take it out on. Exactly what Seungmin had feared.

After court, she'd wanted to talk to him and apologize for never stepping up for him before. But she just left her number with Chan as the members all stood in front of him like guard dogs.

He didn't want to talk to her, though—at least not then. He needed to heal first.

Officer Ye Joon was pretty efficient in proving that the trio had the means, motive, and opportunity. Even uncovering other shady businesses they'd been involved in. By the time he'd presented the evidence to the lawyer, there was no question. They could prove they premeditated to kill him cold-heartedly.

And thank the heavens, they were found guilty.

The media and their fans all supported Seungmin through his hiatus as he mentally recovered. But he was still sad he'd never have a normal relationship with his family, even if he'd lost them a long time ago.

It was different when he left. After he'd run away and become a star, he'd hoped they'd love him again. Hoped they'd see he was not all those names they'd called him and want to be in his life. It was part of the reason he held out on his feelings for so long.

Yet they'd only come back to try to kill him. And very much succeeded.

That messes anyone up. Han doesn't think he'd be able to pull himself together as fast as Seungmin had. Or if he ever could.

But Seungmin was so strong—the strongest person he knew. And he made sure to tell and show him every day just how much he loved him.

He could still barely accept the compliments and "I love you's" from the members. But they showered him in it endlessly. Till he was so sick of it and blushing head to toe.

Seungmin thought it was cute really. How they spoiled him. And how they spoiled each other.

He loved their one-on-one dates as much as their ot8 ones. Even their double dates. Those were especially funny and often ended in foursomes. They tried to have date nights when they were all off, so no one was ever excluded. And they set up a schedule so the dates were never the same person, constantly switching in intervals before coming back around in a circle.

He doesn't know how long the HyunHo pair had been planning—maybe since the start of their relationship—but they somehow had a system that ensured everything worked equally.