It started as a joke. A simple tarot reading during one of their late-night lives, a bit of fun to pass the time. But when the cards spoke of “love, affection, and deep connection,” fans were quick to read between the lines. The result was a viral moment that sent Heeseung and Sunoo’s relationship into the spotlight. The fans couldn’t get enough of their undeniable chemistry, and the rumors of their secret romance spread like wildfire.
At first, Heeseung found it amusing. He enjoyed the teasing comments and playful banter, never expecting it to go beyond a few days of gossip. But as the weeks passed, the questions grew bolder. Was Heeseung dating Sunoo? Were they more than friends? Did the members know? And every time, Heeseung would shoot down the rumors, his words carefully chosen: "No, we're just close friends."
But that wasn’t the full truth. Heeseung and Sunoo both knew the unspoken reality. They were in love, but it was a love they couldn’t openly show. Heeseung, always the career-driven individual, feared the consequences of publicizing their relationship. He had worked too hard to establish himself as a professional, and the thought of his personal life affecting his career kept him at a distance from Sunoo.
Sunoo, on the other hand, was more open with his feelings. He wore his affection for Heeseung like a badge of honor. Heeseung’s coldness, however, left him in limbo—constantly questioning what was real and what was just an illusion. He knew they were together, but with Heeseung constantly denying it, their relationship became a fragile secret. The warmth and closeness they once shared in private seemed to fade as Heeseung retreated into himself.
Months passed, and fans began to speculate. Some said they had fought. Others whispered that they had broken up. The members noticed the change in the atmosphere between them, the awkward silence whenever the topic of Heeseung and Sunoo came up. Jungwon, usually perceptive, couldn’t help but feel the shift. “You two were inseparable,” he remarked one evening, watching them interact like strangers, despite the undeniable history they shared.
It hurt. It hurt so much. Sunoo couldn’t deny it anymore—the loneliness that weighed down his chest every time he saw Heeseung pull further away. Every time Heeseung laughed with someone else but ignored him, every time their eyes met but Heeseung would look away. It was as if their love had been confined to a dark corner of their lives, hidden away from the world. Heeseung’s silence was deafening. The uncertainty gnawed at him until it felt like a sharp pain in his heart.
Sunoo tried to hold it together. He smiled, pretended everything was fine, but the truth was, he was breaking inside. The warmth Heeseung used to give him, the feeling of being seen, was gone. It was replaced with cold distance. They were still together in the privacy of their shared moments, but in the eyes of the world, they were strangers.
And Heeseung, despite all his coldness, felt the same emptiness. His career was his priority, but even he couldn’t ignore the ache of not being able to love Sunoo freely. The weight of the secrets, the constant denial—it was suffocating. He missed Sunoo’s smile, the way his heart raced when he was near, the way their hands fit together as if they were made to hold each other. But Heeseung couldn’t bring himself to admit it. Not to the fans, not to the members, not even to himself.
Then, one evening, it all came to a head. Sunoo was sitting in the practice room, his head buried in his hands, trying to fight back the tears. Heeseung, who had been watching from the door, knew this was the moment. He knew the cracks were beginning to show, the truth was starting to slip through the cracks.
“Sunoo,” Heeseung’s voice was quiet, uncertain.
Sunoo looked up, his eyes red-rimmed, a sadness that Heeseung had never seen before in them. It broke him. Heeseung stepped inside, slowly, like he was treading carefully on fragile ground. “Sunoo, I—”
