Chapter Text
They were supposed to keep it a secret. The two of them agreed to keep whatever things were on the down low. Only the Hyungs were supposed to know. They'd agreed that they can't be a scandal, not when a scandal of this nature is bound to affect more than themselves.
They also agreed to restrict the PDA to behind closed doors at the dorms. It was strictly on a need-to-know basis, especially when they first decided to do this, none of the staff, not even the managers or protocol team, needed to know. For the longest time, they didn’t even tell the Hyungs. To the pair, no one needed to be made aware that the youngest members of the group, not even old enough to accompany the eldest and the leader for drinks, posed scandalous material if they weren't careful.
Of course, that perspective changed over time. Both of them realized that not only do they need someone to confide to about the relationship, they also needed the Hyungs’ wisdom—including on how to ensure that said relationship does not endanger the group.
Except, it was no one else but Taehyun and Kai who broke their own rule. Worse, it was in front of the people they weren’t sure wouldn’t betray their secret.
It was not without provocation though.
Sometimes, the To Do producers seemed like they conceptualized the episodes while drunk. It wasn't all the time, but this was definitely one of them.
The members were paired up, while one of them was singled out as the Emcee. The Hyungs were one pair, the maknaes made up the other. They were about to do challenges together, Beomgyu was up to help either pair at their behest.
The very first item on this episode’s list: Pepero Challenge.
The pairs had to eat a piece of Pepero from either side and the one with the shorter leftover wins five points.
Taehyun was sweating.
Kai wouldn't meet his gaze.
Somehow, Taehyun could tell that his boyfriend was about to do something playful. He just hoped that neither of them would regret whatever it was.
“Do you want to win?” Kai asked, wagging the naked Pepero at his face. “Should I just go for it?”
“Of course you have to go for it! Make sure you win!” Beomgyu answered instead. “You better not go easy on the Hyungs!”
Taehyun shook his head, no one was more unapologetic about these things than HueningKai. And no one could be more excused about skinship in TOMORROW x TOGETHER (including kissing) but HueningKai. He was sure that whichever pair Kai ended up with can win, even if not with Taehyun.
“Of course we have to win. 5 points is 5 points!” Taehyun finally said. “I would cherish that week having those two doing everything we say!”
“Tyun better be ready to eat concrete and cardboard for a week then, after they win,” Yeonjun laughed.
“Nah!” Taehyun replied, shaking with his hands widely. “Kai’s going to be ordering food through Soobin Hyung’s phone the entire time,” he declared, earning an enthusiastic nod from Kai.
“You speak as if all-day-everyday take out food hasn’t become your biggest nightmare of late.”
“If Soobin Hyung’s buying, I shall be grateful!”
Soobin’s exclaimed retort was cut short by production calling for them to start with the segment.
“I’m really going for it!” Kai repeated his earlier promise, as he and Taehyun took their positions in front of the camera.
Taehyun made cute faces with a Pepero between his teeth. He didn’t try looking sexy, no, only ever cute. He especially didn’t want to provoke his boyfriend, not this close and, especially, not this public. This was not the time and place for them to be flirty and playful with each other. And they both knew this to be true.
“Maybe we should have a bet running, actually,” Taehyun heard Beomgyu’s booming voice over the not-so-sudden thumping of his heart. “He’s definitely going to overdo it.”
“I hate to say it but I think so too…” Yeonjun said, the pout on his mouth audible even if he was out of Taehyun’s line of sight. “We can’t bet on something we know for a fact will happen!”
“Soobin Hyung can bet against us then!”Beomgyu responded. “He was the one who raised Hueningie, he should know how disciplined he is.”
Kai smirked at Taehyun, obviously also having overheard the older members’ shenanigans. He leaned in closer, aligning his mouth with the cookie that Taehyun held in his bite.
The moment Kai started biting his way towards Taehyun’s lips, the others, as well as the production team, collectively held their breaths.
Taehyun held his too, eyes fastened on Kai’s lips that inched closer impossibly slowly. He was doing it on purpose for the show, of course, to get a rise out of MOA. But the sight of those soft soft lips being in this proximity caused Taehyun to go cross-eyed. And unbidden memories of just the night before came flooding into the forefront of his usually very focused, very professional brain.
He recalled how those very lips parted against his, slipping his lower lip between, Kai gently nipping. Taehyun’s resulting gasp seemed to give him the permission he was craving and Kai lost no time in tasting his tongue, moaning from the feel of it gliding against his. They took turns sucking at each other, while their hands, seemingly with minds of their own, caressed heated skin under the covers (under a sleep shirt and boxers).
Taehyun’s attention was fished from his very pleasant recollection by the dog whistle that someone stood behind him let out. And at that moment, Kai was so so close, he might have been at the very last centimeter of the Pepero that Taehyun was still dangling. It took him by surprise, so much so that Taehyun gasped, mouth opening slightly that what little of the Pepero that remained fell from his mouth and went straight between Kai’s lips. And before either of them could react appropriately, they were already locked in a kiss, unplanned, accidental, very ill-advised.
But a kiss between Taehyun and HueningKai had never been bad. They’d been so into each other that right from the very first time, however inexperienced and experimental, their kisses had always been all-consuming.
Their kisses always made them forget that they were in company, made the world melt around them, made their hearing muffled, tuning everything out. It made them want the other closer.
It made them want more. Always more.
That was why they made sure to keep things behind closed dormitory doors. It was why they had to keep things secret.
The catcalls—Yeonjun clearing his throat—reminded Taehyun just where they were and what they were doing. He scrambled to push Kai away, eyes already watering in concern—maybe even panic. The thumping of his heart somehow different from just a few seconds ago. His elevated heartbeats more pronounced, echoing against his eardrums.
Fuck, Taehyun thought. “Fuck,” he thought aloud.
This may very well be the beginning of the end.
✚✖✚
Things didn’t end how Taehyun thought they would.
Safe to say that every camera and storage device that had footage of the incident was scrubbed clean. Shoot was postponed and all five of them were back at the dorms, the leader talked in a hushed voice to one of the managers all the way there.
Taehyun was fidgeting on the couch, hands damp with sweat. There were a million scenarios going through his mind on how this talk was going to go. More than half of them was already making him shake in his boots. The other half, felt like they would be too good to be true.
He felt a gentle, steadying hand on his knee. He turned to see Kai, right beside him, putting on a brave face. Taehyun held his hand, lacing their fingers together, grateful for the reminder that he wasn’t alone in this.
“Okay,” he heard Soobin say from somewhere on his left. Taehyun did not dare look up, guilty for the problems he had caused the group. “You don’t need to look so guilty, Tyun-ah. I’ll take care of management,” Soobin assured.
“But now that the cat’s out of the bag—” went Beomgyu’s attempt to interject.
“The production team has NDAs and they’ve been with us for a while, I trust they know what not to do,” Soobin added.
“We’re not contracted to not get into relationships, so there’s that,” Yeonjun stated.
“We’ve had this conversation before,” Beomgyu tried again. “And we know the company won’t make them break up.”
“And I’m truly happy that you’re happy with each other—”
“And obviously so in love—”
“But what in the world possessed the two of you to start sucking faces? In the middle of a work shoot? ON CAMERA?” Soobin was finally able to finish his thought.
Heat crept up Taehyun’s neck, not of shame for kissing his boyfriend, but because of the setting where it happened.
“I’m sorry, Hyung.” He finally mustered the words. “We really didn’t mean it to happen.”
The hold on his hand tightened, his thumb caressed on skin it could reach. “It won’t happen again, Hyung. I’m sorry it happened like that and in front of all those people,” Kai said, firm and sure. “But you already know how I feel about Tyun and you did say that you don’t have a problem about it.”
Yeonjun scoffed, “why is this sounding like you’re doubting us, instead? Tell me that I’m mistaken.”
Soobin put his arm around Yeonjun’s shoulder to calm him.
“I mean, all we need is for none of us to be sucking faces in front of cameras, unless maybe for a genuine acting job.”
“I would also appreciate it if none of you would suck faces in front of my eyeballs. Thank you very much,” Beomgyu pleaded. “I mean it,” he added before turning to the older ones, “and that means you, too.”
“Fine, fine! I promise to keep it in the privacy of our bedrooms, or behind you back, in the very least,” Kai laughed, drowning out cries of protest from the eldest.
“But seriously, what happened out there?” Yeonjun asked. “We know you’ve been fooling around for years, so why now?”
Kai scratched at the back of his head, also quite confused. “I think—I was looking at Tyun, then my mind went blank. The next thing I know, I already have my tongue down his throat.”
“Hueningie, what the fuck?!” Yeonjun exclaimed. “You’re just so down bad for our Tyun, huh.”
Kai shrugged, both hands now tightly holding onto Taehyun’s left. “And I’m glad you all know it.”
“Seriously, Hyung. The last thing we want is to hurt the group,” Taehyun declared, confidence rising. He let go of his boyfriend’s hands before getting up from his seat to plant big fat kisses on Yeonjun, Soobin, and Beomgyu’s foreheads. He then stretched his arms and enveloped all three in a hug.
“Of course, Tyun-ah,” Soobin stated, patting the younger member on the back. “But you two are banned from skinship at work. Until further notice.”
When Taehyun looked back at his boyfriend, Kai was ready to return his gaze. Knowing that this was the best they could do at this point, and understanding that they, themselves, would have reached the same conclusion.
Taehyun knew that HueningKai would have won that Pepero challenge, no matter who he was paired with, even if not the boyfriend he loved. He was always unapologetic in the way he expressed his affection. It was one of the things that drew Taehyun to him—the way he was not afraid to love and to show that love.
And Taehyun was greedy, he wanted to have his cake and eat it too. So if the only way for him to have both TOMORROW x TOGETHER and Kai in his life was to continue to act as if he wasn’t just as down bad for him, he’d do it in a heartbeat, he’d bite his tongue (lips) and hold his own hands to stop himself from burrowing into the other’s warmth.
The maknaes had been doing it for years. So, how hard could it be?