Both you and Yeonjun stood in the middle of the empty hallway, it seemed to go down for miles, and just the thought of what lay at the end of the hallway, the unknown of everything that was going on, it had your heart racing with a fear that you never wanted to be able to compare to anything else. The only sound at this point were your soft sniffles that you tried your best to muffle against the palm of your hand. 

A large door swung open, the creaking of the hinges had you tensing up and looking in the direction that the sound came from, and you could hear Yeonjuns breaths come to a halt as his eyes glanced around. All of you, every fiber of your being wanted to hide against him, to find some sort of comfort in his chest that you could bury your face in just to avoid what or who was coming, but you knew that you couldn’t, not with him. 

A large door swung open, the creaking of the hinges had you tensing up and looking in the direction that the sound came from, and you could hear Yeonjuns breaths come to a halt as his eyes glanced around. All of you, every fiber of your being wanted to hide against him, to find some sort of comfort in his chest that you could bury your face in just to avoid what or who was coming, but you knew that you couldn’t, not with him. 

A large door swung open, the creaking of the hinges had you tensing up and looking in the direction that the sound came from, and you could hear Yeonjuns breaths come to a halt as his eyes glanced around. All of you, every fiber of your being wanted to hide against him, to find some sort of comfort in his chest that you could bury your face in just to avoid what or who was coming, but you knew that you couldn’t, not with him. 

Loud footsteps clacked against the floors, the sound seeming… off, considering the floors were carpeted, yet it sounded like hard bottomed dress shoes against wooden floors. Nothing about this place made any sense, and that in itself scared the hell out of you. The sound of the steps got closer, and you and Yeonjun kept your eyes trained on where the sound was coming from until someone came up behind you, clearing their throat and causing the both of you to whip around in both shock and confusion. 

“I apologize for the wait. Some things came up that had to be handled, but now we can get on with your date.” The man, who looked quite similar to the one that had come into your room and hosted the show, but the hair color was just slightly different, and the eyes were a bright shade of ice blue instead of the dark, almost black color that the other man had. “Is there anywhere that the two of you would like to go? Anything you’d like to do?” 

It was strange how this man who was almost a carbon copy of the other was somehow nicer, and while he still creeped you out to no end, you felt slightly more comfortable around him. Maybe it was the smile on his face that sent wrinkles forming at the creases of his eyes, it made him seem more real, less robotic than the first guy. Or maybe it was the fact that you were standing next to Yeonjun who, at some point while the man was standing in front of the both of you, had taken a sort of protective stance, moving just enough in front of you in case anything were to happen. 

“I want to go home. I want them to be able to go home.” You responded as sternly as you could, but your voice wavered and cracked, your throat drying up instantaneously just from standing in front of the man. The eyes that you had, for a moment, found kindness in, now turned darker as they narrowed, his smile fading immediately. “Please. I don’t want to play this game, I’m scared… Please.” 

The man sighed, looking between you and Yeonjun, and then as if at the click of a button or the flick of a switch, his smile was back. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I don’t know why you would be scared anyway. You are surrounded by the men that you’ve been dreaming of for a while now. This should be a dream come true.” It took everything to not outwardly cringe at being exposed like that, but it wasn’t just the embarrassment of having Yeonjun hear that from the man, but there was an uncomfortable sensation that washed over you when you realized that the man knew… He knew, and you didn’t know how. Had they been watching you back at your house? “Don’t be frightened, in due time you will settle in. Now, tell me… Where would you like to go?” 

Yeonjun huffed loudly through his nose, standing completely in front of you now, his body tense and you could feel the annoyance radiating off of him. “We’ll play your stupid game, but if you lay a finger on one of the guys, or her…” He stopped himself, his fists clenched at his sides, and the man in front of you both simply nodded, his smile now just as robotic as the first guy. 

“I do not have any intentions of causing harm to you, your friends, or the girl. We simply want to create a fun show that everyone will enjoy. I’m sure that you all will enjoy the experience as well.” The man stated factually, beginning to pull something out of his pocket, and Yeonjuns arms instantly stretched out as if to block you completely, hiding you from the sights of the guy. “This…” He held a piece of paper in his hand, looking it over before handing it over to Yeonjun. “Is a list of all the places you can go. Make your decision quickly, we need to finish this episode.” 

He bowed to both you and Yeonjun before turning on his heel and walking away, the clicking of his shoes growing more and more faint until completely disappearing once he turned down a corner. “What… What does it say?” You asked, trying to read the paper over his shoulder, cursing just how tall he was since you were still behind him. “Are there any addresses on there? Maybe we can see where we are?” You finally stepped around Yeonjun to get a better view of the list, but he started reading out the words that were written on the paper. 

“Pool, Restaurant, Movie Theater?” He muttered the words, shaking his head. “These are all just generic ass names, there aren’t any addresses or anything. Listen to this. Ice Rink, Roller Skating, Amusement Park. There’s nothing… No company names or anything.” It should have been obvious that this is how things would be set up, but you wondered how things would continue to be hidden from you and the guys. How would you be taken to these places? “Do any of them sound fun to you?” 

Your eyes flashed up at Yeonjun, confusion littering your features at the question. “Are you serious?” He shrugged, running his hand through his hair. “I just want to go home… None of those sound fun. I’m not going to pretend to have fun for the sake of this… whatever this is.” You stepped back, slumping against the wall and sliding down to the floor, your head falling against your knees. 

“You don’t have to pretend…” Yeonjun hummed, folding up the paper and dropping to the floor next to you. “Look, I don’t know how long we’re stuck here, I don’t know what the hell is going on, but you… we should make the most of it. Just look at it as… As an opportunity to get to know us… To get to hang out with us.” You rolled your eyes, unable to grasp how he could be so optimistic when he was the one literally on the verge of attacking you because he thought you had kidnapped his best friends about 20 minutes ago. “Just pick something, anything.” 

You lifted your head up, only for it to fall back against the wall behind you. “We should be trying to figure out how to get out of here, but your plan is to… play into this shit? To go on a date? Who the hell is this shit getting broadcasted to anyway?” Your hands fell against your face, groaning loudly into your palms as they slid down to slap against your lap. 

His eyes darted back and forth, and then up at the ceiling before he moved closer to you, his arm resting on the wall beside your head as his lips inched closer to the shell of your ear. “We need to get out of whatever the hell this place is first, then we can figure out where we are.” He spared one last look around, and somehow managed to move closer, his hot breath dampening your skin where it landed as he continued to speak. “I say we pick the restaurant… It’s cheesy, it’s common… They won’t suspect anything if one of us go to the restroom… Just go with my plan. We’ll get out of here. Okay?” 

You couldn’t do anything but nod in agreement, it’s not like you had any other choice. You could either be stuck in this place for however long the show went on, or you could try to find a way out now. The optimism was nothing but a ploy, an act to get whoever was watching to believe that they were fully in control. “Right…” You murmured, trying to be just as hopeful as he was, to believe that his plan would work in the end. 

It felt like you had been sitting in that chair for hours, faking excitement as you answered all the questions that the guys asked, they themselves pretending to be just as ecstatic as you were to appease the man that was standing in front of all of you. The feeling of dread never vanished, it didn’t matter how long you were there, it didn’t matter that your favorite stars in the whole world were sitting just a few inches away from you. Nothing could make that fear subside, nothing but the safety and familiarity of your own home. 

“Alright Y/N, now… it’s your turn.” The host looked at you, and you gulped loudly, trying not to make direct eye contact with the man, knowing that it would only freak you out more if you actually looked into his eyes. “Which one of these 5 handsome men do you think is more interested in you?” The question was strange, the entire thing in and of itself was absolutely crazy, but you had never heard a question like that asked on a game like this. How the hell were you supposed to know? It didn’t seem like any of them were interested in anything but getting home, just like you. 

“Alright Y/N, now… it’s your turn.” The host looked at you, and you gulped loudly, trying not to make direct eye contact with the man, knowing that it would only freak you out more if you actually looked into his eyes. “Which one of these 5 handsome men do you think is more interested in you?” The question was strange, the entire thing in and of itself was absolutely crazy, but you had never heard a question like that asked on a game like this. How the hell were you supposed to know? It didn’t seem like any of them were interested in anything but getting home, just like you. 

You thought for a few seconds, the prying eyes of not only the man, but the audience behind him had you feeling on edge, you felt rushed, it was like standing in the front of a classroom giving a presentation. If you picked one, you wouldn’t be able to see all of them, and you wanted to make sure they were okay, you wanted to see if they had any kind of information that might be a little bit different from yours. Did they know how they got here? “All of them.” You blurted out, looking out of the corner of your eye at the guys who all leaned forward to get a look at you. 

The audience laughed loudly as the host chuckled into the microphone that he was holding. “Now now, there’s no rush to meet all of them. You’ll get your time with each of them, we gotta get through the process first.” The man joked, taking a step towards your chair, and somehow, for the first time since seeing him, he seemed to have an expression, but it was simply annoyance. “Now… Pick one of the men.” He said a little more sternly, and you hated how close he was to you, how the proximity had your heart racing and your stomach sinking. 

You didn’t have an actual favorite, you loved them all just the same, but Yeonjun had seemed the most pissed off, and you didn’t want him to think for another second that this was somehow your masterplan. “I’ll uh… I’ll pick… Yeonjun?” You whispered, and the man took a step back, even the small amount of distance allowing you to take a deep breath and slightly relax. 

The man’s hands clapped together as he motioned to Yeonjun, a large spotlight coming down on him. “Our lucky date number 1, everyone!” He exclaimed, and the crowd once again cheered. The entire thing was just uncomfortable, everything about it was eerie. “You two can meet backstage while I lead the other 4 back to their rooms.” 

Yeonjun jumped up from his chair, immediately defensive of the guys who sat next to him, but even with his muscles and the amount that he worked out, it was no challenge for the robotic man and simply pushed him aside to motion for the others to follow him. “Where are you taking them? What are you doing?!” Yeonjun shouted, but the man didn’t listen, he didn’t offer up any explanation, and your heart sank into the pit of your stomach watching the men look so helpless as they followed after the man. 

You feared for them too, you didn’t know exactly what kind of game this was, you didn’t know what would happen to the other guys if you didn’t pick them. All you wanted to know was that they were safe, and Yeonjun wanted the same information, but the both of you were left in the dark, left confused and terrified on the sound stage. “Yeonjun and Y/N can come backstage now.” A voice spoke over the speakers that were somewhere in the room, but the last thing you wanted to do was go hunting for them. 

The both of you started walking towards the exit doors on the other side of the stage, and as you did, the overhead lights were shut off, paired with the clicking of a lightswitch each time an area went dark. That in itself was creepy, but the worst part was that you had never watched any of the audience members leave, but when you spared one look behind you, they were all gone, the seats that they had once been sitting in were shrouded by darkness. 

“Alright, talk.” Yeonjun snapped once the both of you were in the hallway just outside of the stage room. “What is this place? Where the hell are the guys at?!” God, you wished you could give him answers, you wished you could take him to the guys and all 6 of you could get the hell out of there, but you were just as baffled and lost as he was. 

“I don’t know.” You hissed, trying to keep your voice low out of fear that you were still being watched or listened to. “I fell asleep… And I woke up here…” Your eyes darted around the hall to make sure no one was coming, or more likely in this type of place, watching you guys. “I got… This weird tape in the mail and-” 

His hand came up to stop you, his eyes narrowed as he seemed to study your face. “You got the tape too?” You nodded your head in agreement, watching as his face went from confusion, to understanding, and then right back to confusion once again. “I thought it was some weird nostalgic marketing tactic for a new tv show…” He muttered, and you shook your head. 

“It’s weird, this whole place is just… weird. I was locked in a room for… I don’t even know how long. It’s like… there’s no time… time doesn’t exist here.” You rambled, not even realizing that your voice had been rising in volume until Yeonjun hushed you, his finger coming down on your lips as he glared at you. “Sorry…” You muttered once he had pulled his finger away, your eyes lowering to the ground. 

“We have to be quiet… They’re watching us…” He murmured, and it was like being in a horror movie except you didn’t know who the killer was or even if there was a killer at all. It was just scary because of the unknown. “It would have been impossible for anyone to get all five of us at the same time… One of us would have woken up…” He mused, his eyes flicking back and forth as if he were trying to scan his brain for some sort of explanation for all of this, but he was coming up short. “We have to find a way out…” 

“Does your room have windows?” You asked, and he blinked a few times, slightly thrown by your question, but he seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before his head slowly shook. “Mine doesn’t either… I don’t… I don’t know where we are, or what this place is… But I’m scared… I’m so scared…” You sniffled softly and he seemed even more confused about what to do, his hands twitching as if he wanted to comfort you, but he didn’t know how, so he simply shushed you, trying to give you a small smile although you knew it was forced, at least he was trying. 

“Don’t… Don’t cry… It’s gonna be okay. I’m sure… I’m sure that if we don’t find a way out of here ourselves… The whole world will be looking for us.” He gave two thumbs up as if to try to reassure you, but you knew that what he meant was that the entire world would be looking for him and the other guys. No one would really care if you were there or not, you’d simply just be found alongside them. “Let’s just try to… do what they tell us to… And we’ll be fine… We’ll be alright.” 

Laying in the strange bed, you stared up at the ceiling, eyes dry from keeping them open, scared to blink and, although you felt exhausted, you were terrified of falling asleep. Your mind was plagued with images of the horrifically strange robotic man that had come into the room, the man who’s dead eyes and ghastly smile had ingrained themselves into your mind. If you stared at the blank walls for longer than 5 seconds, you could swear that his face was coming through the mustard yellow paint, peering into the room just to watch you. 

And while it wasn’t exactly true that this man was coming through the walls, you were, without a doubt, beyond all points of certainty, sure that you were being watched. Sometimes, if you got quiet enough, if you could still your rapidly beating heart for more than a couple seconds, you could hear the motorized whirring of a camera that you couldn’t quite see, but you knew it was there. You could feel the eyes of whoever it was watching you through whatever screen the camera feed was coming up on. Were they bored? Did they enjoy watching your fear as you lay awake in that room? 

And while it wasn’t exactly true that this man was coming through the walls, you were, without a doubt, beyond all points of certainty, sure that you were being watched. Sometimes, if you got quiet enough, if you could still your rapidly beating heart for more than a couple seconds, you could hear the motorized whirring of a camera that you couldn’t quite see, but you knew it was there. You could feel the eyes of whoever it was watching you through whatever screen the camera feed was coming up on. Were they bored? Did they enjoy watching your fear as you lay awake in that room? 

And while it wasn’t exactly true that this man was coming through the walls, you were, without a doubt, beyond all points of certainty, sure that you were being watched. Sometimes, if you got quiet enough, if you could still your rapidly beating heart for more than a couple seconds, you could hear the motorized whirring of a camera that you couldn’t quite see, but you knew it was there. You could feel the eyes of whoever it was watching you through whatever screen the camera feed was coming up on. Were they bored? Did they enjoy watching your fear as you lay awake in that room? 

You hadn’t fallen asleep, you were sure of it, although there was no way to tell the passing of time while you were in the room. There were no clocks, there were no windows, there was no light aside from the small fixture that hung in the center of the room, giving off a dim burnt out yellow light that barely touched the corners. Things had been silent for so long that the sudden uproar of cheers was heard as clearly as if they were in the same room as you. That, along with music that you could have sworn you heard on your tv screen when you had fallen asleep back at your apartment. 

You pushed yourself up off the bed, tiptoeing towards the door to press your ear against it, trying to make out something, anything, that would give you any sort of clue as to where you were right now. “We have some very special guests here today on The Dating Game! I’m sure that you and everyone back at home will love this next lucky dater and her very very special choices.” The voice said with an obnoxious amount of enthusiasm, but the crowd seemed to love it, erupting into another round of applause. 

The sudden sound of footsteps coming close to the door had you backing up, standing in the middle of the room wide eyed, unsure of what to do, and it’s not like you could think of anywhere to go. Into the room came a woman, the sight of her filling you with sudden relief, and you ran over to her, grabbing her hands without a second thought. “Please, help me. You have to get me out of here…” You whispered to her, your words rushed as you continued to peek behind her to make sure no one else was coming. “Where am I? Where are we? Please!” You begged, and it wasn’t until you finally looked into the eyes of the woman that you realized. 

She was no different from the man that had come in earlier. Her eyes were as dead and glassy as his had been, and her smile was just as creepy. “You’re on the dating game.” She said monotonously, and just the same as the man, her mouth didn’t move when she spoke. “It’s time to get you changed. The audience is very excited to meet you.” A dreadful feeling panged in your chest and descended into your stomach as you tried to pull away from the woman, instantly regretting having grabbed her in your moment of desperation, for her grip on your hands was tight now, and no amount of pulling would free you from her grasp. 

There was no use in fighting it, or even fighting against her. At least you were being led out of the room, and maybe something in this place would tell you where you were at. You let your eyes scan the halls that you were following her down, the walls bare, but they were white, a nice change from the sickening color of the room you had been locked in. You had never seen anything like this place though, and the corridor was so long it seemed endless, the building that it was in had to have been massive. There were doors that seemed to span every couple of feet, and you tried to listen for anyone or anything behind those doors, but there seemed to be nothing, just an unnerving endless silence. 

It wasn’t until she got to the last door at the end of the hall that she finally stopped and opened it, and inside was what appeared to be a dressing room, and beside the chair was a woman who seemed to wear the same mask as the one that had taken you out of the initial room. The robot theory was seeming more and more plausible, but you figured that it would be useless to bring it up, it was pointless to say anything, they all seemed to be running off the same script. 

The outfits that lined the racks were vintage, striped shirts with colors that you hadn’t seen paired together since you looked at old pictures of family members. The pants flared at the bottom so wide, and the products that lined the vanity type table all had the labels and logos from decades ago. The only thought that came to mind was that whoever was running this sick game had spent a lot of time and a lot of money on eBay to get things right. If you weren’t so scared, you’d commend them, whoever they were, for their dedication to the era. 

You tried to let yourself relax as the robotic woman did your makeup and your hair, the only optimistic thought in your mind though was the fact that the creepy man from earlier hadn’t returned. Maybe you jinxed it, maybe you had gotten too relaxed in the chair as you let your eyes shut momentarily, because as soon as you opened them, the man was standing beside your chair staring straight at you. “You’re ready.” 

His voice would have been the creepiest thing if not for the vagueness of the statement. Ready for what? You tried to anchor yourself into the chair, your fingers gripping the arms of it until your palms were stinging and your knuckles paled, but it was no use. He grabbed your elbow and pulled you up as if you were weighed no more than a feather, causing you to gasp out in surprise. “Please, I just want to go home. I don’t… I don’t want to be here. What are you doing?” You begged and you pleaded, but he shook his head, the movement was like an animatronic. 

“Your home has been prepared and you will be taken there shortly after the episode is filmed.” The episode? What the hell was he talking about? In your attempt to try to figure it out, you had been led out of the dressing room and back into the long hallway, heading the opposite direction towards two double doors, the bright sign above it read sound stage. Was this all some kind of show? A strange reality horror show? You surely hadn’t signed up for it. 

You were in a haze, a sort of fog surrounding your mind as the double doors were pushed open. The crowd roared with applause, and you could barely focus on one person, they all looked the same, they all dressed the same, and they were all dressed like you. How had this person found so many people who were willing to take part in something like this? The set was strangely outdated, not just the props and the lighting, but it seemed like the entire atmosphere changed. It truly felt like you were teleported back in time, and it was such an uneasy feeling it had your stomach turning and your head spinning. 

There was a single chair on one side of the wall, and you were sat down in the chair before the man headed to the other side. At least he was away from you, but the feeling of eyes on you were everywhere, not just from the audience in front of you, but you felt it from behind and from the sides, but you were too scared to look. Instead you kept your eyes down on the corduroy pattern of the beige bell bottoms that you were wearing. 

The theme music started up again, the crowd cheered, and then they were silent. Your heart was racing, your breaths came out quickly, you were sweating profusely. This couldn’t possibly be a dream, there was too much detail, it was too real. “Welcome back viewers at home! Our special guest is now here, and on the other side of this wall are five lucky men, but only one will be lucky enough to end up with our lovely lady.” The crowd cheered again, and then the man was in front of you, holding the microphone up to your mouth. “How about you introduce yourself to our amazing audience and our wonderful viewers.” 

What would happen if you didn’t? What if you just went against everything that the man said? Would they let you go or would you be locked back in the mustard room? You were too scared of whatever outcome there might be if you disobeyed, so you took a shaky breath before speaking. “I’m uh… I’m Y/N… H-Hi…” You stammered, and you were certain that the fear that you were feeling laced every single word you managed to say. 

“Perfect! It’s very nice to have you here Y/N, thank you for joining us!” The man said, as if you had any say in this. Did the people in the audience think that you were a willing participant in whatever the hell all of this is? “Let’s meet our handsome men on the other side, shall we?” The woman in the audience roared to life, standing from their seats just to clap and whistle at whoever was on the other side of the wall. “We’ll start with you. What’s your name?” 

There was a silence, and then a small grunt, and you wanted nothing more than to peer behind the wall for a moment to see who these men were and what was going on. “Yeonjun… Choi Yeonjun.” The voice said, and it felt like you were about to faint. That couldn’t possibly be who was on the other side, not at all. It had to have been a coincidence. How would he have even gotten here? Of course, you didn’t know where here was, but it couldn’t have been the Choi Yeonjun that you knew. 

The man continued to go down the line, and with each name that was given, you sunk deeper and deeper into your chair. It was impossible, but coincidences like this didn’t happen. For all five men to have the same exact names as all of the members of your favorite group… It couldn’t be. “They’re very handsome indeed, and we can thank Y/N for choosing such fine young men to be the contestants.” The man said, and your head quickly whipped over to him as he emerged from the other side of the wall. Why would they be thanking you? You weren’t the one that brought them here. “Shall we slide back the wall? Let Y/N see her future dates?” The audience screamed in agreement, and you watched as the man pushed the wall back, and then you saw them. 

It really was them, it was all of them, and they all looked at you with such confusion, such fear, you wanted to jump out of your chair and run to them, apologize to them even though you were just as confused as they were. “What the hell is this?!” Yeonjun shouted, getting up from his own chair, and while you thought that the strange man would get annoyed or upset with the sudden outburst, he simply smiled. 

“This is The Dating Game, and I’d advise you to watch your language. It isn’t suitable for our viewers.” He said, but he didn’t stop Yeonjun, instead he took a step back as the oldest member walked over to you, his eyes like daggers as he glared down at you. 

“Who are you? Did you set this up?!” He shouted at you, and you felt the tears stinging the corners of your eyes as you quickly shook your head, your pupils flitting to the man who was playing host. “How did we get here? How did you get here? I want some fucking answers!” Was this his first outburst since he’d been here? How long had him and the guys actually been there though? Were they scared? Were they just as scared as you were? 

“Please…” You whispered, wiping a stray tear from the corner of your eye before motioning your head towards the host. “Just get through this… And then… Maybe we’ll all get some answers…”

He remembers the conversation clearly, mainly because it had been something that irritated him to no end and it was only made worse by the fact that he was trying his best to be excited because he knew you were coming the very next day and the last thing he wanted to greet you with was an attitude because the management team failed to realize that even idols fall victim to that very strong feeling called love.

“Both of your contracts clearly state that you’re not allowed to date. This was made clear to the both of you when you signed your contracts because for some reason it’s the one rule that many idols just love to break. You both clearly stated that you didn’t mind and signed away the rights to date when you wrote your names at the bottoms of each of your contracts. If you continue to see both of those girls, your contracts will be nullified and you’ll both be the ones explaining to the other members and your fans that your love lives are more important than both the group and the fans happiness. Is that something that you’d like to do?” And just to make it more clear, the man at the table pulled out the folder with both Soonyoungs and Seungkwans contract in it, tapping their names that were signed by them at the very bottom. 

“Both of your contracts clearly state that you’re not allowed to date. This was made clear to the both of you when you signed your contracts because for some reason it’s the one rule that many idols just love to break. You both clearly stated that you didn’t mind and signed away the rights to date when you wrote your names at the bottoms of each of your contracts. If you continue to see both of those girls, your contracts will be nullified and you’ll both be the ones explaining to the other members and your fans that your love lives are more important than both the group and the fans happiness. Is that something that you’d like to do?” And just to make it more clear, the man at the table pulled out the folder with both Soonyoungs and Seungkwans contract in it, tapping their names that were signed by them at the very bottom. 

“Both of your contracts clearly state that you’re not allowed to date. This was made clear to the both of you when you signed your contracts because for some reason it’s the one rule that many idols just love to break. You both clearly stated that you didn’t mind and signed away the rights to date when you wrote your names at the bottoms of each of your contracts. If you continue to see both of those girls, your contracts will be nullified and you’ll both be the ones explaining to the other members and your fans that your love lives are more important than both the group and the fans happiness. Is that something that you’d like to do?” And just to make it more clear, the man at the table pulled out the folder with both Soonyoungs and Seungkwans contract in it, tapping their names that were signed by them at the very bottom. 

“Both of your contracts clearly state that you’re not allowed to date. This was made clear to the both of you when you signed your contracts because for some reason it’s the one rule that many idols just love to break. You both clearly stated that you didn’t mind and signed away the rights to date when you wrote your names at the bottoms of each of your contracts. If you continue to see both of those girls, your contracts will be nullified and you’ll both be the ones explaining to the other members and your fans that your love lives are more important than both the group and the fans happiness. Is that something that you’d like to do?” And just to make it more clear, the man at the table pulled out the folder with both Soonyoungs and Seungkwans contract in it, tapping their names that were signed by them at the very bottom. 

“Both of your contracts clearly state that you’re not allowed to date. This was made clear to the both of you when you signed your contracts because for some reason it’s the one rule that many idols just love to break. You both clearly stated that you didn’t mind and signed away the rights to date when you wrote your names at the bottoms of each of your contracts. If you continue to see both of those girls, your contracts will be nullified and you’ll both be the ones explaining to the other members and your fans that your love lives are more important than both the group and the fans happiness. Is that something that you’d like to do?” And just to make it more clear, the man at the table pulled out the folder with both Soonyoungs and Seungkwans contract in it, tapping their names that were signed by them at the very bottom. 

He was fuming at this point, and Soonyoung had nothing to say, his mouth hanging open as his eyes scanned over the contract, reading over the line that they had politely highlighted for the both of them prior to the meeting. “Do you really think people follow the rules that strictly?” Seungkwan asked, knowing damn well that he wasn’t the only idol in the business that had begun a relationship under a contract that strictly forbade it. 

“As long as we don’t see them breaking the rules, it doesn’t count. As long as the fans don’t know, it doesn’t matter. Does this make sense to you?” The man said, slipping the paper away and sliding it back into the folder before pushing it off to the side. “You two are careless and reckless when it comes to your relationships, and to be brutally honest, I don’t think either of you are ready for a real relationship, so you should be thankful for the contract.” 

Furious failed to explain just how Seungkwan was feeling at the words that were said to him, and he didn’t care who he was talking to, he didn’t care for respect, especially when the man sitting across from him didn’t care much for it either. “I know what I’m ready for, and Soonyoung knows as well. Your contract has been nothing but a hindrance on our happiness and I quite honestly don’t care for the sheet of paper. Our fans love us, our band members love us, and so do our girlfriends. If you want to put one silly rule above all of that, that’s on you. I won’t let that change my mind, and better yet, I’ll bring my girlfriend onto one of my streams just to introduce her to the fans because I’m sure they’ll love her just as much as I do.” He took a deep breath, cracking his neck as he rolled it before tapping his fingers against the table top, trying his best to hold back from lunging at the man across from him. “What you fail to understand is that our fans, the ones that truly love us and care for us, want nothing more than for us to be happy, and those are the only fans that matter to us. You only care for money, and money can’t buy happiness… Maybe that’s why you’re so miserable and have no ring on your finger in your fifties.” 

The smug look on the man's face immediately dropped and even Soonyoung let out a loud gasp as Seungkwan stood up from his chair and headed to the door, leaving the man rendered speechless, and neither of the boys wanted to stay behind to hear whatever it was that he could think to say once he did think of anything. The both of them had things to do, and the company policy was the last thing on their minds as they headed back to the dorms to prepare for the next day. 

“Can’t believe you risked everything like that…” You murmured as you laid in his arms, the dim light of the moon dusting your room in the softest white light. It had been a week since he had gone off on the man behind the desk, and he hadn’t lost his job, he hadn’t been told to leave the group and neither had Hoshi. It had actually come as a shock to him considering he was ready for the ball to drop like that, but instead, the two of them had actually gotten the blessings of PD Bang for a long lasting, healthy, happy, and loving relationship. 

“For you…” He whispered, letting his fingers trail delicately along your skin, the image of your body perfectly ingrained in his mind. The tips of his fingers lingered along the spot where the fresh scar had formed, a constant reminder of what you had gone through, only making him want to protect you more. “I’d risk it all over again. All of it means nothing if I don’t have you to talk to about it at the end of the day. How are you feeling?” 

Your only response was a content hum before pecking a quick kiss to his lips and settling into your pillow while scooting closer to him. “You know what’s funny?” You mused, walking your fingers up and down his arm absentmindedly as you looked over his features that looked even more perfect in the soft glow of the moon. “If I hadn’t been sent back home… I’d be in my last week here… I’d have to go home soon.” 

Even though his smile fell at the mention of such a sad truth, it was one that he didn’t have to worry about now. “I wouldn’t have let you go back home anyway. I meant what I said before…” He reminded you, moving his hand up to your waist to your shoulder and then down your arm before catching your hand, positioning it perfectly so that the diamond faceted ring on your finger would catch the beams of light, reflecting them into perfect prisms on the walls of the pristine white room. “This ring would have ended up on your finger whether I had to get you from LA or if you had stayed here the entire time.” 

He brought your hand to his lips, kissing along each of your fingers before letting it drop around his waist and allowing you to hide your flustered face in his chest, finding it adorable how shy you got whenever he acted like this, which only made him do it more often. “The fans seemed really happy to see me… especially when you pulled me on your lap, I’m pretty sure most of them went crazy. The chat was moving too fast to read all the comments.” You mumbled against his chest, but he remembered it well, and it had been such a relief to see the fans so calm about the announcement of not only your relationship, but the engagement as well. Of course, no one could escape the hate comments, but he made sure to catch your attention with something else whenever one would scroll across the screen. “I think ours was way more casual than Hoshis and Tillys announcement.” 

Seungkwan snorted loudly, hiding his face in your hair to muffle his laughter as his chest vibrated and shook with his silent chuckles. “It was awful but I loved it.” He said between small snorts, pulling you closer to him. “There’s actually a poll up on twitter from one of our carats about who the cuter couple is, and obviously I’ve been voting every day for us. I think Hoshi is doing the same thing for him and Tilly though.” 

You rolled your eyes as you shook your head, giggling softly as you playfully shoved at his shoulder. “You both are so competitive for no reason.” You teased, and he didn’t even disagree because it had been like this the entire time. Competing for who was the softest couple, who was the cringiest couple, who had the coolest ship name, and this was only one more of the many competitions they’d have. 

“How long do you have to be engaged in order to get married?” He asked as nonchalantly as possible, but you scoffed loudly, rolling over so your back was towards him, whispering out a quiet “Goodnight”, but he wasn’t going to let it go that easily. “It’s not to compete with him, I swear. I just want to make sure I don’t lose you again. You can be my Boo, my little Boo Bear, my Boo Boo…” 

You rolled over quickly and pressed your lips to his to quiet his rambling of cheesy nicknames, and the way his entire body seemed to relax as soon as your lips were against his just showed how much he loved you, how comfortable he was with you. “You talk so much when you’re excited, it’s adorable, but you also need to sleep. The last thing I want to hear is that I won’t let you sleep or that I’m keeping you up all night.”

He stuck his tongue out, the tip of it pressing against your nose causing your face to scrunch up as you tried to pull back, but his arms only tightened around you to hold you where you were. “I can’t sleep until you say it…” He dramatically whined but the act was only kept up for a fraction of a second before he started laughing at himself. 

“I love you… Now get some sleep, your makeup artist is going to kill me if you go in with eyebags tomorrow.” He let out a sigh of content, like his life was complete, those three words were just what he needed to hear and whenever he heard them it was like everything fell into place.