"We're not dating!" Syunpei was surprised by a sudden shout across the hallway as he walked towards the usual meeting place. He recognized that voice very well, it was Koi's. What's that all about? Is he arguing with someone? Not between them right? As he walked to find the source of the heated argument, he found Koi was talking with someone in the corner of the hallway he was walking in. He hide himself so that he could eavesdropped on what happened to him, it might be something important that the others did not know about.

As he heard over their argument, he could tell that Koi was really furious on the discussed topic. "How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not dating her! Why won't you trust me and leave me alone?!" The brunette was shocked, his heart was hurt from hearing those words. A lot of questions started to appeared around his head, it was confusing that it made him dizzy. Who was this girl he was rumored dating with? Was he close to her? Why would they be together if he was not? Why did an errand boy like him care about this? Most important of all, why did his chest hurt as if being stabbed by a sharp knife? Why am I like this? I don't like it. He clenched his chest with both his hands and endured the pain until the argument ends.

As silence existed before Syunpei, he saw Koi and the anonymous walked separate ways without uttering a single word to each other. The boy was glad and released a sigh of relieve that Koi did not see him as he walked pass by him on the side. Syunpei who was hiding reappeared himself in the hallway and started to walk towards their practice room as always. It's better to keep my mouth shut.

As days passed, Syunpei kept on stumbled upon Koi and his argument partner at the hallway and could not help but to eavesdrop. It became somewhat troublesome to hide from them and remained silence throughout the fight, he had the urge to stand for Koi. He knew this would hurt himself more somehow, but curiosity got the best of him.

However the next particular day, Syunpei did not hear any shouting or ranting in the hallway with the voices he was too familiar with. It seemed peaceful and quiet that it was hard to believe. However, his duty as the errand boy of the 'staffs' forced his feet to go to work. When he reached his destination, he was surprised to see that Koi was not there. Moreover the group did not practice like they always did, perhaps because of Koi's absence. Was one missing member would affect them? They are only background dancers right? When Syunpei kept on seeing them practice instead of the 'idols' they were working for, he started to question them of their role. They were not capable of answering that since they were unprepared, so Syunpei predicted that they were background dancers. The idols agreed to his idea immediately, saying that their work were too fancy for him to comprehend. Therefore, the brunette kept the idea in his head for now unless a new suspicion came up.

Syunpei asked Kakeru what happened and why was Koi absent. He was close with him after all, he would know what prevented him from coming to work. Kakeru invited Syunpei to sit beside him, which the boy obeyed, before he began telling him the answers to his questions. "Koi was accused of something wrong, something he did not do. So he took the day off to settle it once and for all." The blonde young man said as he gaze far off in the room. Syunpei could feel the sorrow in his tone of voice, but still it weirded him out. "What does this have to do with the others? They seem sad just like you." Kakeru was shocked to hear the brunette's word towards him, it was as if he told him not to cry. He could tell how I feel? What an amazing boy. The blonde young adult replied back with a smile before spitting out his reply. "He is the mood maker in the group. Without him, we feel kind of down. Like something's missing, you know? We can start anything if it doesn't complete." Syunpei heard it all and started to scan through his surroundings. The atmosphere in the room was gloomy, and the aura they gave out was not as exciting as it always had been. Even the boy himself did not feel quite like himself, Koi's absence gave out a huge impact on him and the others. "I guess you're right. I wonder what we can do to help him."

Syunpei's shift was over and was about to leave the building, he stumbled upon Koi in the lift. He greeted him but only receiving a frown sigh in return. He could see that the usual cheerful member of the 'staffs' was troubled, tired of handling this rumor all by himself. He needed to simultaneously dealing with the heat of his anger and the heat of the summer, it was hard to cool down. But what if it is true? That they are actually dating, or maybe one of them like the other. I... Syunpei clenched his fist, exerted out his pain and sadness in his heart. He hated that he felt so confused by his emotions and to worried about Koi's condition at the same time. It was already tiring enough to deal with himself, his feelings. Slowly, he gathered the strength to talk to Koi amidst the pain he was experiencing. "Who is it? The girl you rumored with?"

The brunette could hear the gasp the man before him released, he was shocked. "You knew? Were you eavesdropping?" This made the boy flinched a bit, he was about to be scold. It was the boy's fault and yet he felt like he was right, he had the right to know about this, because they were friends. "So? Are you going to scold me? Fired me?! You do realize that everyone is worried about you! And here you are, trying to hide everything from us. You know that we can help you, but you choose to be secretive. You know we can comfort you, but you choose to stay away. What's wrong with asking for help?!"

"Because they can't help me."

The boy was lost, turning to face Koi in order to hear his answer. Before the pink haired man could make a comeback, he let out a sigh.

"I don't want to trouble them with my own problem, this has happened many times so it will be settled. It's just take times so don't worry about it, okay?" He finished with a smile, he wanted the boy to know that it was fine for him and it should be. However, seeing how the brunette before him was worried about a petty rumor made his heart crushed. He never had the boy to care for him this much, let alone knew what he was going through. He smiled at the thought of the boy's warmth within his presence. Just being there, he already made me feel comfortable. Feel somewhat happy, he really is something.

Out of Koi's alert, Syunpei went in to hug him around his neck, tiptoeing to reach the man's height. He could feel the burden on his shoulder was lifted off in a millisecond, he felt free. Koi in his unbelievable, shocked state hugged the boy back. Syunpei was feeling the same, the pain in his heart had dissipated just like that. He felt somewhat cured and purified of pain, he had calmed down. As they were hugging within the small lift descending to the ground, Syunpei told him something reassuring. "Sometimes, all you need is a hug. I know how hard it is for you, how terrible it must have been. I just don't want you to push yourself." Hearing this, Koi let out a small laugh of how ridiculous this had become.

The role had suddenly reversed between the two, it was a rather funny scene they had created. Koi continued to hug the boy even tighter, feeling the warm of his body against him. He replied in a soft whisper at the brunette's ear, having his breath brushed against it. "Thanks Syunpei. This is all I really need." Feeling his face turned beet red, Syunpei dug his face within Koi's shoulder and received his thanks in silence. They continued to trade their warmth in the hug until the lift reached its bottom.

The next day, Syunpei was assigned to help Koi for the day whether it would be physical or emotional mean. He would not mind it since he really did want to help, but not alone. He thought the others would stand behind his back. Instead he was left alone waiting for Koi in the practice room, staring angrily at the text messages Shun just sent to him. 'You are ordered to help Koi today, so be good!' The smiley face at the end of the text did not make the situation any better, it just added fuel to the raging fire inside Syunpei's heart. I can't believe they left me like this! What am I supposed to do?! What can I do?!

The boy snapped out of his monologue as Koi entered the room, surprised that no one was there. He questioned about the others whereabouts, only to receive a shook of the boy's head. Koi ended up sighing and thinking by himself before deciding to leave. Syunpei started to panic, he could not let him be alone again. Moreover, he received an order from the 'staffs' to help him. Clearly they were worried about him, wanting him to be fixed before practicing together again. Within seconds before Koi could twist the doorknob, the brunette ran towards the door and slammed on it to prevent from opening. Koi who was shocked turned to Syunpei who was standing beside him, having his hand on the door. "I can't let you do this alone! I'll help! I might not be able to do much but I still want to!" The boy insisted his sincerity onto the man before him, but too bad the man refused. "I don't want you to get into trouble! If you intefere, you might get hurt." He seemed reluctant, but it was gone when Syunpei made a comeback that made him would not believe his ears. "So?! I'm your employee! It's only natural if I got into trouble just like you!" Hearing this, Koi laughed himself off uncontrollably and stood up through the brunette's sudden punch on the arm. He slowly turned solemn and faced Syunpei properly, "Thanks. I'll lead the way." They leave the room together and walked through the hallway side by side before coming to a room above their floor.

They entered it together to found a woman with long, fluffly pink hair was waiting for them. "You're here, Koi. And you brought someone." Koi explained to her that Syunpei was going to help them settle their problem, and she had put the biggest smile on her face. However, in the brunette's heart, he was hurt by the scene before him. Koi was talking with her so merriful, not like when he was with him. It was no mistake to say that they were a couple, they suited each other after all. He smiled bitterly before coming to a conclusion in his heart. I'll help them, as long as he is happy.

A few days had passed, summer vacation was 3 days to go and Syunpei was excited about it. He could not wait to tell the 'staffs' about it, maybe they would change his schedule by loosen it a bit. As he opened the door of the practice room, humming one of their practice song, Koi jumped into him for a hug. However, he was pushed away by the other members as the boy recovered from the shock. "You good-for-nothing joker, you worried us to death!" Kai scolded the pink haired man as he held him by the collar. The other members were complaining to him as Kai shaking him in the air.

It was regarding his gossip with the Goddess candidate named Ai, apparently she was his sister by blood. Even Syunpei was shocked when they revealed the facts few days ago, hearing this somehow made him relieve. He did not know why he felt so, it was strange enough for him to remain being with them. I guess I'm not ready to let them go yet. I guess I like them. Everyone in the room was mad at him, worrying them about rumor that always happened. "You always had rumors with your sister, get over it." Kakeru told Koi off. "But I can't help it if people keep thinking we're a couple, it's weird." The nerve for Koi to reply made him regret as Kai about to throw a punch, but stopped halfway as Syunpei opened his mouth. "I wouldn't want that too. It's too painful to bear, right?" The brunette clenched his heart, not looking away from Koi's very own pink eyes. With a loosen grip from Kai, the pink haired man freed himself and replied. "Well, that's right. I can't flirt around the other woman like that."

Syunpei put a face of disgust, signaling Kai to continue what he was doing. Kai obeyed and this scared the weak victim Koi. The mood started to lift up regardless how disappointed the boy was with Koi's answer. He was expecting a more reassuring answer. I got my hopes up too much. He joined the others, together with Kakeru in dissing the pink hair man who had just ran away from the trouble of gossip.