Chapter Text
The tension in the studio after Seungmin's observation was suffocating.
Chan’s voice, usually a comforting anchor, had been laced with a raw frustration Minho had rarely heard.
The unspoken question hung heavy in the air:
What are you hiding?
Minho could feel the collective gaze of all seven members, a heavy weight pressing down on him.
He felt trapped, cornered. The walls of his carefully constructed past were closing in.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
His mind raced, desperate for an escape, for a plausible lie, but he had exhausted all his options.
Chan stepped closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper, though it still carried immense power.
"Minho-ya. You've been with me since the beginning. You know how much I value honesty. How much we value it."
He gestured vaguely at the other members, who stood frozen, watching the silent drama unfold.
"You're not just 'feeling the music.' You're anticipating it. You're predicting things.
You're helping us in ways no one should know to help.
And it’s… it’s scaring me, Minho. Because I don't understand."
Minho swallowed hard, his throat tight. He wanted to confess, to unburden himself, but the deep-seated fear of consequences, of shattering their reality, held him captive.
"Hyung, I… I don't know what you want me to say."
"I WANT YOU TO TELL THE TRUTH !"
Chan exploded, his voice rising, a rare display of his inner turmoil.
"I'm tired of the vague answers, the casual deflections, the 'lucky guesses.'
WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU?!"
He took a step back, flinching hard.
His outburst startled the other members, who visibly flinched.
Jisung stepped forward tentatively.
"Chan hyung, maybe… maybe we should talk about this later? Minho hyung looks really upset."
Chan turned on him, his eyes blazing.
"NO!
We're talking about this NOW! . This has been going on for too long. Since… since the beginning. Since you suddenly knew exactly how to comfort Felix after the elimination scare.
Since you knew the “Hellevator” ‘(2021 Remix Ver.)’ before it even existed."
He was piecing it all together, pulling threads from every instance Minho had slipped.
Minho’s eyes widened.
He remembered the “Hellevator” ‘(2021 Remix Ver.)’ slip.
Chan had kept that tucked away, hadn't he?
How long had he been holding onto that information, quietly observing, building his case?
"I'm giving you an ultimatum, Minho,"
Chan continued, his voice heavy with a profound sadness.
"Either you tell us what's happening… or I don't know how we can continue like this."
The words hit Minho like a physical blow.
“I don't know how we can continue like this.” kept repeating in his head, like a broken record, the words gripped him like a coil around his neck, tightening the hold.
The threat of the group fracturing, of his efforts being in vain, was unbearable.
He had come back to protect them, and now his secrecy was tearing them apart.
His breath hitched, started breathing unevenly. His chest tightened, his breath coming in short gasps, a panic attack threatening to pull him under in front of everyone.
He took another step back from Chan's towering presence, his panic attack on the brink.
He tried to calm himself down, going through every breathing exercise, eventually after sometime he was able to breathe normally, and he finally looked up.
He looked at each member.
At Chan, whose face was a mixture of pain and fierce determination.
At Seungmin, whose analytical gaze held a silent demand for answers.
At Han, whose worried eyes pleaded with him.
At Felix, who looked close to tears, radiating empathy.
At Changbin, Hyunjin, and Jeongin, their face a mixture of confusion and growing apprehension.
He wanted to scream, to break down, to confess everything.
But the deep-seated instinct to protect, to prevent further damage, paralyzed him.
He couldn't. Not here.
Not like this.
Not when he knew the full weight of his confession would devastate them.
He took a shaky breath, his resolve hardening.
He would deflect, just one more time.
He had to.
He wasn't ready to drop the bomb.
"Hyung, I'm… I'm just stressed. The comeback, the tour… it's all a lot. I'm sorry if I've been acting strange. I'll… I'll try to be better."
It was a flimsy excuse, but it was all he had left.
Chan stared at him, his gaze unwavering, searching for any hint of truth.
But Minho had perfected the art of the lie.
Finally, Chan slowly nodded, a flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
"Okay, Minho. For now."
The 'for now' hung in the air, a clear warning.
The trust was fractured, but not yet broken.
Minho knew it was only a matter of time.