Chapter 4: Seeds of Jealousy

The air in the practice room had always hummed with a familiar energy, a symphony of synchronized movements and strained breaths. But lately, a discordant note had begun to creep in, a subtle dissonance that only the most attuned ears could detect. Youngjae, with his sharp eyes and even sharper intuition, was beginning to hear it, a low thrum of something unsettling beneath the polished surface of their idol lives.

It started with the glances. Shinyu, the steady anchor of their group, the one who usually exuded an aura of calm authority, was now prone to long, lingering stares directed at Hanjin. These weren't the casual glances of a bandmate; they were charged, possessive, and laced with an emotion Youngjae couldn’t quite name but felt deep in his bones. It was a hunger that made his own skin prickle.

Then there was Dohoon. His usual flamboyant confidence seemed to curdle whenever Hanjin was near, morphing into a coiled tension, a predator sizing up its prey. Dohoon, who usually moved with an effortless grace, now seemed to stalk, his gaze fixed on Hanjin with an intensity that bordered on frightening. And when Hanjin was with Gyuvin, the carefully constructed facade of Dohoon’s charm would shatter, replaced by a raw, undisguised jealousy that darkened his eyes and tightened his jaw.