Just "Acting" || HWITAE ✔

-10-

Jaejin was waiting outside of the school for them, half an hour before four o'clock. He had gotten off a couple hours before Hwiyoung and Taeyang did.

"Hey," Taeyang said as they slid into the back seat of the car. Jaejin returned the greeting. Hwiyoung didn't say anything.

In fact, Hwiyoung didn't say a single thing until Taeyang and Jaejin got into a deep conversation about their similar interests. Turns out, Jaejin also dances. A fact Hwiyoung interrupted mid-sentence to ask how old Jaejin was.

Taeyang wasn't completely dense. It was clear that Hwiyoung and Jaejin were in the middle of some silent war. They've only known each other for almost a month, maybe a little longer. What could they possibly be fighting about?

Jaejin answered his question with another question. He kept his voice polite, yet strained. "Why?"

Hwiyoung shrugged. He looked out the window again like he had been doing when he was giving the others the silent treatment. "Just wondering," he said.

At their destination, when Taeyang climbed out of the car, Jaejin rolled down his window and held out his phone. Taeyang looked at it, confused.

"Your number," Jaejin explained. "Unless, of course, you don't want to give it to me. I could also give you my number, if you'd like."

After exchanging phone numbers, Jaejin said, "Text or call if you need anything." He smiled. Taeyang watched as he ran a hand through his pink hair before driving away. That's two numbers in one day. 

"So," Hwiyoung started when Taeyang met him at the entrance of the building, "You guys are close now."

Taeyang studied the brunette. Hwiyoung was annoyed, and he was doing miserably at trying to hide it. Taeyang would ask him why, but glancing at the time on his phone, they only had 10 minutes to prepare for the interview. So, he gave Hwiyoung an answer that he knew he would want to hear.

"Not really," he replied. "It's just work."

"'Just work,'" Hwiyoung muttered. Taeyang barely heard. "Just work, my ars."

Taeyang grinned a little at the word "ars", but he didn't know how to respond, so he didn't.

🎬🎥

On the way to the FNC Building, Taeyang and Hwiyoung rode in seperate cars. Rowoon, Chani, and Juho were all in the car with Taeyang. He took the opportunity to ask if they'd noticed anything different about Hwiyoung recently.

Their answer was unhelpful. Their answer was "No."

"Why?" Juho asked. Taeyang sighed. It was like the conversation with Youngbin all over again.

He shook his head. "Nevermind. It's probably all in my head."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. The drama is making everything weird," Taeyang said, honestly. None of these things started happening until Chani and Seokwoo had convinced him to audition for the stupid drama in the first place. He looked in the review mirror to glare at them, but they were paying zero attention to him.

Rather, Seokwoo was attempting to flirt. Chani acted oblivious, but Taeyang could see the blush spread across his cheeks.

"Weird for who exactly?" Juho questioned. "It's a job. Why would it change anything?"

Taeyang didn't answer immediately. He was still watching Seokwoo and Chani in the review mirror. No matter how hard Chani tried to ignore Seokwoo's intentions, he always secretly cracked a smile when the other wasn't looking.