Chapter Text
The first incident happened at the first stop of the tour; the Xianzhou Luofu.
Being the galaxy’s hub for idol culture, the agency had naturally scheduled a leg at the Xianzhou Alliance. Their first day had been wonderful; their shows had gone perfectly and they had gotten to meet and chat with a rookie girl group “Ghost-Hunting Squad”, whose members had been starstruck the entire time.
Then at dinner, the general mood of contentment spiraled down.
The Chrysos Heirs were seated at one of the large tables in the hotel’s dining room, chatting quietly with each other or scrolling absently on their phones. More specifically, Mydei and Phainon were discussing show details with the staff, Aglaea and Anaxa were going for each other’s throats, and Cipher was showing Castorice funny cat videos.
Then Phainon's phone got a notification from Ourverse. Judging by the way half of the phones at the table pinged as well, the poster had tagged all or most of them.
Anaxa glanced at his phone, shrugged, and went right back to spitting insults at Aglaea. Cipher scrolled to the next cat video, completely ignoring the notification.
Phainon sighed and unlocked his phone, swiping to reach the Ourverse app.
And then his blood ran cold.
goldlover34: CARE TO EXPLAIN?? @HKSMydeimos @phainon.33550336 @Aglaea @Anaxagoras @cifera!! @castorice_
Linked in the post was a blurry image of him and Mydei asleep in the back of a car, the former’s head on the latter’s shoulder. Phainon recognized it as a photo Cipher had taken on the ride to their hotel, just a day ago.
But Cipher hadn’t posted it. She had only sent it on their group chat.
sttars.ss: PHAIDEI SHIPPERS WE WON!!
ilovecastorice!!!: wait that’s so cute
phainonsusedwetleakingdildo: i am in utter betrayal. @phainon HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME YOU FILTHY TRAITOR
Phainon’s lip curled in a grimace as he read the username and comment, stomach turning uncomfortably, quickly scrolling to get the user off his screen. Usernames like that were unfortunately common, but that didn’t mean they weren’t disgusting.
He scrolled further down the post, frown deepening with each comment he read. They alternated between shippers cheering in excitement and sasaengs shouting curses and slurs.
Abruptly, he dropped his phone with a clatter on the table, burying his head into his hands. He had been fine with that photo in the group chat itself because (supposedly) only the six members had seen it, but now that a thousand people and counting had gotten their hands on it…
“Phainon?” Mydei asked, pausing in his conversation with a nearby staff member. “What happened?”
All pairs of eyes fell on him. Phainon didn’t look up. “Check Ourverse.”
Anaxa picked up his phone and immediately cursed. “The fuck?? Did our group chat get hacked?”
“What?” Aglaea grabbed her device too, narrowing her eyes when she saw the supposedly private photo. “Cipher, did you post this anywhere?”
The woman shook her head adamantly, gawking at her own phone as well. “No? You know I always check with Hysilens before I post anything.”
“I’ll have our tech person check it out,” Castorice offered with a shake of her head, beginning to type something to Tribios.
“Phainon,” Mydei’s voice said gently as the rest of the group began discussing silently. “Are you alright?”
Phainon almost didn’t answer, trying to shake off the phantom feeling on eyes crawling all over his back. But when a hand reached out to rest on his shoulder, he flinched away.
“...Phainon?”
He couldn’t breathe. There was a weight squeezing his chest, contracting his airway to one tiny gap.
What else had they seen? What other things had been sent in the group chat that were meant for their eyes only, that had been scattered far and wide across the internet’s darkest corners?
Phainon’s eyes darted to a table next to theirs. Were the people there talking about them? What were they looking at on their phones? Were the whispers poisoned?
Someone stood up. It was Anaxa.
“Let’s go back to our rooms.”
Phainon’s heart sank. Their dinner was being cut short. And although no one had said it outright, it was obviously his fault. He was the only one at the table panicking at just an interference in their group chat. He was the only one about to pass out just from a photo being leaked.
He stood up numbly, following the rest of the group to the elevators. When Mydei reached out for his hand, he curled it into a fist.
He tried not to cry at the hurt in golden eyes.
As Phainon stepped into the elevator, he caught the reflection of his expression on the metallic doors.
He stared at himself, at the terror reflected in blue irises, before forcefully turning away.
When they arrived at their floor, the group split; Aglaea, Castorice, and Cipher heading to their room and the rest turning down the hallway for theirs.
Phainon stepped inside and immediately shut the door as soon as he could, exhaling shakily. He stepped unsteadily across the room, reaching out to pull the curtains shut.
Then he curled up on one of the beds, burying his head between his knees.
There was silence. No footsteps on floorboards; no whispers between Anaxa and Mydei.
They were watching him too, eyes boring holes into his back, scornful thoughts flying through their heads.
One footstep echoed through the room. Phainon’s eyes flicked to the side to see the tip of Mydei’s shoe at the corner of his vision.
There was a long beat of anticipation.
Then the other man turned away, exhaling quietly and taking his phone out of his pocket.
Phainon tried not to let his heart sink. But the notion that Mydei had given up on him lay thick and heavy in his ribcage.
There was only one pair of eyes on him now. They lingered for a few seconds, before flicking away, only to come back moments later.
Phainon risked a glance up.
Anaxa’s gaze turned from the first aid kit on the wall back to him.
The first aid kit.
Anaxa thought Phainon was so weak that he needed medical assistance. Just because of one relatively blurry photo and a few comments.
He pressed the back of his hand to his eyes as a new round of tears began to flow silently out.