The group chat was blowing up again by the time Seungmin got home from classes.

Jisung: bro who tf ate my leftovers
Changbin: not me. why would i eat ur sad ass noodles
Hyunjin: lmao u live with 3 roommates and don't LABEL ur shit?? clown behavior
Felix: :( i'm sorry jisung i was hungry
Jeongin: caught in 4k
Chan: felix apologize with snacks or he'll cry about it for days
Felix: i already said sorry :((
Minho: yeah but ur sorry don't taste like dumplings

Seungmin sat on the edge of his bed, scrolling. He typed once, just to poke the bear.

Seungmin: both of u sound broke as fuck. i'll buy my own noodles.

Immediately, chaos:

Jisung: FUCK YOU
Felix: ur so mean :(
Jeongin: seungmin sugar baby confirmed
Hyunjin: HE STILL WON'T SAY HIS JOB THO
Changbin: shady af

Seungmin threw his phone face-down. Same bullshit every time. They joked, but the truth sat like a brick in his chest. They'd roast him to hell and back if they knew where his real money came from.

And tonight? Tonight he had to work.

By midnight, his room had shifted. Hoodie off, soft light from his cheap ring lamp bouncing against bare walls, laptop camera angled low.

Seungmin wasn't dressed fancy. He never was. That was the point. Just a loose tee, sweats hanging low, hair messy. The charm wasn't costumes or toys — it was his mouth.

Chat exploded the second he hit live.

[streamchat]

hornyboy93: LMAO he backkk
kittylover: u took too long >:(
daddyissues: fuck yessss
lurker01: say smth mean pls

"Alright, shut the fuck up," Seungmin said flatly, leaning forward into the glow. "Didn't miss any of you degenerates."

He loved this part — the way they begged for insults, the way his dry tone made them throw money. Tips stacked already, numbers rising.

"Bet half of you smell like ass," he muttered, scrolling. "God, why do I even do this shit?"

[donation: $50 – "bc we're obsessed <3"]

"Yeah, no shit," he smirked.

The routine went on, Seungmin tossing sharp little jabs, rolling his eyes, stretching just enough to make chat scream. Easy money.

Then it happened.

The Bomb

[donation: $5,000 – from @BiteMeBaby]
Message: Show me your face. Just one second.

The whole chat froze.

Then it erupted.

hornyboy93: HOLY SHIT
lurker01: BRO WTF 5K???
kittylover: face?? face?? face??
anon44: OMFG PLZ

Seungmin blinked. Stared. His mouth went dry.

Five. Thousand. Dollars.

That wasn't play money. That was rent, bills, food for months. That was freedom.

He leaned back, scoffing like it was nothing, but his pulse hammered.

"Cute trick," he said to the screen. "You think I'm that easy? Show my face and get banned in a week? Y'all really think I'm stupid."

But the number sat there. $5,000. From @BiteMeBaby. His "regular." The one who always tipped heavy, always dropped the strangest little comments.

Show me your face. Just one second.

Seungmin dragged a hand down his face. "You're a fucking psycho," he muttered.

Chat was begging. Don't do it. Do it. Please. No balls.

Five grand.

One second.

He bit his lip, glared at the camera. "If I do this," he said low, "it's once. Blink and you miss it. No crying after."

The chat exploded.

Heart in his throat, he reached forward. Fingers curled around the webcam. Tilted it up.

For a single second, they saw him. His face. Dark eyes, sharp smirk, hair messy from running his hands through it.

Then the camera dropped back down.

The chat went feral. All caps, screaming emojis, begging for more.

Seungmin shut it down with one line: "That's it. Don't ask again."

And he killed the stream.

Rattled

The silence in his room rang louder than the chat ever had. He sat there, staring at his own reflection in the black screen.

His stomach twisted. He'd sworn never to cross that line. The mask was what kept him safe, what kept it separate.

But five grand...

He grabbed his phone, thumb shaking a little as he scrolled group chat. The boys were still at it, spamming memes, arguing about ramen vs. fried chicken. Normal shit. Safe.

He typed nothing. Just tossed the phone aside and leaned back in his chair, running both hands through his hair.

"One second," he whispered to himself. "It was just one fucking second."

Somewhere Else

On the other side of the city, Minho sat in the dark with his laptop glowing. Headphones in, eyes locked on the screen.

He replayed the clip. Paused it on that one frame where Seungmin's face tilted just right, eyes cutting into the camera.

His best friend. The same smirk he remembered from summers on cracked sidewalks, from nights sneaking out.

It was him.

Finally.

And now Minho had proof.

He saved the file. Labeled it simple: One Second.mp4.

Then he hit play again.