By Lauren Stu
Guest Contributor
SEOUL — What a day for HEARTBEATS —the name HEARTSTEEL fans call themselves online— all around the world. Not only have we woken up to new tour dates for the South East Asian leg of HEARTSTEEL's World Tour, we have also been gifted a rare appearance by our favorite songwriting duo Aphelios and Sett as they left a famous arcade in downtown Seoul.
[Image: Sett standing outside the arcade with a smile on]
Before the theories start, let's clarify one thing: they were not alone. They were seen leaving with dancers Xayah and Rakan from Taemin's dance group. Do you remember the dancers that stole the show at the last Inkigayo, so much so that fancams of them started circulating online? Yeah, those dancers.
The pair has been rumored to be together for years, almost as long as they've been working for SM, but they have neither confirmed nor denied the rumors regarding their relationship.
That might change soon since we saw Aphelios holding Xayah's hand as they left the arcade —a place she left hiding from the cameras and holding a giant dolphin plushie. Given their eagerness to get in the car Sett drove, they clearly did not expect to be seen out so late leaving the place. It appears the venue was rented by the group for the night because no one else but a few employees were seen leaving later that night.
So far, none of them has commented on the episode.
What are we to make of this? Are we seeing a double date —confirmation that the HEARTSTEEL lyricists are more than friends? Or just a group of friends who went out for a night downtown?
See more photos...
"Are you seeing this?" Xayah asked as she came to the table for breakfast. She turned her screen towards them showing a picture of Aphelios holding Xayah's hand as they left the arcade the previous night.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at Xayah with a curious look.
"You guys look hot in that one!" Rakan said.
Aphelios shrugged and went back to his fruit salad, eating around the kiwi. Xayah made a mental note to tell Rakan not to put kiwi on Aphelios' fruit salad, but filed it away for a later time when there weren't hundreds of notifications mentioning her on Twitter.
Sett shook his head at Rakan, but still gave Xayah a small smile as he nodded to the chair next to him for her to take a seat. Xayah gave him a quick peck on the lips and sat as Rakan put a cup of coffee in front of her. When she took a sip, it was exactly as sweet as she always took it. A smile blossomed in her face, but it quickly dissolved into a frown when she caught a glimpse of the picture in her phone.
"I'm sorry, I bet Alune already yelled at you because of this," she said.
"Actually, all I got from her was a text that said 'I'm on my way. Don't talk to anyone'," Sett quoted. "So I've got people blowing up my inbox for comment and sending me the same image from as many angles as possible."
In the background, the oven beeped with their toast and Rakan piled them high with hummus, avocado and sauteed mushrooms because he was a big believer in giving Xayah big breakfasts after she'd had a bad day in public. Xayah was used to it by now, and enjoyed the mornings being spoiled by her boyfriends. She expected having Aphelios there would make things awkward, but apparently, he was a quiet presence in the mornings.
The previous night they stayed at Sett's place, on the same floor where the rest of the band lived. Xayah knew they usually came and went freely, like cats, but they were giving Sett more privacy since he had people over. If she focused, she could make out someone playing music a couple of doors down.
"How is she not here already?" she asked.
"Label," said Sett and Aphelios at the same time. They broke out in similar smiles at their synchronicity.
Rakan put Xayah's toast in front of her. "Thanks," she mumbled.
Her boyfriend kissed her cheek before getting his own toast and sitting down next to Aphelios.
They ate in silence, occasionally commenting on a funny message they'd received.
"Oh, look at this," said Rakan. "Someone made a meme that says 'tfw someone you run into someone you know with your new flame'." He laughed as he showed it to Aphelios who smiled at the phone.
Sett didn't look very happy about it. "The label will surely say something. Contracts will be brought up."
Aphelios put a hand on top of Sett's in silent reassurance. For her part, Xayah leaned her head on Sett's shoulder, while reaching a hand out to Rakan. They sat for a while until Aphelios broke the silence with a raspy "Alune will do something. She always does."
"Besides, we do look hot in those pictures," Xayah said.
When Sett's shoulders shook with laughter, she knew they'd be alright. They would figure it out. For three years, Rakan, Sett and Xayah managed to keep their relationship out of the cameras. Rakan and Xayah had been together for longer before that and their private life was never a thing beyond speculation. They would keep this under wraps as long as possible and if something ever got out, Xayah would make sure that it never affected Aphelios and Sett's career.
A knock on the door startled them, then Sett's phone rang.
"Alune," he said. "I'll go get it."
When Aphelios' sister came in, they all turned to her expectantly. She was talking on the phone with someone and finished with a curt "I'll call you back when I have something to give you."
The woman turned her piercing eyes on Xayah and Rakan and said, "so, do you mind telling me why Koreaboo has pictures of Aphelios and Xayah holding hands? I was ready to deal with pictures of Sett holding someone's hand."
"Hey," Sett said. "I get it but hey ."
"It's kinda my fault," Xayah said. "I panicked when I saw the paparazzi, Aphelios kept me going."
Alune shook her head.
"The label wanted to remind Aphelios and Sett that they have contractual obligations regarding their image. I haven't told them anything, but SM will probably have questions for you two," she pointed out between Rakan and Xayah. "You might be forced to reconsider your stance on having your relationship known. If they can get some kind of publicity from this, I'm sure they'll take it. The label here is going to use our guys to promote the next concert in Jakarta."
"I thought Jakarta wasn't a go," Sett frowned at her.
"Sett, look at your phone. Heartsteel is trending on 3 different social media platforms. They're about to get tons of free publicity."
After a moment of silence, Aphelios raised his voice. "Official story?"
Alune sighed. "Friends met up for some friendly competition. People have seen Sett at Taemin's concerts, they know he knows someone in there. They might or might not romantically link Sett and Xayah from now on, but if no one confirms anything, you'll be fine.
"Or, you should be anyway. Even if Xayah and Rakan eventually see their relationship made public, Heartsteel's image still holds."
Sett nodded, not pleased, but understanding that this was the best they could hope for. "Are the guys mad?" he asked.
"Mad?" Alune asked. "Ezreal has been blowing up my phone asking if now he can share a photo with these two in it. He's got a whole carousel of pictures lined up for the moment he's allowed to include them in his public profile."
Xayah took a sip of her coffee. "He shouldn't even have one photo. I'm going to break his camera."
Aphelios laughed, and everyone turned to look at him. "What? It could be a funny prank."
"No pranks," Alune said. "And no breaking cameras, please. If anyone finds out this is going to become a headache. Lay low today and behave, I don't want to talk to the label again tomorrow."
She sighed, but agreed that no camera would be broken. Alune didn't say anything about cameras disappearing though, so Xayah would talk to Aphelios and find out if they could negotiate a prank exchange. Sett would be proud of them bonding already.
Alune stole some kiwi from Aphelios' fruit salad and left, picking up a call on her way out. As soon as she was gone, Aphelios turned to Xayah with a glint in his eyes. "So, what are your plans today?"
"Apparently, I too have to lay low and behave," she said. "I need to check my email first, in case we have news from SM. What do you have in mind?"
Aphelios gave her a mischievous smile.
Rakan looked between the two of them, then directed his next words at Sett "if these two will be busy, we could, you know..."
"Yeah, guys. Go," Xayah encouraged. "Aphelios and I have much to discuss."
Sett was hesitant to move, but Rakan went around the table and took his hand, urging him to follow him.
"Guys, you promised to behave," he warned.
"And we will," Xayah said. "Go have wild shower sex or something. We'll find you when we're done."
Sett gave them a last look but ended up following Rakan back to his room. They probably knew Xayah was scheming but they trusted her not to tank the band's reputation along the way. She drank the rest of her coffee under Aphelios watchful eyes.
At last, she said, "so, where does Ezreal keep his cameras?"