Work Text:
It starts with Jeonghan. Of course, it does.
He’s lounging on the couch, phone in hand, wearing his usual expression of casual mischief. He opens Instagram, sees his latest post — a flawlessly filtered mirror selfie — and scans the likes.
Joshua. ✔️
Seungkwan. ✔️
DK. ✔️
Even Woozi, who hates social media. ✔️
Lee Chan? ✖️
Not even a view on the Story.
He blinks. Then he calls an emergency meeting.
---
“So You’re Saying… He’s Never Liked Anything?”
“Never,” Mingyu confirms, scrolling through his post history like he’s preparing for court.
“He watched my live and didn’t comment,” Seungkwan adds with wide eyes. “Didn’t even send a virtual heart.”
“I wrote a poem under his last photo,” DK whispers.
Woozi mutters something about social etiquette violations and possible retaliation.
Joshua, ever the peacekeeper, tries to downplay it. “Maybe he just... doesn’t use social media like that?”
“Jisoo,” Jeonghan says, voice low. “He liked a dog meme yesterday.”
Chaos erupts.
---
From that moment on, it becomes war.
Operation: Passive-Aggressive Posting.
Jeonghan posts a carousel titled “For my real friends only.”
Vernon drops a cryptic Story with black text on white background: “Energy should be reciprocal.”
DK uploads a crying selfie captioned: “When you realize your own maknae ghosted your content.”
Hoshi tries a guilt-trip tactic: “I danced for you, Lee Chan. I bled for this choreography. Like the post.”
Woozi flat out tags him in every caption now: “@feat.dino do your job and acknowledge my existence.”
Even Minghao, who’s usually above this, posts a clean, minimalist aesthetic pic captioned: “Acknowledgment is the purest form of affection.”
---
The Maknae Responds
Or rather — doesn’t.
Because Chan?
Chan sees it all.
He views their stories. Opens their DMs. Smirks at their comments.
And then — like the king of chaos he is — posts a blurry pic of his foot with the caption:
> “Vibe.”
230,000 likes in 20 minutes.
All 12 hyungs in the comments:
> Soonyoung: “Block me right now.”
Jeonghan: “I hate you and I miss you at the same time.”
Jihoon: “Is this what betrayal looks like?”
Seungcheol: “I’m buying you a phone just so I can confiscate it.”
Minghao: “New rule. No phone until you like my latest drop.”
Fans, of course, notice everything. The top comment under Chan’s post:
> “WHY IS THIS A ONE-SIDED RELATIONSHIP 😭 THE 12 OF THEM ARE SUFFERING.”
Another:
> “Petition to teach Dino how to press the heart button.”
Even the official Carat account posts:
> “Maknae, blink twice if your like button is broken.”
---
Eventually, Seungcheol, the eternal leader, pulls Dino aside.
“We’re not mad, just…” He sighs. “It wouldn’t kill you to like a post once in a while, you know?”
Chan shrugs, sipping his iced Americano like the emotionally distant Gen Z that he is. “I see everything in real life. Isn’t that better than social media?”
The leader stares at him.
“That’s not the point.”
---
Just as the hyungs were about to give up.
On a very random day, with no warning… Dino does it.
He likes one (1) post.
Jeonghan’s selfie.
The group chat combusts.
[Joshua]: HE DID IT
[Seokmin]: WHAT ABOUT ME?!
[Mingyu]: I FEEL BETRAYED
[Jihoon]: You know what? No. I’m deleting Instagram.
[Soonyoung]: WHO BRIBED HIM
[Jeonghan]: 💅 Stay jealous.
Dino? Posts again an hour later: another blurry foot. Captioned:
> “That was enough affection for 2025. See you next year.”
---
The war is not over.
But the maknae remains undefeated.