"So what's your story?" Seunghyun asked with a full mouth. He was absolutely famished, they had been dancing since dawn.

"Why?" Youngbae looked at him with suspicious eyes, peering into them as if he was trying to penetrate the surface of his skull.

"Dunno, no reason.. it's just.. what you ask to get to know someone." Seunghyun shrugged.

"We're here to dance, not to make friends." Youngbae shifted his intense stare to the food he was listlessly moving around the plate. Maybe he was tired, making him unreasonably cranky. Seunghyun got a pang of guilt, he knew he was robbing him of precious practice time that he needed for himself. Youngbae also had deadlines and schoolwork. Even so, he was his only chance, so he blatantly accepted his help without having much to give him in return.

"You can do both, you know. Life can be fun, it doesn't have to be hard core every second of every day." he said brightly, stealing a piece of meat off Youngbae's plate.

"I have no story." Youngbae mumbled, filling in the gap on his plate from where the piece of meat had disappeared.

"Oh, come on, everyone has a story." he argued, urging him to open up just a little bit.

"I have a girlfriend." Youngbae offered.

"Okay, that's a start. What's she like?" he asked with interest, ignoring the objection from the green monster residing in his chest.

"She's great." he nodded, not really sounding that excited about it. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking.

"Mmkay, so like.. what's so great about her?" he normally didn't try this hard to connect with someone. If he were in the club, he would have moved on ages ago, but if they were going to be meeting on a regular basis, as was his goal, to get him to agree to tutor him long-term, then everything would be much easier and enjoyable if they became friends, or at least were a bit less formal to each other. After all, dancing was a contact sport, so they had to be comfortable with each other

"I really don't have a story. My life is pretty perfect you know. No trauma to speak of, no juicy gossip. I have supportive parents that just want me to succeed, a girlfriend that is not only the prettiest girl in the whole school, but also the best dancer. I work hard and am good at what I do. I have everything." he explained, but there was something in the way he said it that didn't have him convinced.

"Riiight."

"What?” Youngbae asked, defiance in his posture.

“Oh no, nothing... just... the way you said perfect... no, forget it.... congrats on your perfect life!” he mustered up a smile. If this was perfect, he wasn't sure he wanted it. Spending his whole life pleasing others, only hard work and no play. His mess of a life sounded pretty good in comparison.

“Dance for me.” he requested with genuine interest as they returned to the dance studio.

“What..?” Youngbae was caught off guard.

“I mean.. the whole school says you're the best dancer this school has ever had, yet I've never seen you dance. Maybe you and have been teaching me all the wrong things, and I'll pretty much fall on my face come next class.” he shrugged with a taunting grin, suppressing a laugh.

Youngbae's cheeks reddened as he giggled heartily.

He didn't have to be asked twice. He pointed him to sit down in the corner, handing him the remote. Seunghyun did as he was told, enjoying the wave of excitement that washed over him. Youngbae went to the center of the room, stretching for a bit, shaking loose and then taking his position, a solemn stance with his head hung. He was just standing there, but yet you got the feeling that it was more than that, he stood better than normal people somehow.

He gave him the cue to start the music and so he did. At first he could hear nothing, almost hitting the button again, before a few soft but determined piano tones filled the room, followed by the most beautiful, most haunting voice he had ever heard. It moved something deep inside him. It wasn't just singing, it was sharing the feelings of its owner, hitting him right in the heart. He loved music, but he had never experienced anything like it. He felt like he knew the singer even though this was the first song of his he had ever heard. He couldn't explain it.

Youngbae started moving in rhythm to the music, smoothly, elegantly, majestically. He had such control over his body, it was breathtaking. Seunghyun didn't dare blink in fear of missing even a single micro-movement. He was hooked. This wasn't dancing, this was something more advanced. The way he swayed with the music, like a leaf with the wind. Amazing.

The performance, in conjunction with that angelic voice and those heartbreaking lyrics, was having a profound effect on him. Without warning, a tear appeared at the corner of his eye, throwing itself to its death as another one replaced it. He hadn't cried in years. Not since...

“My greed, that couldn't let go of you

ended up turning into an obsession

imprisoning you”

It was as if the lyrics had been written about him, about that time, that dark dark time in his life he had spent all his waking hours since trying to forget. He swallowed, but there was nothing to swallow. His throat was dry and his palms sweaty. Maybe it was the universe sending him a warning, a red light, telling him not to fall for a straight guy again.

Youngbae finished his routine flawlessly. It was as if he had been born to dance. He got it now, how he could spend all those hours practicing. Dance was for him like air was for normal people. Only people made toxic carbon dioxide out of their air, while Youngbae made beauty out of thin air with his dancing. The music had stopped, but the tears kept flowing. He turned to the wall, using the end of his sleeve to wipe them quickly away so Youngbae wouldn't notice. How embarrassing.

“So... still want me to teach you to dance?” Youngbae giggled brightly, shyness coloring the air around him.

“The people here are full of crap!” he cleared his throat and stood up. Youngbae couldn't hide his disappointment. “Best dancer this school has ever had, my !” he continued loudly to hide how frail his voice still was after that disconcerting experience. Youngbae's eyes turned sad, looking at him like a puppy that had been left behind by its owners.

“Best dancer the WORLD has ever seen, more like it!!!” he grinned widely.

Youngbae wiped his grin off his face with a sharp blow to his shoulder. “Ouch!” he gasped, but then burst out laughing. Youngbae laughed too, his eyes disappearing into the cutest eyesmile.

“But that song... I've never heard it before. Who was that? It was incredible. I'm still just... wow. Speechless.” he was having a hard time expressing how deep an effect that song had had on him.

“Oh that... hehh...” Youngbae turned awkward.

“Who is it by? Can I just buy it online?” he inquired further. Youngbae snorted, hiding his blushing cheeks. What was with him?

“Ehm...actually... “ Youngbae stared at the floor as if it was the one who had asked the question. “It's me.” he half-whispered.

“It's what?” Seunghyun wasn't sure he had heard him right.

“Or like... the song is by a really good friend of mine... the one singing...is me.” he clarified to the floor.

“NO WAY!” Seunghyun's jaw dropped to the floor and stayed there.

“Why? You think I'm not good enough to do something like that!?” he growled back at him, probably just trying to mask how extremely embarrassed he was. Such a Chihuahua, trying to look big and feisty, but only looking even cuter.

“Can I have a copy of it?” Seunghyun ignored his outburst, using his sweetest of voices.

“What! Why?” Youngbae crossed his arms, creating a barrier of protection between them.

“Because it's the most beautiful song I've ever heard, and I'd like to listen to it again.” he smiled innocently. Youngbae's defensive stance melted the moment he finished the sentence.

“I... ehm... I'll ask my friend...” he mumbled, looking around the room like he had lost something, then heading right out the door without so much as a word about where he was going. He couldn't be going to ask his friend, for they were probably the only ones left on campus, it was so late. He had left his phone, so he wasn't going to call him either. Seunghyun let himself slide back down to the floor, fiddling with a loose thread on his waistband while he waited for him to come back. Thinking.

----

“Where have you been all weekend?!?!” Seungri demanded as soon as he opened the door. He doubled back to check to make sure it was really the door to his apartment he had opened.

“What are you doing here?” he asked surprised after confirming it was indeed his place.

“Waiting for you, what else would I be doing here?” Seungri's voice softened as he came up to him, running his hand down his chest. Seunghyun removed it before it reached its destination. Seungri pushed him a little to show that he was not happy about any of this.

“You struck out at the club, huh?” he sighed.

“There are never any cute faces on Sundays, you know that!” Seungri complained, putting up a dramatic frown, his hand going in for a second try. He slapped it away. Seungri folded his hands and stared into his eyes, examining him suspiciously.

“Your eyes are red.” he noticed.

“I'm just tired.” he sighed even deeper, pushing him away so he could collapse onto his bed. “I just wanna go to sleep, I have a big day tomorrow.” he told him.

“You are no fun lately!” Seungri complained, lying down next to him, kissing his upper arm softly.

“I'm not kidding.” he said sternly, not in the mood for his antics.

“Just sleeping. I get it. I'll behave.” he winked at him as he crawled under the covers, not showing any indication of leaving any time soon. Seunghyun gave up and crawled in after him, putting his arms around him and squeezing tightly. It did feel nice to have someone to hold, he thought as he drifted off.

---

He ran out of the classroom, elated. He couldn't believe it. He felt as if he was running in mid air, supported by nothing but bouncy clouds. He nailed it. Or well, the teacher had said it was barely sufficient, but that he would let it slide. That meant he passed! And it was all because of Youngbae. Amazing, incredible Youngbae. A gift from the skies.

He ran around aimlessly to find him, beside himself, finally spotting his tiny little behind in the cafeteria. He was surrounded by a group of friends and a very stylish girl, probably his girlfriend. He started walking over there when Youngbae looked in his direction. Seunghyun waved excitedly, but instead of greeting him, Youngbae's face turned stern as he simply looked away and walked out the door with his friends. He didn't get it. Had he done something to make him mad? He wracked his brain but came up with nothing at all.

They had made an appointment later that same evening, a sort of a post-report thing. Seunghyun had asked him to be his regular tutor, but Youngbae had wanted to wait until the results from his performance were out. He burst into the dance studio but there was no one there. Had he forgot? No, even without a prior appointment, he was always there, practicing.

He waited. An hour. Two.

Almost three hours later Youngbae stuck his cute little nose through the door.

“Oh. You're still here.” he said, disappointed and strangely wary.

“What do you mean? We had an appointment, right? Did I mix up the days? Anyway, you know what!!! I passed!!! Isn't it incredible!?!?!” Seunghyun jumped up and down, not getting why Youngbae just stood there, looking angry.

“It's all thanks to you, you know!” he pushed on, trying to get any kind of a reaction out of him

“I heard the rumors.” Youngbae said dryly.

“What rumors?” he was completely clueless.

“You know... that.. that you play for the other team.” Youngbae looked away, appalled.

“That I want to be an actor? You know that. I told you that, remember.” he was getting annoyed too. They had been over this already.

“No. The 'other' team.” he said as if he was hinting at something unspeakable, using air-quotes.

“Oh.”. It finally dawned on him what he meant. His heart sank. He had been in this spot so many times before, that it shouldn't have surprised him, yet he was strangely devastated at Youngbae's reaction.

“Is it true?” Youngbae asked accusingly.

He was not going to like the answer.