Soonyoung looked up at the night sky, just as dark as ever. One thing he missed about home was the countless splatterings of stars that became visible even before the sun was completely down. The city of Seoul was a fascinating, busy and bustling place, but sometimes Soonyoung wanted something to remind him of home. He often looked up at night, a habit formed from a young age to daze at the vast number of stars in the sky, but after he came to Seoul, he was just as often disappointed.

 

“Seokmin, how often do you think about home?”
 

Soonyoung and Seokmin were taking a break from practicing, sitting against the refreshing, cool mirror. Practice always seemed to go on forever. Without ever hearing news that their group will debut, Soonyoung wondered if there will ever really be an end. The group constantly is given hope that maybe their debut will be set… but so far the hopes were false.

 

“Probably every day. I mean, don’t you? When’s the last time we saw our families?”

 

“I know… I think about them every day, too…”

 

Seokmin touched Soonyoung’s arm lightly.

 

“Is everything okay? Is there something you want to talk about?”

 

Soonyoung tilted his head back until it was stopped by the mirror the two were against.

 

“I miss home, Seokmin…”

 

“I know.”

 

“And we’ve been told again and again that our debut is coming up, but here we are, still training…”

 

“We’re all waiting for the day we debut. As long as we don’t give up, it’ll happen.”

 

Soonyoung closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

 

“But how much longer do we have to wait? What happens if we lose motivation? I mean, the company keeps giving us motivation, and then taking it away. What if I get tired of it all?”

 

“Well, what is your motivation for doing all this? For training so hard for so long?”

 

A small smile showed itself on Soonyoung’s face, his eyes slowly opening.

 

“I want to be able to perform in front of a lot of people. I want to be able to feel the wave of excitement when people cheer my name. I want so much to be able to show myself to the world. It just seems like there’s so much more out there, after debuting… but the problem is,” the smile disappeared. “I don’t know when we’ll be able to explore it.”

 

“But you also miss home.”

 

“But I also miss home. And I would probably be able to tolerate my homesickness better if there was something to remind me of it, but we’re in Seoul. There aren’t any farms in the city, and the sky is pitch black at night. I can’t even see stars and comfort myself by saying that my parents are looking at the same sky. It’s completely different.”

 

“Would it help if you see stars?”

 

“Well, I mean… yeah. It would.”

 

“Then promise me something. Promise me you’ll stick to training, no matter how long it takes. I’ll promise you two things in return. The first is that I’ll stick with you. Even if no one else decides it’s worth it, even we’re the only ones left, we’ll train. And one day we’ll debut together.”

 

“Okay… what’s the second thing?”

 

“The second thing is that once we debut, I promise to show you the most beautiful array of stars you will ever see.”

 

Soonyoung scoffed.

 

“You’re exaggerating.”

 

“I’m completely serious.”

 

“It’s hard to take you serious when you say that.”

 

They laughed, Soonyoung at its ridiculousness, and Seokmin at Soonyoung.

 

“Soonyoung.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Seokmin held out a pinky.

 

“Promise me.”

 

Soonyoung wrapped his own pinky around Seokmin’s.

 

“Okay, I promise.”

 

~~

 

The day finally came. Half a year after Soonyoung made that promise with Seokmin, their group was finally ready to debut. With thirteen remaining final members, Soonyoung felt proud. They weren’t seventeen members as originally planned, but they were a solid team as they were.

 

Seventeen. That was their name.

 

They would debut with a showcase. A showcase, just for them. Soonyoung couldn’t keep his hands still. It was still an hour until the showcase started, and the members were still getting ready with their hair, clothes, and makeup. They rehearsed not that long ago, and the staff were preparing for the live show at that moment.

 

Soonyoung was tapping the arm of the sofa he was sitting on, trying to take deep breaths. There was still an hour, but considering his rapid heartbeat and jittery limbs, he wasn’t sure he would make it by the time it started. If one could die out of nervousness, then Soonyoung might just kick the bucket right then.

 

“Hey.”

 

Soonyoung looked up at the voice that greeted him. It was Seokmin.

 

“Hey.”

 

Seokminn lowered himself onto the sofa, right next to Soonyoung.

 

“How are you feeling?”
 

“I feel like I’m going to die at any minute. You?”

 

“I don’t feel anything.” Seokmin laughed when Soonyoung looked utterly shocked. “I don’t feel anything because it still hasn’t hit me yet. We’re here, backstage, getting ready for our debut showcase, but it still hasn’t hit me that this is actually happening.”

 

Soonyoung scoffed. “Well, that’s nice.”

 

Seokmin laughed again. Soonyoung wondered if he was a funny sight. He probably was, but he was numb from any sensation other than tension.

 

“Hey, Soonyoung?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Do you remember our promise from a while ago? The one where you keep training-”

 

“And you show me pretty stars. Yeah, I remember.”

 

Seokmin’s expression brightened. “Well, I’m going to fulfill that promise today.”

 

“That sounds nice… I’m still nervous as hell though.”

 

“Should I try to take your mind off of the showcase?”

 

Another scoff.

 

“If you can, be my guest.”

 

“Close your eyes.”

 

He did as he was told. He felt the sofa cushion elevate as Seokmin stood up.

 

“You’re not peeking, are you?”

 

“I’m not.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Promise.”

 

There was a moment of silence, where hesitation lingered in the atmosphere. He could sense the stirring in front of him as Seokmin moved closer. Soonyoung held his breath, not quite sure what he was anticipating. He surprisingly became calmer in the sense that his hands were no longer quivering. At the same time he felt his heart thump harshly against his chest. It wasn’t racing. It was just pounding.

 

Suddenly, he felt a finger on each of his cheeks, pressing inwards. Soonyoung opened his eyes to see Seokmin’s playful smile less than an arm’s width away. Soonyoung played along, exaggeratedly sulking, to which Seokmin squished his cheeks more, until neither could contain their laughter. Soonyoung leaned in, slapping Seokmin’s arm, and Seokmin shook Soonyoung’s shoulder. Their carefree laughter eased the nerves that Soonyoung couldn’t by himself.

 

“Thanks, Seokmin. I think I’m going to be okay now.”

 

“That’s what I’m here for.”

 

Soonyoung smiled affectionately at his companion.

 

“We finally made it, huh?”

 

“Yeah. And tonight you’re going to see the stars again.”

 

“You’re still going on about that? And just when are we going to see them?”

 

Seokmin winked. “Just wait for it. You’ll know it when you see it.”

 

Soonyoung had no idea what he could possibly mean, and he had no idea how he would know.

 

It didn’t take him long to find out.

 

He saw the stars. As soon as he stepped on the stage and looked up at his audience, he saw them. Lights, floating in the darkness, at fixed points in the audience. It was the fans. They had lightsticks to cheer on the group’s debut. Soonyoung knew that. What he didn’t realize until that point in time, was just how beautiful they would be when they glowed in the shadows. He couldn’t make out any of the fan’s faces, but he knew they were there. He could see them as they waved their lights. Just as he could hear their cheers, he could see their presence.

 

He took in the sight, the constant waves of lights made it seem as if the audience was a sea of stars. Bright and dazzling, brilliant beyond belief, and each one holding a special meaning to him. Seokmin was right. They were the most beautiful stars Soonyoung had ever seen. He had asked for the stars, and he was given an ocean of them.

 

And Soonyoung performed. He could feel the blood rushing, and the thoughts fading. His focus was to provide the best performance he could, and to show all that he had worked for. When he saw his teammates around him, he felt the need to work even harder. He performed to exceed expectations. That was his goal.

 

~~

 

“So? What did you think?”

 

Seokmin was looking at him with a know-it-all smile, but Soonyoung was too dazed to see it. He felt refreshed, having released what he had been building up all these years. He released his frustrations, worries, exhaustion, and any other doubts he held. Though new worries might come the next day, he wanted that night to be free of them. He wanted that night to have been the answers to his troubles.

 

“Seokmin, that was amazing. Did that really happen? I didn’t just hallucinate it all?”

 

“It’s real. It’s real, and we made it. Soonyoung, we finally debuted!”

 

“I can’t believe it.”

 

“Do you need me to slap you?”

 

“No, I’m good. But, did you see our fans?”

 

“I did.”

 

“How did you know? That they would make the real stars look so plain?”

 

“Lucky guess?”

 

Soonyoung looked at him incredulously. “You guessed? You mean you made a promise based on a guess?” He slapped Seokmin on the arm. “How could you?”

 

Seokmin ruffled Soonyoung’s hair, which was damp with sweat.

 

“Don’t look so shocked. It got us here, didn’t it?”

 

They held a short staring contest, but burst into laughter when Seokmin started scrunching his face. Soonyoung hugged him naturally as they laughed, but when they both calmed down, he didn’t let go. He held onto Seokmin, despite their bodies still being quite warm from performing.

 

“Seokmin?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thanks for showing me the stars.”

 

“It wasn’t really me though.”

 

“But still.”

 

They stayed like that for a while, still in their stage outfits, still with their damp selves, but neither made a move to separate from the other.

 

“Soonyoung?”

 

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for staying with me.”