Hello, passengers. How is your day going? We’ve reached our first ship, YaDong. Exciting right? I sure think so! Let’s explore.

~*~

It was an exciting day for Hoya. He’d been dying to take dance lessons but his parents refused to pay for them their selves. That meant Hoya had to save up his money until he had enough, which he finally did. Hoya tried to learn what he could from online. He felt confident in his ability and even signed up for the intermediate course. Walking into the dance studio however, all signs of confidence were flushed away. Inside, were people practicing some moves they already knew and Hoya felt intimidated.

So cool, he thought. How can I compete?

He set down his bag and began to stretch by himself. At this point, Hoya wished he stuck with the beginner’s course. Could he keep up?

“Welcome everyone!” Hoya heard a voice say. He turned to see a guy come in and he froze. Never before had a guy had such an impact on first look. Everyone greeted him back but Hoya who was too busy taking in the guy’s looks.

Omo. He’s so handsome.

“I’m Dongwoo and I’m going to be your teacher. Everyone line up for a warm up.” Hoya dashed for a spot in the front and noticed a few people next to him gave a look. “Eager to learn? I like that.”

Hoya looked down and tried to hide his blush and smile. While the lesson went on, Hoya caught Dongwoo’s eyes on numerous occasions. Each time, Hoya would look to the side or look down.

“Alright, that’s it for today. Try to practice at home if you can.” Everyone grabbed their stuff and began shuffling out. Hoya grabbed his bag and pretended to tie his shoe until the room cleared out. He watched as a group of girls went up to Dongwoo and glared at them.

“Sonsaengnim~ you’re so good,” a girl commented. She twirled her hair around her fingers and tried being cute.

“Would you like to grab some lunch with us? We’ll pay!” Another said, flashing a smile. Hoya rolled his eyes as he stood up.

“Oh, I’m sorry girls. I don’t, um, play for your team.” Hoya’s eyes almost popped out of his head and he dropped his bag. The girls didn’t seem to get what he meant and looked at Dongwoo confused.

“I don’t get it,” the one with the smile said.

We’re they really this dumb? Hoya wondered.

“He’s gay,” Hoya told the girls. “As in he likes guys.”  The girls all left, heartbroken that it wasn’t meant to be. “Those girls, I swear. They are the girls that only come to get boys. It’s annoying.”

“Is there a reason that you stayed behind?” Dongwoo asked, coming up to Hoya.

“What?” Hoya hadn’t thought about why he stayed back. Why had he?

“I said: is there a reason that you stayed behind?”

“Oh, you see…” Hoya racked his brain for a valid reason. What was he supposed to say? I wanted to keep seeing that smile that lit up the whole room and took his breath away? If he said that, he wouldn’t be able to show his face ever again. “I wanted to know if you do one on one for anyone that needs extra help.”

“I don’t although I don’t know why you would need extra help. You’re a natural. However, I guess I could make an exception because you’re you. What’s your name?”

“Name? Oh. Um, Lee Howon. Friends call me Hoya.”

“And what do boyfriends call you?” Dongwoo asked, shyly. The question caught Hoya off guard and he looked down to hide his blush.

“I’ve never had one,” Hoya admitted.

“That’s going to have to change.” The fact Dongwoo couldn’t say these with confidence, Hoya found it adorable. “Can I maybe have your number?”

“No,” Hoya said, shocking Dongwoo. “Not until after we have some coffee.” Hoya put his bag on his back and smiled Dongwoo. Something he hadn’t been doing lately. “Let’s go.”

The two boys headed down to the nearest coffee shop and both tried to remain cool. Once Dongwoo burned his tongue on the smoldering coffee, all attempts at being cool were lost. Hoya began laughing as Dongwoo fanned his tongue and cursed at his coffee. As they talked, Hoya learned a lot about Dongwoo. Like how it was possible for him to be really smart yet still manage not to be at the same time. Dongwoo learned Hoya didn’t have an easy life. His parents were against his dancing dreams and cause him lots of sadness. But Dongwoo’s smile was just what Hoya needed. And Dongwoo thought it was great that Hoya didn’t go around with a smile plastered on his face. That made his smiles all the more special to him.

~*~

So cute, right?

“Um… captain?”

Yes, Dongwoo?

“You do know that YaDong means…”

I know what it means! But that’s your couple name so deal with it.