Rating : actually not really PG 13 
Genre: AU, Romance
Length : part 04 – 3200+ words
Notes: un-beta-ed.

+

Five minutes later, Kyuhyun found himself sitting on the long burgundy couch in front of the television, seeing but not really watching, neither was he paying attention to what was broadcasted; a long and skinny arm draped around his shoulder comfortably. The arm belonged to Sungmin’s roommate, Zhou Mi, who had taken liberty to invade Kyuhyun’s personal space and to occupy half of the long sofa to himself. “My legs are long!” he had reasoned, and Kyuhyun couldn’t retort to that.

So there he was, squeezed between Zhou Mi and Sungmin. Zhou Mi was curling sideway on the sofa, which explained why he needed that much space, but Kyuhyun had to admit that the man was quite flexible, seeing how he managed to still drape an arm around Kyuhyun’s shoulder in that position.

“How’s the coffee?” Sungmin asked him. Kyuhyun stared at the mug of coffee cupped in his hands on his lap, and turned his head to stare at the inquirer. Thanks to Zhou Mi’s awesome domination of the sofa, there was practically no space between his and Sungmin’s body. Their arms and legs were pressing against each other, and Kyuhyun didn’t dare to blink as he now stared at Sungmin’s round questioning eyes, only inches away from his face.

So beautiful…

“It’s great,” Kyuhyun croaked. “How do you know I like my coffee like this?”

Sungmin smiled brightly. “I pay attention,” he answered as he brought his own mug to his lips, and sipped on the creamy coffee. He then exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, clearly enjoying the taste of the warm and sweet coffee in his mouth and down his throat. Kyuhyun watched all those in silent awe. Sungmin looked ten times more mesmerizing in this very close distance.

“What… what do you mean you pay attention?” Kyuhyun could only ask stupidly.

Sungmin chuckled, “This morning I asked you what coffee you were drinking, remember? And also I heard what you ordered just now in the restaurant, so I made it like that, even though I only use the normal instant coffee and non-dairy creamer.”

“Ah, I see…” Kyuhyun grinned, feeling elated that Sungmin paid attention to such little details. Although to be honest, he couldn’t remember the content of his conversation with Sungmin earlier that morning. He was too happy to be able to walk and talk with him that most of the chat content just flew out of his head.

“I hope you’ll still be able to sleep well tonight,” Sungmin laughed suddenly, confusing Kyuhyun. As Kyuhyun looked at him with questioning look, Sungmin continued, “You drank two cups of coffee today, right?”

“Ah,” Kyuhyun slapped his own forehead slowly, “That’s right, but I’ll be okay,” he grinned at Sungmin.

A few seconds later, Sungmin went to the kitchen again to search for some crackers to nibble on with the coffee. Kyuhyun was left alone with that silly grin stuck permanently on his face.

“Maybe you two forget that I’m still here, but I don’t think you’ll be able to sleep even a blink tonight,” a voice said from somewhere. Kyuhyun turned his head to his other side and found Zhou Mi already sitting straight and looking sideways at him with a mischievous look on his face.

“I do remember you’re still here, because for your information, until a few seconds ago, you’re leaning on me, Mister Zhou Mimi,” Kyuhyun threw in a snarky reply. He was actually surprised that he could so easily loosen up with Zhou Mi, too, but he wasn’t protesting.

Zhou Mi’s eyes twinkled and he grinned wider than the Cheshire Cat. “Ooh, and now you want me gone so you can have your y time with my Sungminnie?”

At the mention of Sungmin’s name and ‘y time’ in the same sentence together, Kyuhyun suddenly blushed and stuttered, much to Zhou Mi’s delight.

“It’s not like that! I mean… it’s too fast, right? And he’s… I don’t even know if he’s…”

A loud “AAAW, you’re so cute, Kyuhyun!” and a (rather painful) pinch to his cheek successfully stopped Kyuhyun from continuing his embarrassing stutter.

Kyuhyun swatted Zhou Mi’s offending hand away from his face and quickly rubbed the sore spot where Zhou Mi just pinched him. “I’m not cute! And… I’m thankful, but I don’t quite understand why you are so eager to help me with this. What’s your plan, anyway?”

“That,” Zhou Mi wiggled his forefinger in front of Kyuhyun, his wide grin still etched, “is a secret! But don’t worry, after listening to you two talking for a while, I’m sure now. You have my approval, so that’s a big bonus! Be confident!”

Kyuhyun groaned in defeat.

“What was that about Kyuhyun-sshi being cute?” Sungmin re-appeared behind them and Zhou Mi stood up immediately.

“He’s cute, like my Ni Qiu,” Zhou Mi said randomly as he walked to the door and grabbed a dark-blue fedora from the coat hanger. “Sungminnie, I’m leaving now, ok?”

Sungmin put down the various snacks he had come back with on the coffee table and approached Zhou Mi. “I didn’t know you had plans tonight, I hope we didn’t make you late or something,”

“Nah, we’re just going to discuss about the next show over a late supper,” Zhou Mi bent down to lace his shoes (it seemed, because Kyuhyun’s view was blocked by the waist-high shoe rack separating the living room and the foyer). When he straightened up again and came back into Kyuhyun’s range of view, the little poodle called Ni Qiu was already on his embrace, head tilting to the side and making soft happy noises as Sungmin reached out and scratched behind his ear.

“Take care, you two” Sungmin reached out further and re-adjusted the fedora position on Zhou Mi’s head.

“Okay, see you later,” Zhou Mi said as Sungmin gave him and the dog between them a light hug. After that little exchange, Zhou Mi turned to the living room and waved at Kyuhyun. “See you around, Kyuhyun!”

Oh! That Cheshire grin again! Kyuhyun gave him an equally wide comical grin as he waved back. “See you, Mimi,”

Kyuhyun caught Zhou Mi giving him a thumb-up when Sungmin wasn’t looking, and then he was gone. Sungmin scuttled back to the couch and plopped down again beside Kyuhyun, offering him the snack.

“If you didn’t tell me that he’s not your boyfriend earlier, I would have thought you guys are married to each other, really,” Kyuhyun commented, taking a handful of potato chips while trying to hold back a silly grin because Sungmin had sat really close to him even though the couch was practically spacious now.

Sungmin laughed, “Then it’s a good thing I told you earlier, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Kyuhyun honestly said. “So, umm… Sungmin-sshi… please tell me more about yourself?”

+

Straight to the point, that was what Sungmin thought about Kyuhyun’s attitude ever since Zhou Mi left. He wondered what Zhou Mi had told Kyuhyun that made the younger man now even more blatant about his moves. The little hesitance and shyness were still there, though, and it made Kyuhyun seemed even more adorable. He agreed with Zhou Mi’s statement earlier about Kyuhyun being cute.

Sungmin ended up telling Kyuhyun about a lot of things. How he let his younger brother take over his father’s company to pursue his dream of being a musical actor, how he almost gave up when everything seemed to tell him he’s taking the wrong path, how he met the cheerful ball of sunshine, the eccentric fashion designer also known as Zhou Mi, on that depression period, how they ended up being roommates (and had been, for more than two years now).

He also got to hear some stories about Kyuhyun’s life. He found out that Kyuhyun was the producer’s cousin. He told Kyuhyun that now he knew why he had seen Kyuhyun for quite a few times in the rehearsal studio, and then Kyuhyun shyly confessed that he was actually there to see Sungmin practicing.

Kyuhyun was secretive about his job, though. Sungmin wondered why. He suspected that maybe Kyuhyun wasn’t actually part of the run crew. Maybe he really showed up in rehearsals to just stalk Sungmin. Weird enough, even after he found out Kyuhyun had been somewhat his stalker, Sungmin didn’t have any objection at all. He even started to think that there was this possibility that subconsciously, he was already attracted to Kyuhyun since those times he saw Kyuhyun in the studio.

He couldn’t care less about those past possibilities, though, because the important thing was that Kyuhyun was here now, that they had progressed from being strangers to acquaintances, then as friends, and maybe now they were moving ahead into something even more than that.

The cups of coffee were already empty; abandoned on top of the low table in front of them along with empty snack wrappers. The television was on, but the volume was set low because none of them actually pay attention to it. Their conversation kept flowing, from nothing to everything. From big, significant facts about their respective lives that they felt needed to be shared to each other, to small nothings like how the next door neighbor’s cat liked to come over and play with Ni Qiu (he’s a dog, in case you didn’t notice).

From those conversations, Sungmin noticed how Kyuhyun and he didn’t have many similarities. Instead of feeling down about it, Sungmin found it quite miraculous that he didn’t feel bored at all. Despite their differences, there was this something… something he couldn’t explain…

Sungmin still didn’t want it to end; he liked being with Kyuhyun like this. The calm and warm feeling that enveloped him, making him feel like he had known Kyuhyun forever; making him feel safe and contended and… sleepy.

Huh? Sleepy?

No matter how much his mind told him he could still talk to Kyuhyun for a limitless amount of time, his body couldn’t deny the fatigue. Sungmin was pretty sure Kyuhyun was physically tired, too, after today’s rehearsal.

Sungmin looked at the clock and was surprised at how fast the time had flown. It was almost midnight. Kyuhyun seemed to notice his change of expression so he turned his head, following Sungmin’s line of vision, and chuckled when he saw the time. They had talked for hours over small mugs of coffee and just a little snack, and they didn’t even realize it.

“I guess it’s time for me to go home…?” he asked Sungmin with a rather sad laugh. Sungmin grimaced, not really answering. Kyuhyun grabbed their mugs and stood up, to the kitchen, “Let me help you wash these,” he said. Sungmin just nodded and tagged along behind him. Washing two mugs would normally take just a minute or less, but Kyuhyun insisted to help washing the other dishes on the sink, too. Sungmin laughed, understanding how Kyuhyun tried to lengthen their time together even just a bit, because he felt the same way.

The domestic activity was done leisurely. Sungmin giggled when Kyuhyun squeezed the sponge too hard it squirted foam to their faces. Kyuhyun yelped when one of the plates almost slipped out of his hand. They also tried guessing about what food Zhou Mi ate for his early dinner, and Sungmin concluded that he probably ate instant ramyun with some leftover side ish because that was just so Mimi and that was why he ended up being a stick like that.

Sungmin handed Kyuhyun a towel to dry his hands and he watched him do so. Seeing Kyuhyun like this, doing dishes together, standing on the kitchen drying his hands, looking comfortable and very much at home. It’s like he was shown a glimpse of what his life might be like with Kyuhyun as a permanent part of it, and he wished it would come true. He ignored the fact that they only got to know each other better within that one day, because time was just irrelevant when you realized you had fallen—hard, for someone.

Sungmin smiled, feeling something fluttering around in his stomach, like he had just fallen from a steep dip of a roller coaster ride.

“Kyuhyun-sshi,” Sungmin called, and Kyuhyun put the towel beside the sink before he looked up at Sungmin with a gentle smile.

“Let’s drop the –sshi, shall we?” Kyuhyun grinned, “Sungmin-ah?”

Sungmin liked how Kyuhyun didn’t call him ‘hyung’. He loved the way his name sounded in Kyuhyun’s velvety voice. He stared dreamily at Kyuhyun and nodded.

“I like that. Kyuhyun-ah. Kyuhyunnie,”

And before he could see how Kyuhyun react to his new nickname, he had stepped forward and grabbed the back of Kyuhyun’s neck, pulling him down a few centimeters to press a soft kiss on his lips.

The moment their lips touched, Sungmin closed his eyes and focused on his other senses. He could feel Kyuhyun tensed for the briefest moment before he relaxed and responded to the kiss, gentle pressures and soft nibbles, slow and somewhat innocent. His fingers tangled in Kyuhyun’s fluffy hair and Sungmin marveled at how nice it felt under his touch. Kyuhyun tasted and smelled like coffee and potato chips, and a hint of something that was probably genuinely Kyuhyun.

Sungmin felt Kyuhyun’s hands around his waist, pulling him even closer. He let out a small chuckle and pulled away from the kiss, but not from the embrace. He buried his head in the crook of Kyuhyun’s neck and laughed when he felt tickled by Kyuhyun’s a little unsteady breathing near his ear. He put his right palm over Kyuhyun’s left chest and felt the erratic beating of his heart. He knew his own heart was beating like crazy, too, right now.

He opened his eyes and looked up to stare into the deep brown orbs that were staring back at him with overflowing affection and warmth. He smiled blissfully at Kyuhyun, and received a quick peck on his temple in reply.

“I feel like I can sleep here, enveloped in your hug,” Sungmin whispered as he rested his head on Kyuhyun’s chest. Then he yawned widely, and Kyuhyun laughed.

Good job, Lee Sungmin, way to go to ruin the romantic moment, he scolded himself lightly. He pulled away completely in the end, and dragged Kyuhyun back to the living room to get his cell phone from the couch. He shoved it to Kyuhyun, who took it with a questioning look.

“What do you want me to do with this?” Kyuhyun asked, tilting his head to the side and Sungmin had to fight the urge to kiss him again.

“Save your number, I don’t want to go through the uncertainty of waiting for you again after the rehearsal tomorrow,” Sungmin answered, earning a free laughter from Kyuhyun, who then quickly typed and saved his number into the device.

+

It was completely a dream came true for Kyuhyun. He didn’t mind when Heechul exploded at him for being late the next morning (“it was just five minutes, Hyung, give me a break!”) because he was too happy he couldn’t fall asleep quickly that one particular night.

Things started to settle into a blissful routine since then. He would be woken up by Sungmin’s cheerful morning calls, and then he’d take a quick shower and hurry to the theater. They would do the rehearsal, and then he would meander to the changing room to get Sungmin. They would have dinner together, sometimes outside, sometimes at Sungmin’s apartment, and sometimes a kind of double-date dinner with Zhou Mi and his gorgeous model girlfriend, Vic.

After dinner would be their cuddling time on the living room couch; fingers intertwining, head on shoulder, talking about random things, gentle hugs and tender kisses (and if Zhou Mi wasn’t home it would turn into hot make out sessions and blissful-but-exhausting nights, and in the morning Sungmin would have to quickly change his bed sheet before Zhou Mi got home and suspect anything).

It was the day before the first show of the musical, and every actor and crew were given a break to rest their physic before the D-day. Kyuhyun spent the whole day at Sungmin’s apartment. Zhou Mi was out for his own gig that night, and Kyuhyun played with Ni Qiu while Sungmin prepared dinner for them.

Sungmin was exceptionally quiet that night after dinner. Kyuhyun was worried at first, but after some coaxing (that included tongues and roaming of hands all over), Sungmin finally confessed that he was just completely nervous for the musical. It was his first time as the leading actor. He couldn’t afford to make any mistake. He had to be perfect. Everyone had worked hard this far, and he just couldn’t bear thinking about what would happen if he messed up.

Kyuhyun smiled, pecked his nose and then leaned closer to whisper in his ear, “Just think of me and you will shine. Rest assured, I’m the one who put you in the spotlight. You’ll be perfect, just like always.”

Sungmin blushed and felt weirdly calm after he heard those words. He pinched Kyuhyun’s cheeks playfully with both of his hands and mumbled, “you cheesy brat,”

And then more passionate kisses.

+

Loud applause rang throughout the theater that night. Sungmin stared at the sea of people giving them standing ovation and felt like he could cry right then and there. On the stage wing, Sungmin noticed Hyukjae wiping his eyes and giving him the thumbs-up with that adorable gummy smile. Sungmin smiled widely back at him.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to be strong. Beside him, Sunkyu already had her face wet with happy and relieved tears. He took the girl’s hand and lifted them up in the air. Together with the other actors, they bowed down to greet and thank the audience.

Amongst them, were Zhou Mi and Heechul beside each other, giving him an equally proud look on their faces. Sungmin saw Heechul draped an arm around Zhou Mi’s shoulder and his brain briefly registered that probably these two had known each other all along, and that maybe they had helped him get together with Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun.

Sungmin wished he could see Kyuhyun now. He wondered if at that moment Kyuhyun was looking at him with a proud expression on his face, too, from somewhere he couldn’t see (because the run crews weren’t supposed to be seen during performances, obviously).

The bright spotlights were blinding him as he raised his head up, trying to immerse himself in that glorious moment. Sungmin squinted, trying to see through the brightness, when he suddenly remembered what Kyuhyun said the night before.

“Just think of me and you will shine. Rest assured, I’m the one who put you in the spotlight. You’ll be perfect, just like always.”

Sudden realization came to him and he chuckled amusedly. So the brat wasn’t just being cheesy last night. Kyuhyun had laid the truth bare in front of him but Sungmin didn’t even think about it that way. But it’s alright, on the rehearsal before their next performance, Sungmin would know where to look for Kyuhyun. Besides, even years and years later, Sungmin knew that Kyuhyun would always keep him in the spotlight.

(Yes, that last sentence was Sungmin being a cheesy and helpless romantic, thank you very much).

END.

======================================================

a/n:

So it ends. Haha! FINALLY /slumps on desk/

And… just in case I’m being too secretive with Kyuhyun’s job, here’s a hint an explanation from the title:

A followspot, sometimes known as a spot light, is a powerful stage lighting instrument which projects a bright beam of light onto a performance space. Followspots are controlled by a spotlight operator who follows actors around the stage. Followspots are most commonly used in concerts, musicals and large scale presentations where highlighting a specific, mobile, individual is critical. (source: almighty wiki wiki wiki)

Any question? LOL

I’m sorry for the lateness of the update and for the little rush in the end XD I just can’t delay this any longer. It’s been months XD I hope you like it nonetheless!

Do leave me comments and/ or critics? Thank you for taking time to read! <333333