Macklemore - Ten Thousand Hours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEr5H4E4r3I

“Come on Jongup,” Himchan ushered me backstage to prepare for my big debut.

His hands were placed at the small of my back as we darted between people, not just people but professionals. I never imagined I would actually have a chance to perform in front of such a large crowd, the thought itself left me giddy.

Makeup artists painting faces, assistants dashing to and fro making sure they met everyone’s requests and dancers stretching in their own little corners, it was just so much to take in. I could see the corded muscles of the dancers as they lifted their hands high above their heads to warm up those tense and nervous muscles or perhaps I was the only nervous one. After all, no one else had someone shoving them through backstage.

We reached my table or at least that’s what the nametag above the mirror said. Himchan sat me down in my chair as a plump woman tended to my worrisome face. She pulled out her brush which seemed more like a weapon than anything else as she painted my face with a colour that matched my own skin.

“You’re late,” she half grumbled as she stuffed a thin brush in as she smoothed out the surface of my skin with a sponge.

“Sorry,” Himchan apologized as he caught my gaze through the mirror, “We had a bit of a mishap earlier. We’re okay now.” I broke our contact and looked over at the powders and concoctions people called makeup.

“Doesn’t matter,” she sighed as she placed the sponge onto the table and plucked the thin brush from her lips and dipped it into some sort of black fluid, “As long as he’s here now.”

“Exactly,” Himchan agreed as he touched my shoulder and whispered into my ear so the makeup artist couldn’t hear over the commotion of everyone around us, “You are going to be fine. Just take deep breathes. You were born to do this; you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Just leave the past behind, keep your head up and just keep moving forward.”

It was easier said than done.

The expression across my face must have told him I had already been defeated since he turned to the makeup artist and said to her, “I need to talk to Jongup alone.”

“I just started with his makeup,” she defended as Himchan snatched the brushes from her hands.

“I’ve seen my sister put on makeup enough to know how it works. I’m sure there’s other people you need to tend to,” Himchan shrugged as he basically shut her off completely from me by physically blocking her with his body. She grumbled and marched away whilst throwing murderous glares at him but he didn’t seem to care.

“She’s going to get you kicked out,” I replied as Himchan stood in front of me with that thin brush laced with black fluid.

“I don’t care,” Himchan snapped back as he pinched my cheeks together and tilted my head upwards so he could get a good look at my face. “You dear Jongup need to wake up.”

“Nothing you can say is going to ease the nerves,” I pointed out as Himchan trace over my lids with the thin brush. It amazed me at how well he could put it on without even batting an eye.

Himchan sighed and continued the job of the makeup artist, “I don’t want your nerves to go away. It’s good to have nerves on stage. But are you seriously going to let those nerves get to you? Do you seriously want to back out now when everyone is ready and waiting for you?”

I looked up at Himchan who placed that brush behind his ear and folded his arms in front of me.

“Do you want to go back to that life you were living before? Do you want to live the rest of your life with your parents paying for everything because you’re unable to get a decent paying job? But even if you did find a good paying job, do you honestly think you’d like it? Would you be happy? I’ve seen the way you are when you dance. You’re a totally different person. You were born to do this. You just need to believe a little, that’s all. Don’t let all those hours practicing go to waste. All those cuts and bruises, don’t waste all that effort,” Himchan placed his hands on either side of the armrest of the seat I was in as he leaned forward. His nose was only inches from mine as he said, “Even if you mess up now, it won’t matter because you would have put your heart and soul into this. You always say dancing is your passion, well prove it. Show it off to the world.”

 “Okay,” I replied as he took a step away from me so I could take a good long look at myself. It was time for me to forget what I was. That shy boy who was afraid of everything was gone; it was time to become a man, ready to take over the world.

“Okay?” Himchan repeated as he pulled me onto my feet. He ushered me past a dozen people and just before he pushed me on stage he whispered into my ear, “Don’t tell me it’s okay. Go show it to the world. Go show everyone who is Moon Jongup.”

I stood on stage as the entire hall filled with a deathly silence. The only thing I could see was a sea of beaming lights welcoming me as the music began to play. It was time to prove to everyone what I was made of. 

A/N: The next pairing will be BangHim :)