The First Glimpse
The Days of Caffeine and Candy Kisses
“There, see Seobie? You’re getting much better,” Kikwang clapped his friend on the back, then started laughing as the friendly clap was met with a few slaps on his shoulders and arms.
“What do you mean ‘getting better?’ Huh?” Frowning, Yoseob gave him one good shove before he settled down to a pout. “I’ve got better range than you do in singing, and I pick up choreography as quickly as you do!”
Kikwang rolled his eyes. “It was a joke. What’s up with you these days?”
Yoseob seemed to ponder that for a moment before the pout slipped away from his features and he sighed. Normally he was a very energetic person, happy to play with his friends and eager to learn everything he could about singing and dancing. Lately, though…
“I don’t know. I think I’m just tired,” He muttered as he sank down against the wall. They’d spent two hours practicing their dancing, and before that each had had a vocal lesson. He did fairly well dancing, but his voice wasn’t at its best. He’d just gotten over a cold and it kept trying to give out on him halfway through a verse.
“You had a cold, Seobie. Of course you’re still tired.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Yoseob insisted quietly. He leaned his head back against the wall and rested his elbows on his knees, eyes closed against an impending headache.
Kikwang frowned. It wasn’t strange for his friend to have moments of seriousness, but Yoseob was giving off an air of defeat. He didn’t like it, especially not with how hard they worked. They’d been trainees for some time now, admittedly each under a different company at one point, but now they were together under the same one. He could remember several years ago during an afternoon spent at Yoseob’s family’s restaurant. The adorable boy had hugged him after they’d helped serve food to a rather large group of people, laughing at his friend’s exhaustion....
“Just think, Kiki! Someday we’ll be able to make it so our families work by choice, not because they have to! We’ll be on stage singing and dancing, with fans screaming our names! It’ll be a blast!”
It was something he’d heard at least a thousand times from Yoseob over the years. The hyperactive boy seemed to have an endless amount of faith in their abilities, soaking new experiences up like a sponge. More often than not, it had been Kikwang in this position and Yoseob was the one pushing him to go farther, not to give up, giving him courage and determination when he started to get frustrated.
Now here they were, Yoseob looking exhausted and dejected. For once, Kikwang was the one in a position to influence his friend to keep working, and he couldn’t seem to figure out how to erase that despairing frown. “Seobie..”
“Let’s just go get some dinner, okay?” Sighing, Yoseob got to his feet and brushed off his clothes, trying to ignore the tired itch in his eyes.
Kikwang stood as well and looked him over thoughtfully, hesitating. Finally he nodded and walked over to their backpacks and jackets. “And caffeine. You’re going to need it if we’re going to study tonight, too.”
Yoseob chuckled, the sound hoarse from the lingering effects of his cold. “Yeah. Caffeine…”
---
“Bye, Doojoon-ah!”
Waving at the three trainees he’d been practicing with, Doojoon smiled and turned to leave. Junhyung was waiting for him near the front doors, leaning casually against the wall as he wrote something down in a notebook. Doojoon hadn’t known the other boy for a very long time, only a couple of months, really, but he knew that notebook went everywhere with Junhyung.
When he heard Doojoon coming, the shorter teen looked up and smiled briefly in welcome, but didn’t stop scribbling. “Just a second.”
Doojoon waited, easing the second strap of his backpack over his left shoulder before tucking both hands into the pockets of his jacket. He knew better than to try talking until the other was finished writing; anything he said would go unanswered anyway.
Soft laughter reached his ears, gradually growing louder. He maintained only a mild interest until the source of the noise rounded a corner and showed two trainees he’d seen a lot in the few months he’d been with the company. He couldn’t remember their names, but they always came in around the same time as he and Junhyung did every day. More often than not, they didn’t leave at the same time, so this was the first time he’d seen them in the evening.
“I am not getting you any candy, so stop pouting!” The shorter boy laughed, one arm slung around his friend’s shoulders as they made their way closer to Junhyung and Doojoon.
The taller boy's pouting only worsened, and he wrapped his arms around the other’s waist with a little hop in his step. “Kiki, just one er won’t hurt! Please?”
“No!” Laughing, ‘Kiki’ shook his head and tried to extricate himself from the strong hug. His attempts were unsuccessful, and the two boys stumbled a little. “Yah, Seobie let go!”
‘Seobie’ shook his head vigorously and continued hugging him as they passed where Doojoon stood. His friend managed to give Junhyung an awkward wave, still laughing. “Bye Junhyung. See you tomorrow.”
“Mm. See you.” Junhyung’s response was as noncommittal as ever, but apparently it was enough to please Kikwang, since the boy smiled before his attention was drawn back to his friend as they stumbled out the doors. He turned his attention onto Doojoon and watched him stare after the two. They'd both come across Kikwang and Yoseob numerous times before, but for some reason he got the feeling it was the first time his friend was really paying attention.
Doojoon frowned as the laughter faded, the doors effectively closing out the noise. Turning to Junhyung, he was met with the usual steady gaze. “Who were those guys?”
“Them?” Junhyung blinked and glanced toward the closed doors. “Lee Kikwang and Yang Yoseob.”
Caffeine & Candy Kisses is essentially the prequel to WIB, but about Dooseob instead of Junseung. I've gotten a lot of questions about that..
Comments