~Hyukjae~

I felt a hand land on my shoulder as I stood at the usual spot where I would wait for Heechul to come. I turned around, already knowing who it was, and my guess was right.

Donghae looked at me with his chocolate brown eyes. His thin lips opened to ask if I had any time to work on the script, which we had been given 2 weeks to work on until we had to perform it in front of the whole class.

“Maybe.” I said partially to leave him feeling frustrated of not receiving a definite answer. However the true reason was because I had begun working at my dad’s company since the first day of school. For a week now, I’ve been filling out countless paper work, attending boring meetings, and helping rookie trainees. All that while managing to squeeze in some of my own time for school and dance. It was exhausting, but it’s not like I could fight my parents. They’ve given me everything I’ve ever wanted so it was only right that I returned it by being a proper heir and learn to take responsibility. Although I wish I could’ve started with a lighter load of work. My magnificent youthful skin was withering away slowly like a flower petal being pluck one at a time until nothing but the stem remained. The horrid thought gave me chills.

I watched as a familiar car pulled up in front of me. I opened the passenger door and asked Heechul if it was alright for Donghae to come over.

“Sure, but you’ll have 2 hours until your schedule starts. Tonight is a late night one, so get some rest while you’re at it.”

I nodded and Donghae sat in the back seat, next to a window. I accompanied him by sitting at the opposite side. I yawned a few times and felt myself slowly dozing off. My eyes suddenly sprung back open when I heard Heechul starting to converse with Donghae.

“Your parents are fine with this, I presume?” Heechul asked, driving smoothly.

“They won’t mind.” Donghae replied, not turning his eyes away from the window.

“Are you sure? Maybe you should call them just in case they get worried.” Heechul said in his voice he only used with guests; formal and authoritative.

“It’s okay, they won’t mind.” Donghae assured. There was this emptiness I heard in his voice. I turned my head to look at him, but his gaze remained outside the window.

“So, are you looking to join any entertainment companies?” Heechul asked, guiding the conversation into a different direction.

“I have a few in mind.” Donghae said, this time with a little more interest. He started to name some big companies that trained some of the greatest stars: Ruby Entertainment, Gold Entertainment, and Pearl Entertainment.

“How about Sapphire Entertainment?” Heechul interrupted.

“I’ve thought about it.” Donghae said. He spoke carefully knowing we were connected to Sapphire.

"What do you plan to debut as? A singer, comedian, MC-"

"Actor."

"So you like acting?"

"I love acting."

For the rest of the drive, Heechul and Donghae chit chatted back and forth, getting along swimmingly. I couldn’t even tell if they were talking about the company, the school, or if it I was being insulted by either one of them, my mind just screamed sleep and my body was practically already paralyzed. It was a twenty minute drive, but it only felt like a second.

“Wake up.” Donghae said, hitting me on the arm. He grabbed his backpack and opened the door to his side. Heechul came around and opened the door for me. I sluggishly exited, barely lifting both my feet, accidentally forgetting my backpack. Heechul seemed to have noticed my lack of awareness because he grabbed the hem of him blazer to get my attention.

“Should I cancel your schedule for today? I could always tell your Appa that you have too much school work.”

I snapped back to reality and quickly snatched my backpack out of the car. “No, no – I’m fine.” I tried playing it off, but Heechul threw me an uncertain look. I ignored it and shuffled my feet towards Donghae. As I open the door, I saw him gape when he walked in.

“Wow, the architecture is amazing…” He remarked.

“You like it? This house was designed by an architect named Zhou Mi.”

“Zhou Mi!?! The same famous architect that designed-”

“Sapphire Entertainment? Yup, that’s him.”

“Wooooow…” Donghae took a moment to analyze the structure of the ceiling and walls. He paid extra close attention to the paintings and décor, and I blushed a bit when he stumbled upon baby pictures of me that my parents had placed all around the TV and fire place. I couldn’t help but look at his eyes. There were small glimmering reflections on his irises and a soft smile on his lips.

“I never knew you liked architecture.” I said unconsciously, drowning myself in his charming, brown orbs.

“I-I don’t really know anything about it, but I get these feelings sometimes when I walk into places.” His diffident expression said it all. How he didn’t share much about himself. Curious, I wanted to know more about him.

“What kind of feeling did you get from SM?”

“The outside obviously looks like an inescapable prison,” He laughed, “but not many can just walk in and not feel intimidated by competition, you know?”  

“What kind of feeling does my living room give off then?”

“Fancy, high class…”

“Of course.” I said. I guess I should’ve expected that.

“But it’s unusually cozy and decorated with your face all over.” He pointed out several of my baby pictures my parents liked to fond over. He looked intently at each photo one after another. “There’s so many pictures of you it’s not even funny.”

“You should see my room.” I said.

He looked horrified. “Is it worse?”

“Oh no,” I waved my hands. “I mean there are no photos of me in there.” Donghae’s face was an admixture of relief and surprise. I rolled my eyes. “Hey, even I need a break from my face somewhere in this house.”

“I find that hard to believe.” He scoffed. Donghae walked over to the couches and picked up a pillow, observing the intricate designs.

“My Omma made those pillows to match the couches.”

His mouth moved into a slanted grin. “They’re beautiful.”

I stopped dead. It was the closes he ever got to smiling around me. And the nicest thing he’s said indirectly. I asked him to have a seat and I went to the kitchen to serve him a few drinks – juice of course. When I returned to the great room he held the same pillow he picked up in his arms, hugging it. I couldn’t help but think how adorably unexpected it was.

That evening, I remember we talked about our interests, our classmates, celebrities, and our dreams. Not a single word was mentioned about the script. Heechul drove Donghae back to SM, and I went to work. Slowly, I started to grow conscious of the suffocating ache in my chest and the abnormal breathing I was struggling to control. I felt like I wasn’t getting enough air and it hurt to take deep breathes without the effect of being lightheaded. My eyes blurred more and more as the hours passed. I immediately stood up and left my office with piles of unfinished work to be done and went outside. The cold air spiked my alertness awake and I stayed there, jacketless, to the point I became numb. Looking up towards the night sky, I suddenly missed the stars.  

Donghae and Hyukjae are slowly getting along and the acting yet awaits! They both struggle in their own individual way even if their lives are different. It goes to show how similar their pain is. Thank you~