-That afternoon-

Distance between Myungsoo and Hoya: 25 feet

“Your skin is really smooth,” the stylist commented as she finished working on Myungsoo’s face. “Even among celebrities, there aren’t many with such a good complexion.”

Sungjong snickered from the seat next to Myungsoo and turned to his own stylist. “Noona, make sure that it really looks like I wear no make-up!”

Distance between Myungsoo and Hoya: 20 feet

“Of course, of course,” she hushed him. “Are you sure you don’t want an eye-liner? It would make your eyes stand out a lot more.”

“But then it wouldn’t be a bare face!” Sungjong shook his head. “I’m going for all-natural charm today.”

As if anyone believed that celebrities wear no make-up on TV anyway, Myungsoo thought to himself. He nervously looked in the mirror, making sure that his face was as flawless as it could get. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a masculine figure nearing.

Distance between Myungsoo and Hoya: 15 feet

“I still think we should go for a fierce, y look,” Sungjong’s stylist pursed her lips. “It would make you stand out on camera much better.”

“You think so?” Sungjong tilted his head sideways. “Hmm, maybe you’re right. Everyone will be trying to look natural, right?”

Distance between Myungsoo and Hoya: 10 feet

Myungsoo’s hands started to sweat. He could see the faint blush spreading on his face in his reflection, despite his best efforts to think of anything else but the man approaching his position.

“Exactly,” Sungjong’s stylist nodded. “You’ll catch the cameramen’s attention, and that means more screen time.”

Distance between Myungsoo and Hoya: 5 feet

 Myungsoo could feel his heart pounding. Trying to calm down, he shut his eyes close. Even though his body resisted, he forced himself to stay in that position.

“Alright, then make me look really fierce!” he could hear Sungjong saying with strong determination. “Do we have that eye-liner I used for Music Core performance?”

“Yeah, I have it somewhere,” the stylist said.

Myungsoo couldn’t fight back his urges anymore, and he opened his eyes.

Distance between Myungsoo and Hoya: 0 feet

Hoya collapsed onto the chair right next to Myungsoo’s. Their arms were almost touching, and Myungsoo could literally feel the heat radiating from the idol. He couldn’t resist but stare at Hoya’s delicate face. Pictures and videos did the boy no justice. Up close, he looked so much more handsome and masculine. Myungsoo’s hand twitched and almost reached for Hoya’s face, but luckily, Myungsoo managed to stop it midair.

“You’re trying really hard today,” Hoya said to Sungjong.

“My fans expect at least this much of me,” Sungjong replied monotonously.

“As if you have any fans,” Hoya sneered at the younger.

“You of all people shouldn’t be talking about fans,” Sungjong retorted. It seemed like the two had no problem battling it out in front of the stylists and Myungsoo.

“Shut up,” Hoya growled. “Go eat some lemon candy.”

“You mad?” Sungjong snickered.

“Hey, you two, stop fighting,” Dongwoo yelled as he entered the room. “Can’t you at least pretend to get along in public?”

“He’s the one who started, hyung,” Sungjong pouted.

Myungsoo would have hit him in the face if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was supposed to be Sungjong’s best buddy. Instead, he glanced back in Hoya’s direction. Just one quick glance at the idol’s perfect features made all of his anger toward Sungjong disappear—only to be replaced by urges of ual nature.

Woohyun’s head appeared in the door frame. “The shoot starts in five minutes. Seriously, Sungjong-ah, hurry up with that make-up.”

“OK, forget it,” Sungjong rolled his eyes. “I’ll just go like this. You, follow me.”

Myungsoo didn’t want to leave Hoya behind. He wished he could just stay there, in the changing room, staring at Hoya for the rest of the filming. But he had no choice. As he stood up, his hand accidentally brushed against Hoya’s, and a strong jolt rushed through his body.

“What’s up with the stupid grin on your face?” Sungjong asked grumpily as they exited the room. “Anyway, don’t make up weird stuff. I’ll do the talking. You just… sit there. Don’t say anything unless you really have to. And if you have to talk, keep it short. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Myungsoo replied absentmindedly. He was still trying to recover from that short moment when his skin touched Hoya’s. Every time he replayed that precious moment in his mind, butterflies would swarm in his stomach, and a rather stupid grin would creep onto his face.

The shoot didn’t help Myungsoo much. Because Hoya was sitting right next to the MC, Myungsoo could stare at his idol without raising any suspicion from the others. No one paid him much attention as they all wanted to say as much as they could in front of the cameras. From time to time, the MC would ask Myungsoo a question, and he kept his answers short. Not necessarily because of Sungjong, however; the less he spoke, the more time he could spend admiring Hoya.

He really envied the boy Hoya brought as his friend. They seemed so natural together; Myungsoo didn’t doubt that they were real-life friends. They talked and laughed, and Myungsoo wished so much he could be in the boy’s place. But for what it was worth, Hoya glanced in Myungsoo’s direction a couple of times as well. Maybe they could get to know each other better after the filming ended. Maybe Myungsoo could accidentally touch Hoya again.

“Myungsoo-shi,” the MC suddenly spoke to him.

“Yes?” Myungsoo blinked and averted his gaze from Hoya.

“Our female audience seems to really like you,” the MC said. “You look like you could very well be a celebrity. Are you perhaps a trainee?”

“Uh, no,” Myungsoo shook his head. “I’m just a regular student.”

The audience started oohing, and the MC continued. “Even though you’re friends with Sungjong, what do you think of Fedora as artists? Do you like their music? Regardless of your friendship with Sungjong, of course.”

Myungsoo’s eyes widened. If he played this right, he could get a chance to get closer to Hoya! “I’m actually a big fan of Fedora.”

“Really?” the MC smiled. “Then, who’s your favorite member? Excluding Sungjong, of course.”

“He’s not my favorite member,” Myungsoo blurted out. When he realized his mistake, he added. “I mean, I like him as a friend, but he’s not the reason I like Fedora.”

“Then, what is?” the MC asked with curiosity.

“I’m a big fan of Hoya-hyung,” Myungsoo tried really hard not to grin. “I just met him for the first time today in the changing room. I’m really impressed by his dancing skills.”

“Is that so?” the MC exclaimed. “Then, Hoya-shi, why don’t you show your dancing skills?”

“Right now?” Hoya frowned. “I would love to, but I injured my foot earlier today, so I can’t really dance.”

“What a shame,” the MC exhaled as the audience sighed in disappointment. “So Myungsoo-shi, what do you think of Hoya now that you’ve met him?”

“We haven’t really talked,” Myungsoo answered with a suppressed smile. “But from what I’ve seen so far today, he seems to be a really cool person.”

‘Please, MC-nim, get the clue,’ Myungsoo begged in his mind.

“Then, Hoya-shi, why don’t you give your fan a warm hug?” the MC suggested, and Myungsoo almost squealed out loud. His plan worked!

“Uh, sure, why not?” Hoya nodded and stood up.

‘Don’t stand up too soon,’ Myungsoo told himself. ‘You don’t want to look too eager in front of the camera. Just wait patiently…’

But his legs wouldn’t listen. He was up from his chair before Hoya even made his first step. His hands were sweating hard, and his heart was racing like never before.

“He’s blushing,” the MC commented with a chuckle. The audience laughed too, but no one seemed to find it disturbing. Yet.

It seemed to take forever for Hoya to finally reach Myungsoo’s position. Myungsoo looked into Hoya’s eyes, and he knew he was lost. He almost stopped breathing. Everything disappeared from Myungsoo’s sight, and at that moment, there was only Hoya in his eyes. The idol looked more angelic than ever before, with that almost unnoticeable half-smile on his face, awkwardly trying to figure out what the best approach was. And then, he lifted his hands and put them around Myungsoo’s neck, pulling the younger into a tight embrace.

Myungsoo was in heaven. His nose was filled with Hoya’s manly scent. Hoya’s arms were wrapped around him, and his arms were wrapped around the idol as well. He could feel Hoya’s firm chest pressed against his own, and the idol’s warm breath on his neck. At that moment, he could die without any regrets.

“There you go!” the MC’s voice woke Myungsoo from his trance. “Myungsoo-shi, are you happy?”

Of course he was. He grinned like a madman for the rest of the filming, and fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how he viewed it), the MC didn’t talk to him again. After another hour and half, the filming finally came to an end, and Myungsoo headed back to the changing room with the rest of Fedora and their friends.

“I’m so hungry,” Hoya exclaimed as he jumped on the couch in the corner of the room. “Why don’t we all go and get something to eat?”

“Good idea,” Woohyun nodded. “There’s this really good restaurant down the street, how about we head there?”

“Anything works for me right now, as long as it’s food,” Hoya smiled widely and started changing his clothes. Myungsoo found himself unable to avert his gaze. Hoya had shown his abs before, during the Idol Athletics Championship, but this was the first time Myungsoo saw him completely shirtless. He gulped almost too loudly as his eyes landed on the idol’s chest… and he also noticed a somewhat weird-looking bruise below Hoya’s neck. It was purplish, almost in the shape of… no, that couldn’t be right. That just couldn’t be right. There was no way Hoya had a…

“Is that a hickey?” Dongwoo asked. “Can’t you guys control yourselves? What if fans saw it?”

“Sorry,” Hoya scratched his head with a smug smile. “You know, in the heat of the moment,…”

“I don’t want to hear any of that,” Sungjong shook his head violently.

“Hey,” Woohyun interrupted the conversation. “I’m making a reservation. How many seats do we need? Eight?”

“I-I don’t think I ca-can go,” Myungsoo stuttered, still in shock. “I just remembered I need to go somewhere. It-it was really nice to meet you guys. I’m off.”

And with that, he ran away.

However, as much as I hate to imagine it, I think that this is the reality of behind-the-scenes of K-Pop-land. Idols seem to be more open to coming out with their relationships nowadays, but there must be so much more that we have absolutely no idea of. It wouldn't be too surprising to me if all of my biases were dating right now...

It's quite late here and I'm not really in the mood to write a long A/N, so you won't find anything new in the link below. If I remember anything I wanted to add, I'll add it tommorow.

Teaser: In the next chapter, Myungsoo will have to cope with a broken heart. His sister's constant nagging doesn't help at all; but when another opportunity to get closer to Hoya arises, will Myungsoo be able to resist? Find out on April 12th (or 13th if I go party again -_-) in "Starstruck!"

Take care until then!

Karma~