A/N: And at last the MV is out! :) I hope you guys liked both the song and the MV, because I really did! Delicious is really a song that grows on you, and I love how they used two narrators for it. Thanks to translations of ToHeart interviews/talks, I've gotten a bit more background information that I hope I can utilize effectively in the future, haha. As always, the main pairing is WooKey (or is it WoohKey now lol? Thanks to that record in the beginning of the MV). I apologize in advance if there are any inconsistencies, and I hope you enjoy the read!

Drabble # 5: Dream

It’s the night before their showcase. Woohyun is in bed, but he can’t seem to sleep, nerves getting the better of him. Or is it excitement? At this point, he can’t really tell one from the other. All he knows is if he keeps it up, he’ll end up with bags under his eyes and increase the likelihood of messing up during the performance. He doesn’t think Kibum will forgive him so easily for that, so he closes his eyes again, determined to drift off to sleep.

His phone buzzes beside him, signalling a new message. Unable to help himself, he blinks and reaches for it, squinting at the brightness of the screen. It appears he’s back in SHINee’s dorm and the concert is over. Woohyun had attended the first day himself, shamelessly waving an Infinite lightstick in a crowd of SHINee fans; it’s exciting and hilarious and crazy in the way only SHINee can be. He congratulates his best friend on a successful end to the Seoul concert. It’s a pity he wasn’t able to go watch the second day, and he tells Kibum as much.

The managers wouldn’t let me even though I begged so much and even did aegyo, he sends, not forgetting to tag on a crying emoticon. He can imagine Kibum laughing at his idiocy and berating him for even think about it when he’s busy enough as is, and the reprimand comes just as expected, along with a jab at his supposed specialty.

He’s still reading and smiling at Kibum’s responses when a new message arrives. Can I call? He texts back Sure, why not without much thought, and right away the phone rings.

“It’s me,” Kibum announces, voice husky and tired. Woohyun hears him breathe out a long sigh. “I can’t sleep.”

“Me neither,” he confesses. “We’re probably—“

“Just too nervous,” Kibum finishes for him, and they both laugh. Although he’s suspected his partner feels just as anxious as he does about their official debut, if not more, he’s somewhat relieved to hear him say it out loud. Kibum’s been nothing short of admirable this entire time, preparing for a debut in between all his individual schedules. Woohyun can already feel the exhaustion piling on, and he doesn’t have nearly as much on his plate as Kibum does.

Today must have been especially stressful for him, knowing that he doesn’t even get any down time before he has to promote ToHeart. “We’ll be fine though,” he reassures Kibum, “We’ve gotten this far. “ It took much longer than they had planned, and snowballed into something beyond their control due to their respective groups’ popularity. It wasn’t originally supposed to be like this; he would’ve settled for a single, even, if it meant the chance to work with Kibum, but despite the setbacks and the fear of critical public opinion, he’s never spent a happier time in the recording studios and MV sets, right next to Kibum like he’s always wanted to be.

“That’s right,” the younger man murmurs thoughtfully. “We finally made it.”

For a while there is nothing but silence between them. Sunggyu-hyung comes in, takes one look at him basically just breathing into the receiver, smirks and goes back out, not bothering to disguise his loud guffaws. Woohyun considers yelling that he can hear them gossiping about his questionable phone habits (Sungyeol is going to pay for even mentioning him and phone in the same sentence), but it’s too much trouble and he doesn’t want to startle Kibum.

He’s already half-asleep, lulled into that state between wakefulness and slumber by the quiet sound of breathing, when the SHINee member speaks again. “My Hyun,” he starts, and it jolts him awake because this is the only time Kibum’s ever called him that without resorting to using strange voices, “I don’t think your fans like me very much.”

Woohyun lets out a little chuckle, not believing he’s heard right. “Why wouldn’t they like you?” He asks. “How could they not like my Bum?” He says it affectionately, a wild thumping in his heart and his cheeks heating up. Kibum doesn’t know how many times he’s practiced saying that, hoping that one day he would be brave enough to say it without making a mockery of the endearment.

“Because I’m not Sunggyu-hyung,” Kibum states it matter-of-factly, “because I don’t sing as well as you do, because I’m part of SM Entertainment, who took over Woollim Entertainment. It’s not like I’m in charge of anything in SHINee, they say, except maybe looking fabulous.” Every word he says feels like a slap to Woohyun’s face. “I don’t think fans of an idol group need much reason to hate another one.” His voice breaks at the last line, giving way to tears borne of frustration and fatigue, and Woohyun closes his eyes. This must be his punishment, he thinks bitterly, for developing that disgustingly cheesy personality as a member of Infinite and elevating his fans to the status of ‘girlfriends’.

He wishes he were next to Kibum now, fingers intertwined and knees touching, his physical presence warding off the insecurities the other man has carried for so long. He wants to soothe away the deep-seated hurt that comes from being handed the short end of the stick, having to hide away his passions because someone else had gotten that role first. There is only so much words can do. But he will try, anyway, because it is the only thing he has.

“You don’t have to be anyone else,” he whispers fiercely back, “You just have to be yourself, the Key that bewitches everyone on-stage, no matter if it’s SHINee or ToHeart. I don’t want you to be anyone else.”

Kibum sniffles, and he feels helpless. “Not even Sunggyu-hyung?” Most fans had anticipated him and Sunggyu-hyung forming a sub-unit, Infinite V, and he is aware that many of them like pairing him off with the Infinite leader. Given that, he should have known that a bolt-out-of-the-blue collaboration such as his and Kibum’s would not be warmly welcomed. He’s entertained the idea of forming a duet with the lead vocalist, of course, but it’s never been consistently on his mind. He’s never longed for it the way he has with Kibum, listening to SHINee’s tracks and getting lost in daydreams of how the two of them would sound together.

“Not even him,” he answers with certainty. And because he can’t stand it when Kibum cries, he sings, “Even if you leave me like this, you can’t escape me, ‘cause you’re my destiny♪” Kibum’s sniffles quickly transform into full-blown giggles, and Woohyun joins him, pointedly ignoring Sunggyu-hyung, who has again chosen the best time to poke his head in the door.

When Kibum finally calms down, he mutters, “God, you’re hopeless,” but Woohyun knows he doesn’t really mean it.

“Hey Kibum.”

 “What?” The SHINee member’s voice is equal parts fondness and exasperation. “If you try singing another line from Destiny I’m hanging up.”

He smirks. Kibum’s just begging for it. “No way, no waayyy~♪”

“Nam Woohyun!”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” He clears his throat, strangely nervous. “Just… you know I’ll be there right beside you, no matter what.” It won’t be the first or the last time this will happen. No matter how much of a front Kibum puts up, it’s only a matter of time before it crumbles to pieces again from overwork and too little rest.

His best friend cackles. “Hey, it should be me telling you that, right?” Woohyun can’t help the smile that covers his face. “Anyway, we need to go to sleep. Big day tomorrow.” It’s just like Kibum to shift moods so quickly. He stares at the wall clock in disbelief. Nearly midnight? Just what time had Kibum called?

 Woohyun holds back a sigh. The two of them usually message each other, so phone calls haven’t been as frequent as he would have liked. Reluctantly, he says, “Good night, Kibum. ToHeart fighting! I love you!”

“Good night, Woohyun. ToHeart fighting!” In a smaller, quieter voice, he says “I love you too” right before he hangs up. They always say this to each other, but for some reason the words strike him particularly hard tonight. The chaos running rampant in his head subsides, replaced by the deafening sound of his own racing heartbeat, and he’s reminded for whom ToHeart was formed in the first place. Not for the fans, not for their companies.

This dream is all theirs.