27 September 2013

“You guys…can’t be serious.”

Eunhyuk fluffed his black afro wig. “What do you mean? We’ve been preparing for this,” he frowned, taxi-yellow suit shining brighter than the sun on that late September afternoon. Beside him, Donghae in a red afro was equally perplexed, ketchup colored suit gleaming and freshly ironed.

“Yeah, it’s totally killer,” he nodded enthusiastically.

The registration coordinator shook his head, “You realize there’s an entrance fee, right? College kids shouldn’t waste their money like this.”

“They aren’t wasting their money,” Kibum spoke up, “They’ve been diligently practicing everyday for this competition.”

“Well, I’m just saying that what they’re planning isn’t going to be very popular,” he muttered, shoving contestant numbers at Eunhyuk and Donghae. “They’re wasting their time.” He looked past them to the group waiting to register. “Next!”

Ryeowook was saving seats in the bleachers, waving at them as they approached with their contestant numbers proudly pinned to their lapels. “Awesome, when are you guys performing?” he asked as the trio sat down.

“Not for a little while. We’re kind of near the end,” Eunhyuk tapped the badge on his jacket, “I haven’t seen anyone with a higher number yet, so I’m guessing we’re close to last.” He glanced at Donghae who was talking to Kibum about something or other, eyes shining with excitement. Kibum on the other hand was watching him with a quiet sort of affection, nodding along and grinning here and there.

Eunhyuk nudged Ryeowook who had also noticed the intimate pair. Giggling, he rolled his eyes. “They’re so gonna get together,” he whispered.

“It’s just a matter of time,” Eunhyuk agreed, nodding.

“Did you invite any of your friends to come watch?” Ryeowook inquired, cocking his head.

“If you’re talking about Kyuhyun, he’s not coming,” he deadpanned. The younger male flushed bright red and looked down. Eunhyuk sighed, poking Ryeowook’s knee. “I know you’re super thankful for his help and all, but maybe you shouldn’t think about him so much.”

“If it was that easy, I would,” he dropped his head, looking agitated and hopelessly lost. “I can’t stop hearing it. I can’t resist the song. It plays like a broken record. It takes me places I can’t even describe. Kyuhyun gave me something that made that place possible. Without his help, I wouldn’t have anything like it…he’s an irreplaceable existence in my favorite song.”

“It sounds like you have a crush on him,” Eunhyuk pointed out.

Ryeowook shook his head in disagreement. “That’s not it. It’s not like I even know what he looks like, let alone what his personality is like. He’s part of my musical world.”

“He’s not as good as you think he is.”

“He’s perfect when it comes to music. I don’t care what he’s like as a person. The Kyuhyun who completed my song is the only one I’m concerned with.”

Eunhyuk thought for a moment. “Then…does that mean you don’t care about meeting him again?”

“Well, I would like to meet him again. We’re very compatible when it comes to music. But if you’re talking about dating and stuff, I don’t think I would want that.” Ryeowook shrugged, “You’ve told me a few stories about him and I don’t think he’s the one I’m looking for. It doesn’t seem likely.”

The older boy leaned back, tilting his head curiously. “What do you mean?” Eunhyuk removed his wig, feeling sweat beginning to form on the back of his neck and along his ears. “Is there someone you’re waiting for?” he asked casually, smiling almost teasingly.

“Actually, yes,” Ryeowook laughed, “It’s someone more important than the universe. I don’t know who it is yet, but I don’t want anyone else but that one person. I’ll wait for as long as it takes for us to meet. Whoever it is will be perfect in every way.”

“That’s very idealistic of you,” he remarked, “are you sure you can handle that sort of commitment?”

He knew it was a crazy concept and many people would judge him for it, but he couldn’t love anyone else. No one else made his heart race. No one else made sense and he would rather be alone than be with the wrong person. The only problem was figuring out who the right person was. “Yeah, I’m positive,” Ryeowook nodded firmly, smiling.

His pocket vibrated and he looked down. Pulling out the device, Ryeowook tapped the screen, seeing a new message from his older brother. Youngwoon had been pretty good about giving him space, only texting him once every week or so.

Youngwoon: Hey, I’m gonna come see you during your homecoming week. Siblings and stuff come then, right?

Ryeowook: Yeah! It’s October 5-7. We can have fun!

Youngwoon: Do you need anything?

Ryeowook: No, I think I’m okay. Just food!

Youngwoon: Alright. By the way, I’m also bringing my friend, Leeteuk. You remember him right? He’s just gotten out of the army and he said he wanted to see you.

Ryeowook: Teuk-hyung?? Waaah! That’s so exciting! Okay, I can’t wait to see you two! Is your fiancée not coming?

Youngwoon: She’s working. I’ll see you soon then, kiddo.

“Someone exciting?” Kibum bumped his roommate’s shoulder, smiling.

“My brother and his friend are coming to see me for homecoming week,” Ryeowook responded, tucking his phone away, “That’s pretty exciting.”

“You’re close to your sibling?” he grinned.

“Yeah, he’s my idol. He’s also the family jewel. Everyone has high hopes for him, but if anyone is practically perfect, it’s definitely my brother.” The male was laughing, eyes shining warmly.

Kibum nodded faintly. “I got you. He must be really amazing for you to talk about him like that.”

***

Kyuhyun fidgeted in his seat, phone in hand. He sat outside of the SME University President’s office, waiting to go in for the meeting he had been informed about the day prior. It had been completely unexpected and at first, Kyuhyun had nearly blown it off as another mass email about some important academic event or otherwise. They usually were those types of messages, to be fair.

The last thing he had expected was to read a personal message from the President, telling him to come see him that afternoon. Kyuhyun had already dug through the recesses of his brain, searching for a reason that this man would want to see him. Had he done anything wrong? As far as he knew, he was a perfectly decent law student and he had yet to skip a significant amount of classes. Even then, was it worth bringing him to someone as busy as the President?

He sighed, pushing his phone back into his pocket after silencing it. Tapping his foot, he leaned back and crossed his arms. There simply was no explanation.

His phone vibrated. Looking down, he found a message from Sungmin. His boyfriend hadn’t been to visit in a while since their schedules were so hectic, but apparently he was already on his way up to SME. Kyuhyun grinned, opening up a text message.

Kyuhyun: Hey, what time will you be here?

Sungmin: Around 2. I’ll be in your dorm room <3

Kyuhyun: <3

Well, there was something to look forward to. He could spend the whole weekend bumming around, eating, and cuddling with his favorite person. As much as he complained and thought about breaking up with the older man, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The doubt always lingered in his mind.

What if he couldn’t find someone better? What if he broke up with Sungmin, only to realize that no one else exists who could match him? Maybe Kyuhyun was being too rash. After all, he was still young. So maybe in the future there would be even less chances to find a suitable partner in life. Besides, how many people could actually be kinder and funnier and sweeter than his current lover? The possibility of Kyuhyun succeeding in his search was slim.

“Cho Kyuhyun?”

He stiffened, head whipping up. “Yes?”

The secretary smiled and nodded for him to come inside. “The President will see you now.”

Kyuhyun nearly rolled his eyes, fighting off the anxiety clouding his mind. It really was frustrating. He was mentally exhausted and physically shaky. Without thinking about it, his fingers continued to drum against his upper thigh, finding the rhythm of that song. He smiled slightly, shoulders relaxing minutely.

The second door inside the office opened to reveal an inner chamber. A single large window let in light behind the dark wood desk. Dark brown leather warmed under the sun’s rays, making the throne-like chair seem less intimidating. Seated on the rather expensive leather chair was the President, his smile careful and kind, despite the sharpness of his eyes.

“Good afternoon, Kyuhyun. Thanks for coming in,” the President nodded at him to sit down.

Leaning against the bookshelf was G-Dragon, his sunglasses pushed out of his face and his phone in hand. The man glanced up and grinned, waving slightly. “Hi.”

“Hello,” he bowed to both of them, voice cracking ever so softly. “Uhm, I’m sorry to get to the point, but what am I doing here?”

“Ah, yes, yes,” the President sat back down, nodding understandingly. “G-Dragon informed me that you helped Henry Lau with his recent demo. I listened to it and with G-Dragon’s recommendation, I would like to offer you a full scholarship into our music program and we plan on using your voice in the official version of Henry’s song. You will be paid for the contribution as well.”

Kyuhyun pulled his jaw up, swallowing thickly. “Could…could you repeat that?” He his lips, palms sweating as he tried to digest the information. No way. There was no way. How did something like this happen? The whole recording was just for fun. He hadn’t even tried very hard. Besides, Henry had promised that it wasn’t going to be used for anything official, right? Or maybe he remembered that wrong. Kyuhyun curled and uncurled his hands, attempting to scrub the sweat forming off of his skin.

“—so what do you think?”

He blinked. . He hadn’t been listening. Sitting up straight, Kyuhyun turned from the President to G-Dragon who was watching him coolly, the calm depths of his eyes unnerving – almost challenging. It was as if he was daring Kyuhyun to take the risk. He was asking him what the big deal was and why he couldn’t just take the path handed to him. There were barely any strings attached, so why hesitate? All G-Dragon wanted to do was give those talented ones an opportunity to succeed and fuel their passion.

Kyuhyun could practically hear his heart beating. Could they hear it? His heart beat faster at the thought and he internally cursed. “I…I’m a law major,” he finally said, rigid and awkward.

“Yes I know,” the President chuckled.

Kyuhyun flushed, clearing his throat. “I mean, I’m thankful but…”

“If you’re worried about succeeding,” G-Dragon cut in softly, arms crossed slackly over his chest, “I know you’ll succeed because I’m the one training you. There’s no way for you to fail.” He spoke so easily, sounding perfectly confident as if the mere notion of Kyuhyun failing was absolutely silly.

He sighed under his breath. “But it’s not stable, is it? I can’t rely on it my entire life.”

“Ballad singers can last a very long time,” the musician murmured, smiling without a hint of nervousness, “And you’ll of course be trained in other aspects of the entertainment business, such as variety shows. That’s easy enough, isn’t it? You would have a good personality for it.”

Kyuhyun almost let himself get excited, but he quickly extinguished that naïve hope. Shaking his head, he laughed uncomfortably, “Sorry, I just don’t know how well you know me.”

“I’ve never been wrong about talent,” G-Dragon returned, nodding to the President, “and he trusts me. So why not give me a shot, Kyuhyun? Henry believes in me, too.”

He was quiet, thinking about his parents and their reaction. Would it really go well? How would they respond to this news? Then again, they always knew he loved to sing, so would it really be a shock? Kyuhyun internally scoffed. No. His parents already had a very clear picture of his personality.

“Kyuhyun, you don’t have to answer right now,” the President suddenly spoke. He was watching the young man closely, fingers clasped in front of him on the desk. “There’s still plenty of time until you have to decide on your major. The door is open. However, the most important thing right now is that we have you sign this form.” He pushed a piece of paper toward Kyuhyun. “It’s asking permission to use your voice in Henry’s song.”

“Oh,” he nodded slowly, dazed. Picking up a pen sitting in a container of identical writing utensils, he pressed the tip down, signing his name. Compared to changing his entire life in the blink of an eye, giving his voice away was barely anything.

Smiling again, the President bowed slightly to the boy. “Whenever you make up your mind, feel free to come by or tell G-Dragon. Although I would like to say there is no pressure on you, I cannot say so with a clear conscience. Your talent would be wasted if you stayed with law. However, that is my opinion, so please think seriously about this offer and make a proper decision.”

“I will,” Kyuhyun nodded his head softly, fiddling with his fingers. “Thank you for the opportunity as well. I promise to give it careful consideration and get you an answer by the end of the week.”

“Understood,” G-Dragon murmured, dark eyes flickering before disappearing behind large sunglasses. He pushed off from the bookshelf, headed to the door. “I have to get to a meeting, but I’ll see you soon.” Bowing once more, he left the office.

Not long after, Kyuhyun followed suit, stumbling slightly as he tried to understand what was going on. There were plenty of ways he imagined his first semester of college going. This was not one of them. He could call up Henry and yell at him, but what good would that do? The kid was probably already drowning in stress. He could call Eunhyuk, but he already knew that his friend was at a dance competition all day. They could talk tomorrow or something.

The only one left was currently headed toward his dorm room.

***

Ryeowook cheered loudly from the audience as Eunhyuk and Donghae took the stage. He glanced at Kibum to see his roommate chatting with a group of people sitting beside them. Curious, Ryeowook leaned over, catching his roommate’s attention.

“Ah, sorry, have they started?” Kibum asked, adjusting in his seat to face the makeshift stage.

“Are you gonna introduce us?” one young man prompted, nudging Kibum. The latter blinked, looking back and forth between Ryeowook and the crowd.

“Oh, well after the performance,” he offered, grinning as the music blared through the speakers. The audience members and judges seemed perplexed for a moment as Donghae took center stage in that bright red suit, dark eyes gleaming under the sunlight. Kibum clapped his hands, silently cheering for the handsome older man.

The audience immediately caught onto the rhythm, cheering and laughing until they were keeling over. Ryeowook cupped his mouth, fanchanting like any respectable K-Pop fan. He was laughing hysterically between shouts, checking to see if Kibum was snapping pictures – he was, of course.

“They’re hilarious!” one of the boys exclaimed, slapping Kibum on the back. “Oh my god, I don’t know how we’re going to compete with that.” Ryeowook grinned at that.

Slowly but surely, everyone was screaming those beautiful words “Oppa, Oppa” by the end of the performance, every eye in the vicinity focused on them. To think for even a moment that they would fail was horrible in itself. A song like that was meant for stardom and teasing…mostly teasing though.

Cheers echoed everywhere as Donghae and Eunhyuk waved and bowed, picking up their stuff to move off the stage. They were still wearing their afros by the time they got back to the stands, sunglasses gleaming. Ryeowook stifled another laugh, jumping up to hug them. “That was great! I can’t even tell you!” he cried, hearing their warm voices near his ears as he continued rambling.

“Hey, you guys were unbelievable!” Eunhyuk looked up, letting go of Ryeowook to high-five the strangers Kibum had been talking to. Donghae joined in and Ryeowook just smiled, listening to the praise being thrown at his friends.

One of them glanced at Ryeowook, his round dark eyes warm as he offered his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. You’re Kibum’s friend right?” The young man had his black hair swept up from a sweet face. He stood a head taller than Ryeowook, yet he still appeared to be rather bashful.

“Yeah,” he nodded, grinning wider, “I’m his roommate. My name is Ryeowook. Who are you?” He took the hand, surprised at the comfortable grip. Although there was such a size difference, it didn’t seem to matter.

“Hyungsik,” the much taller male responded, smiling. “You go to St. Angela’s right?”

“Ah, you knew?” Ryeowook laughed. “Do you?”

“Yeah, I’m a freshman too. I’ve seen you going to class before,” he admitted.

“I’m surprised,” he blinked, “I should be able to remember someone so tall and handsome.” Ryeowook stared up at him, a twinkle of teasing there.

Hyungsik covered his face faintly, embarrassment riddling his features. He opened his mouth to say more, but then one of his friends clapped him on the back. “How long are you gonna hold his hand?” the friend muttered near his ear, smirking.

Releasing Ryeowook immediately, Hyungsik shoved his snickering companion. “Shut up,” he grumbled, cheeks pink. Glancing back at the slightly confused Ryeowook, he smiled, “It was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah! We’ll talk more next time,” he nodded, taking Hyungsik’s hand again, squeezing it encouragingly, “Good luck!” Ryeowook let him go and headed back to the stands, settling down beside Kibum who had his arm around Donghae, head bent over secretively as he chatted with the other.

Eunhyuk sat down in front of Ryeowook, leaning back on the latter’s legs. He looked up at the younger and pointed toward the group of males they had just been talking to. “These guys are pretty awesome from what I’ve heard. They’re very popular around here.”  

“They go to our school?”

“Yeah they do. They’re actually planning on auditioning for a company soon, I heard.”

Ryeowook’s eyes followed Hyungsik, a small smile playing on his lips. “He’s cute,” he remarked off-handedly, nodding toward the person he was watching.

Eunhyuk grinned. “As long as you’re crushing on someone who isn’t Kyuhyun, I’m all for it.” That earned him a hard smack.