for phoebe16;; (6539 words)

Myungsoo clutched his phone with both hands, his fingers already feeling sweaty as he stared at the screen.

His fingertip traced softly over the image of Sungyeol, his mouth forming a smile as he stared at the picture of his sunbae. How was it possible for one person to be so gorgeous? He had these beautiful brown eyes, the softest looking pink lips… he was truly something out of this world. Gorgeous didn’t seem good enough to describe him… Breathtaking? Angelic? Ethereal? He contemplated the best way to compliment his sunbae, sighing as he flicked through his slideshow of perfect pictures.

He was so caught up in his caressing of his phone screen, he accidentally swiped to low, activating the call option. He immediately panicked, staring at the screen in shock as the phone ringed. It wasn’t until he heard the soft Hello? that he ended the call abruptly, tossing his phone across the bed in a clear panic. He picked the nearest pillow up, placing it over his head as he screamed while rolling around on top of his bed. He had just called Lee Sungyeol, he had just called Lee Sungyeol, he had just! called!! Lee!!! Sungyeol!!!

“Any particular reason you’re trying to suffocate yourself with a pillow?” Myungsoo perked up at the voice of his manager, stopping his spazz attack mid roll. Dongwoo pulled the pillow away from Myungsoo’s face with a raised brow.

“I was just having fun hyung!” Myungsoo looked to his nightstand, the numbers on the clock indicating that it was still pretty early in the afternoon. “I thought the audition would take longer. Did you see anyone good?” Dongwoo exclusively managed Myungsoo, but since dancing was his passion before he went into this side of things, he was interested in representing a dancer as well. He had been doing auditions here and there when Myungsoo’s schedules were lighter, trying to find someone that was the right fit.

Dongwoo nodded, a curious smile coming over his face. “I finally found what I was looking for. He’s a hip hop dancer from Busan; good work ethic, I can just tell. There’s an intensity in the way he dances, but also a lot of technique. He’ll get bookings easy; he’s got the talent and he’s quite the looker.”

“Were you looking to manage a dancer or were you looking for a boyfriend, hyung?” Dongwoo promptly hit Myungsoo with the pillow, who only giggled in return. “It’s a valid question! Your eyes were all sparkly and you were all smiley when you talked about him! What’s his name anyway?”

Dongwoo got all dreamy eyed again. “His name is Hoya and I am allowed to be excited about this! It’s been awhile since a pretty boy asked me out on a date since I’ve been so busy dealing with you, so no judgments.”

“But hyung, if you are going to manage him that’s mixing business and pleasure, which is not a good idea! At least that’s what you told me when Woohyun asked me out when we were filming that high school drama together!” Myungsoo said indignantly.

“I told you that because Nam is a player, and you’re too sweet and easily taken advantage of.”

“Hey! I take offense to that! I am not someone who can be easily manipulated.” Myungsoo retorted with narrowed eyes.

“You know, that reminds me of this article I was reading the other day. Did you know that wine isn’t real alcohol? It doesn’t even get you intoxicated, it just makes you feel good. So you can drink as much as you want without ever getting drunk.” Dongwoo said matter of factly to Myungsoo’s surprise.

“Oh my gosh, really? That’s so cool!” Dongwoo hit him with the pillow again, and Myungsoo look scandalized. “What was that for?”

“Because I totally just made that up and you actually believed me, thus proving my point that you are entirely too trusting of people.” Dongwoo let out a sigh, rubbing his temples.

Myungsoo looked sheepishly at his blanket, scratching the back of his head. “...This is why I’m not allowed to go to industry parties alone, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. Now no more talking about my date, I don’t want to jinx it. What were you doing before I got here anyway? I’m surprised you weren’t napping to be honest.” Dongwoo laid down on the end of Myungsoo’s bed to make himself comfortable. “Ouch! What is that?” He pulled out the offending object pinching into his side, only to realize that it was Myungsoo’s phone.

Myungsoo hid his face behind his knees, knowing exactly what would come next now that Dongwoo had seen his screen. An evil grin - in Myungsoo’s eyes anyway - came across Dongwoo’s face as he evaded Myungsoo’s attempts to reclaim his phone.

“Ohhh, it looks like I caught someone fanboying earlier.” Dongwoo yelled, hiding Myungsoo’s phone behind his back.

“I wasn’t fanboying! I was just… appreciating the fact that I have his number… since he’s so much more famous than me and everything.”

“Really? Then why were you squealing when I walked in?” Myungsoo made a couple more desperate swipes for the phone, but sadly came up empty handed.

“Fine! I might have maybe called him on accident.” Myungsoo mumbled, pouting on the bed.

“No way! What did he say? Did he know who you are?”

“I didn’t say I talked to him! I immediately hung up the moment I realized what I had done!”

Dongwoo sighed heavily, handing Myungsoo back his phone. “You’re hopeless. Sungyeol-sshi seems like a sweet guy, I’m sure he would have spared some time to talk to you if you had stayed on the line.”

Myungsoo shook his head resolutely, nowhere near the state of mind to be capable of having a conversation with the Lee Sungyeol. “You’re biased Dongwoo. You think I’m amazing and great because you’re my manager, and you’re used to convincing other people that I’m wonderful. But compared to Lee Sungyeol sunbae-nim… I’m an octopus.”

“It’s a good thing you chose to be an actor, because you are such a drama queen.”

The younger boy pouted, his lower lip sticking out cutely. “Why are you picking on me so much today?”

“Because I find it to be highly amusing that Korea’s favorite cold city boy turns into a teenage girl at the mere mention of his favorite sunbae’s name.”

Myungsoo sighed, his eyes getting dreamy again at the thought of his tall, lovely sunbae. “He’s amazing, he practically singlehandedly redefined people’s expectations of models turned actors, and I can’t just call him unannounced for no real reason at all!”

“You’re right. You can’t disturb him for no reason.” Dongwoo said mischievously, before grabbing Myungsoo’s phone away. “So it’s a good thing I’ve got the perfect reason to call him!”

Dongwoo sprinted out of the room, sending Myungsoo into a sheer state of panic. “Where are you going?! Hyung! Come back here!” The sound of Dongwoo’s cackling rang loudly in the hallways, and unfortunately for Myungsoo, he wasn’t in the best of shape, thus he was unable to catch Dongwoo before his manager locked himself into the bathroom.

Myungsoo beat on the door, his anxiety making his voice waver. “Hyung, please! Don’t embarrass me! Don’t do this!” He begged, sounding more pitiful by the second.

“Then I suggest you stop shouting otherwise the Lee Sungyeol will get to hear how much your voice cracks when you get worked up!”

Myungsoo immediately shut his mouth, collapsing to his knees in front of the door. He was going crazy, how could Dongwoo betray him like this? This wasn’t funny, this was torture and why the hell was this door so thick? His ear was pressed up against the wood and yet he couldn’t make out the words Dongwoo was saying, and oh god, what if Sungyeol really did pick up? What would Dongwoo say to him? Would he ever be able to face his sunbae again-

“Ouch!” Myungsoo rubbed his now sore nose, Dongwoo’s abrupt opening of the door resulting in him landing right on his face on the cold bathroom tile. “A little warning would have been nice!”

“How was I supposed to know that you were pressed up against the door?” Dongwoo stepped over the younger and walked calmly away from the scene of the crime.

“Hey, wait!” Myungsoo called out, scrambling up from the floor to catch up to his manager as they headed towards the kitchen. “Where’s my phone? Did you call him? What did you-”

“You should go shower and dressed up-” Dongwoo pulled out a towel, throwing some ice in the middle and bundling it up before pushing it to the younger boy’s face, “but first, put some ice on your nose so it doesn’t swell.”

“But- why?”

“Well, you don’t want to look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer when your favorite sunbae comes to pick you up, now do you?”

Myungsoo shrieked, his hands shooting up and the ice flying into the air around them. “Sungyeol- the Lee Sungyeol is coming here!? Right now?!”

Dongwoo blinked, wiping his face and clothes free of the icey aftermath. “Well, not right this second, but he should be here soon enough-”

“Oh my god, I have to get ready!” Myungsoo spun on his heel to abandon the kitchen.

“Myungsoo, don’t run!”

Dongwoo’s warning was for nothing, and sure enough before he could stop him, Myungsoo was slipping and falling - quite ungracefully - on the melting ice. But the fall did nothing to deter him, he was on back on his feet and racing to his bedroom in mere seconds.

Dongwoo watched him go with an amused chuckle, shaking his head at younger. “Yeah… he’s totally hopeless.”

.

.

.

Myungsoo shifted in his seat, everything about his surroundings making him slightly uncomfortable. The restaurant was way more fancy than he was used to, there were more than five utensils set in front of him, and what was he supposed to do with his hands?

“Myungsoo?”

He almost dropped his knife on the table when he heard that voice call out his name, and he deemed it best to stay away from sharp objects until he was used to being in the other man’s presence.

“Y-yes?” He answered, hating himself for stuttering.

“I asked you if you had been here before?”

“Oh.” Myungsoo got shy for getting distracted in front of him, doing his best to sit properly and pay attention. “Um, I haven’t. I’m not exactly… on this level of success yet, I can’t even pronounce half the things on this menu.” He admitted nervously, chewing on his bottom lip. Sungyeol laughed warmly, reaching across the table to rest a hand on his, setting fire up Myungsoo’s arm.

“That’s alright Myungsoo, I can order for you if you’d like. Do you trust me?”

“With anything.” Myungsoo responded automatically, then covered his mouth in embarrassment at his own zeal.

Sungyeol’s eyes flickered over him, his smile growing. “Then I’ll make sure to take care of you.” Myungsoo tried his best to not let his body shiver at those words, but he probably failed miserably. “Anyway, you’ll be on this level soon enough; word these days is that you’re the trend. Siwoo was supposed to be a secondary character, but people ended up rooting for you to get the girl, and the success of that OST is something to be proud of.”

“You- you watched my drama sunbae-nim?” Myungsoo said in awe, suddenly feeling nervous and trying his best to remember if he had done anything too embarrassing while filming; stories travelled from set to set, and there was that one time he managed to trip over his guitar, but that totally wasn’t his fault-

“Of course I did. I was your fan from the beginning, I was quite pleased to see Siwoo outdo MDHR, and charmed to know that the PD expanded your role to give you a bit more screen time. It was the right decision, you handled it well.”

“T-thank you.” Myungsoo said in awe, unable to believe that Sungyeol was so willingly giving such praise. “I did my best to work hard, it means a lot that you noticed.” Sungyeol nodded politely, turning his attention to the waiter when he walked up.

“J'aimerais commander quelque chose à boire.” Myungsoo blinked, caught off guard that the sultry words had dropped from Sungyeol’s lips and not the waiter’s. His sunbae turned to look at him with a pointed stare. “Are you okay with a white?”

Myungsoo nodded dumbly, he wasn’t exactly sure what Sungyeol meant, but he certainly wasn’t going to ask questions.

"Puis-je avoir une bouteille de Egon Müller Scharzhofberger?” The waiter smiled politely, his pen scratching across his notepad as Sungyeol spoke. “Pour commencer nous voudrions le Flammekeuche. Pour l'entrée je voudrais du Narvin d'agneau et du Magret de canard pour mon compagnon.”

The waiter bowed to them, finishing writing down their order with a flourish. “Merci pour votre aide." Sungyeol handed over their menus with a smile, before turning back to regard Myungsoo. “Is something the matter?”

Myungsoo was quite sure that his mouth was hanging open, Sungyeol was speaking French and the whole way the words just flowed off his tongue was distressing to his health. “You were, you spoke in another language. I knew you were smart sunbae-nim, but-”

“Oh, don’t give me that much credit. I spent some time in France back when I first started modeling-”

“Givenchy. You walked exclusively in their 2011 fall collection, before switching over to their print work.” Myungsoo finished for him, before realizing that it was probably embarrassing for him to know that. “Or at least, that’s what I think you said that one time… on that one variety show…” It was on Happy Together, and Sungyeol had lost a bet against his fellow actor Lee Joon which resulted in him having to wear the bathrobe to the airport on his next flight out, and Myungsoo totally didn’t have the pictures saved in his phone or anything.

“You’ve got a good memory Myungsoo. But I picked up a few things while I was working out there, and it was lonely at first; not being able to talk to the people around me. Luckily one of the models took pity on me and taught me some phrases, just enough to help me have comfortable conversations with the people around me. It was a lovely experience though. Have you ever traveled abroad for work?”

Myungsoo shook his head. “No… I haven’t exactly been asked.”

“You will be.” Sungyeol said it firmly, as if it were a fact. “I was able to catch the Steve J and Yoni P show you walked in. You’ve got the face for high fashion, it won’t be long before agents are knocking down your door. Who’s managing you now?”

“I’m not with a big company, but I’m happy with my manager. He’s been with me since the beginning and he always puts me first. We’re actually friends so it’s nice to know that he’s got my real best interests at heart, instead of just the money.”

“It’s important to surround yourself with good people. My manager is a friend as well; I don’t have any complaints, besides him nagging me a bit too much, but that’s just his style. He managed to make people take me seriously though, get my foot in the door back before people knew who I was. So I’m thankful to him.”

“That’s awesome; although I’m sure you would’ve gotten noticed before long anyway. I mean, you’re just so talented sunbae-nim. It’s because of you that peo