Kyuhyun and Donghae bid goodbye to the trio after lunch was over. Hyukjae kept his eyes diverted from Donghae's the entire time and only spoke to Kyuhyun when the latter had taken the initiative to hand him the address of the dance studio where he was supposed to audition tomorrow. Yesung and Ryeowook waved goodbye at them fondly before turning around to walk back to the cafe, completely ignoring the way Hyukjae was sulking behind them. Once they were a good distance away, Kyuhyun turned to Donghae who was still watching them walk away - well, at least watching one person walk away. 

"He really does look like Hyukjae hyung, doesn't he?" Kyuhyun commented breaking Donghae out of his trance.

Feigning ignorance, Donghae tried to sound casual as he pretended to have no idea as to what Kyuhyun was talking about. "Does he? I didn't even notice."

Kyuhyun chuckled lightly, an obvious sign that he didn't believe a word Donghae said. "Is that why you couldn't stop staring at him?"

"Wh-Wha...I wasn't staring," Donghae tried to argue but he knew he's already been caught so he decided to just walk away from Kyuhyun to try and avoid the conversation all together, but Kyuhyun has always been persistent and wasn't one to give up so easily. 

"Hyung," Kyuhyun called and even though Donghae didn't turn or say anything back to him, he knew Donghae was still listening. "You know we all want you to be happy, right?"

At that comment, Donghae paused and stopped walking. He carefully turned to Kyuhyun who, even though had a small smile on his face, still sent a great amount of concern with his eyes.

"What are you trying to say?"

"You don't have to feel guilty about liking someone, hyung." He explained and a flash of guilt immediately overcame Donghae. "I'm sure Hyukjae hyung would want you to be happy but..." Kyuhyun paused to make sure that he chose the right words before finishing his sentence. "Don't like Eunhyuk-ssi because he reminds you of Hyukjae hyung. That wouldn't be fair to him."

Donghae's gaze fell on the floor as he processed Kyuhyun's words in his head. He made a good point. A very good point but no matter how many times he tells himself that Eunhyuk is not Hyukjae, that they're two different people, Donghae couldn't help but mold the two of them together every time he sees him. Even when he forces himself not to, Donghae couldn't stop the old feelings he had for Hyukjae to be reignited each time he thinks or sees Eunhyuk. 

"Don't you think this is a sign, Kyuhyun-ah?" Donghae didn't mean to sound desperate but he really feels like he'd go crazy otherwise. "I mean...what if-what if that's really Hyukjae and he just doesn't know it? Maybe...Maybe we made a mistake. Maybe he was just lost and he needs us to help remember." Donghae knows his theory sounded ridiculous, even borderline crazy but he just wanted Hyukjae to be alive so bad that he'd take accept any half-assed theory there is that would bring the latter back to him. 

"Hyung," Kyuhyun placed both hands on Donghae's shoulder to calm his growing apprehension then sighed. "I may never understand what you're going through but...I've known Hyukjae hyung enough to tell you that he would want you to be happy. Even without him, he would want you to be happy."

Donghae's eyes slowly welled up with tears at Kyuhyun's words. He didn't even fight the latter when he brought him in for a hug and just accepte the small gesture of comfort. Why was life so unfair?

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Hyukjae groaned as he flopped himself back on the ground and rested his back. His meeting with Kyuhyun and Donghae yesterday went a lot better than expected but it still didn't take away the nervousness he felt at being back at his old studio again. To see Kyuhyun and Shindong again. He was feeling a lot of weird mixtures of feelings of excitement and anxiety - like he did when he first went to his first dance audition when he was 12. He looked at the clock and saw that he had four hours left before his scheduled audition so he grabbed his phone and played the song he was gonna use for his piece. 

Hyukjae closed his eyes and allowed the lyrics and rhythm of the song to take over his body before he started dancing along with it. 

Every move and step he took was like a memory his body remembered. He kept his eyes closed and let his mind travel back in time to when he first danced this song with just him and Donghae in the room. A time when he was just starting out and Donghae was the only person interested in seeing him move. The first person to compliment him and applaud him for being a dancer.

Hyukjae chose this song not only because it was his first audition piece, but also because it was the first song Donghae ever dedicated to him. It was his go to song to calm his nerves and a reminder that Donghae will always be by his side no matter what. 

Flashback

"Hyukkie~ What are you doing?" Donghae asked with a bounce in his step as he entered Hyukjae's room only to find him grunting to himself with a bunch of CDs around him. 

"I don't know what song to choose, Hae," Hyukjae complained as he tossed another CD into the pile. "This is my first audition and I really want to pass but I just don't know what they're looking for. Should I go hip-hop or something more fluid? I'm not really classically trained so maybe I shouldn't even go. I'll just embarrass myself."

"Oh, come on, Hyuk. You're being crazy!" Donghae encouraged and held Hyukjae's hands as he looked into his eyes with a look of admiration and encouragement. "You're an amazing dancer. Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot."

Hyukjae pouted his lips and tried not to blush at Donghae's words. "You're just saying that because you have to."

Donghae raised a questioning brow at the statement. "Why would I have to say that?"

"Because you want to keep sleeping with me," Hyukjae retorted and then went back to looking over the stack of music he has. 

Donghae let out a mortified gasp and put a hand over his heart. "What? I'm offended you would even think that." Hyukjae just rolled his eyes and kept sorting through his collection. "Hey, if I was gonna flatter you to get in your pants I would compliment other things about you I like how much I love kissing your lips," Donghae proved his mischievous point by grabbing Hyukjae wrist and pulling the latter close to him - completely disregarding the small protest he made - and kissed him square on the lips. 

"Donghae!"

Donghae giggled and kept Hyukjae in his arms by wrapping his arms around his waist before continuing.

"Or how much