Chapter 5

After the thunder

The disaster didn’t happen until after Sunggyu had proposed that they all hit a bar close by. Pretty soon Sungjong got the idea that Myungsoo wasn’t too fond of Sungyeol (or Woohyun for that matter). The few times that Sungyeol tried to communicate with him he responded with a blank stare, which Sungyeol thought was kind of scary.

For the better part of the evening Myungsoo just sat there, quietly gulping down beer and sending menacing looks in Sungyeol’s direction every time that he caught the actor chatting with Sungjong.

When Sungyeol got up to order a drink he ran into Myungsoo, who was on his way back from the loo. That is when Myungsoo very obviously bumped into him. “What’s your problem?” Sungyeol asked. Myungsoo just stared up at him, and before anyone could see it coming, much less block it, his fist had collided with Sungyeol’s face.

Before any outsiders got to the scene Hoya moved to drag the swaying Myungsoo out (or maybe lay a few punches himself), but Myungsoo yanked his arm away and left with one last lingering look at Sungjong. “Oh dear” Dongwoo said and ran after him, even if Hoya shouted; “He’s not worth it” at his back.

Sungyeol sat down, keeping his head lowered. When Sungjong tried to lift the man’s chin to explore the damage done he opened his mouth. “Are all your friends like that?” he asked, and Sungjong mistook his intention for joking. “Only on weekends”, Sungjong retaliated. That is when Sungyeol lifted his head and fell into a sort of hysteria; “He hit me in the face! In my face! I’m an actor; it’s my single most valuable object! What do you think people will say if I show up to work with bruises on it? This is such a scandal”.

Sungjong may have felt sorry just now, but now he had to struggle to keep his face straight. He wouldn’t exactly call this a scandal. In his state of drunkenness Myungsoo had swinged at Sungyeol’s forehead instead of his chin. Impressingly enough he had managed to produce a bleeding cut, but nothing that couldn’t be hidden behind hair. Sungyeol, however, pressed his head in his hands like it was the end of the world, muttering the words “scandal” and “my face” over and over again.

“He’s a bit fickle, isn’t he?” came Woohyun’s side note after he’d stared at Sungyeol’s weeping form curiously for a while. Sungjong was thankful that in his position of utter despair Sungyeol couldn’t witness the budding smile on his face.

“Yep, and a bit of a drama queen if you ask me” Hoya said, and at that point Sungjong had to turn around to not burst into laughter because hey, that’s what mild buzzedness does to people and really, Sungjong could swear that Hoya did that on purpose.

Hoya offered the dejected Sungyeol his pint of beer, telling him to “man up”. When Dongwoo came back everyone agreed that they should take this party to Sunggyu’s house (except Sunggyu of course; who would want to end up in cleaning duty?), which was conveniently empty and only a walking distance away.

At the house Sungjong led Sungyeol into the bathroom (he was familiar enough with the apartment; he’d actually lived on the couch for a month before finding his own), partly to tend to the bruise, but mostly to talk to the man in private. Sungyeol sat down on the toilet seat while Sungjong raided the cabinets for a disinfectant and band-aids.

“I’m sorry. He just sometimes is like that” Sungjong said after a moment of silence. “Like what? Insanely jealous? Or just overall insane?” Sungyeol’s voice was approaching a soprano; “And you put up with that?” Sungjong reached to push aside Sungyeol’s hand and wiped away all traces of blood with the disinfectant, making Sungyeol wince. “Nah, he’s usually really nice, I don’t know what’s gotten into him now” Sungjong said.

“Is he your… boyfriend?” Sungyeol asked, and there it was, finally out in the open. They both suddenly noticed their close proximity. “No, he’s my roommate” Sungjong said, straightening his back. Well, Sungyeol thought; that concluded nothing…  Out loud he said; “Are you sure that’s what he thinks, too?”

Yeah, that was the problem. For some time now, Sungjong had avoided being alone with Myungsoo. This had started taking place after the man had tried to kiss him. Sungjong would have just shrugged it off as a drunken fit, had it not happened on three different occasions that didn’t exactly call for such behavior.

It’s not like Sungjong hated the idea, he just didn’t want to deal with it just yet. And he was pretty sure that Myungsoo wasn’t ready to deal with it either. But nowadays Myungsoo did act like an overprotective boyfriend. Last month he had beat up a senior for making Sungjong cry, and had gotten the both of them in trouble. And now this.

“I think I should get going” Sungyeol said after Sungjong had attached the band-aid. Sungjong shifted out of the way as Sungyeol stood up. He had already forgotten how tall the man was. In this crowded little bathroom he seemed to fill half the space. Sungjong quickly shook away his daze and led Sungyeol to the door.

“I was wondering… If we could change numbers?” Sungyeol turned to ask on the doorway. Sungjong was honestly surprised. “Seriously? After all that crap you went through? I mean, he did punch your ‘single most valuable object’” he said, glancing at the patch on the tall man’s forehead with a smile. Sungyeol frowned and shrugged; “I just thought it could be fun to… get together sometime” he tried, still fueled on by Hoya’s irresponsible distribution of alcoholic beverages. This could be interesting, Sungjong thought and gave his number to a guy he barely knew.

* * *

Meanwhile on the balcony:

Woohyun and Sunggyu were standing side by side, pressing closer to one another for warmth in a rare moment of peace. Both of their cigarettes had burned out a long time ago, but they were in no hurry to leave. Then, slowly breathing in the scent of the night, Woohyun began singing. It was the same song Sunggyu had sung before on stage, but somehow entirely different. The way Woohyun almost whispered it in Sunggyu’s ear, singing slowly and softly, was very much intimate.

Sunggyu’s singing may have been meant for everyone but Woohyun was singing for one person and one person only.

“My empty eyes. My two lips that are at a loss for words. My heart stops at your sigh. 60 seconds is all I need for this story. You came into my heart, I don’t doubt it. That you took me away.”

When Woohyun ended they stood still for a while, Woohyun because he knew he’d said all that needed to be said (and was feeling kind of smug about it), Sunggyu because he had temporarily lost all control over his tongue. Finally he pressed his head against Woohyun’s shoulder to hide his embarrassment.

 “You just took the bits that suited you the best, didn’t you?” he asked. “Ah, you caught me. You can’t say it wasn’t romantic, though.” Woohyun said, causing Sunggyu to pull back, sighing heavily. “And now you ruined it. For once you should consider shutting your—” that is as far as he got before Woohyun was close enough to lock their lips together. “—mouth” Sunggyu managed to finish when they parted, albeit a bit airily. Woohyun gave him one of his trademark smirks; “If you say so” he said and leaned back into the kiss.

Hoya and Dongwoo watched the scene secretly. “You don’t…?” Dongwoo asked Hoya without asking. “No, of course not. What are you saying?” Hoya started laughing, giving Dongwoo’s back a comradely slap. Dongwoo laughed as well, perhaps a bit too loudly, because Sunggyu and Woohyun turned to look at them through the window. “Get a room!” Hoya mouthed back at them, making Sunggyu present him with a nationally unaccepted hand signal.