Chapter 7

The One With The Moustache

When Sungjong got home he found Sungyeol sitting in the kitchen. “Hey, how was the day?” the idol asked with a striking resemblance to a dog that’s happy to see its owner after a boring day at home. Sungjong ignored the question as he looked around, concluding that Myungsoo was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Soo?” Sungjong asked. “Out. He went to get… something?” Sungyeol answered, unconcerned. Sungjong’s carefully shaped eyebrows twitched; “Don’t you feel strange being here alone?” he asked. “Not really” Sungyeol shrugged, dense as ever.

Sungyeol had been a regular at the apartment for four days now, supposedly because he didn’t really know anyone else in Seoul. Sungjong figured that the idol hadn’t really had much free time and now he had no idea how to spend it. The shooting of his drama had had to halt because half of the team and two of the leads were down with the same stomach bug that Sungyeol’s CO had gone down with.

So, Sungyeol had gotten an unexpected holiday, and now Sungyeol and Myungsoo had taken a habit of playing games late into the night. They seemed to have surprisingly lot in common. This new friendship would have been all fine and well with Sungjong if he hadn’t really needed the rest. He woke up early to go jogging before morning classes; he had decided to get in shape for his new job that he spent his evenings at.

“By the way you should buy some food, all I found in your fridge was this lousy pudding” Sungyeol continued, oblivious to the cloud of menace hanging over Sungjong’s head. “What was that?” Sungyeol asked when he heard Sungjong muttering to himself. “I said; God, you’re rude” Sungjong said pointedly.

Sungyeol seemed surprised; “Because of the pudding?” he asked confusedly. Sungjong rolled his almond eyes indignantly as if indicating that Sungyeol’s question didn’t even deserve an answer. “It IS the pudding, isn’t it?” Sungyeol laughed; “Hey, I’ll buy you a new one, I swear.” Sungjong huffed, letting his shoulders down; “Look, I’ve had a really stressful week. It might sound silly but that pudding was something I looked forward to…” Sungjong admitted. “Dieting is stupid”, Sungyeol nodded, reading between the lines for once. Sungjong went silent, unwilling to admit anything.

“How about this then; we go out, find the best puddings in town and you and tell me all about your week if you want” Sungyeol suggested with unusual poise. Who could resist his disarming on-screen grin?

Why not, Sungjong thought; he could certainly do with something to take his mind of everything going on.

In the end Sungjong didn’t speak a word about his new job, but somewhere along the lines a coffeehouse flowed to a bar. Sungjong felt a little like an accomplice of some hideous crime with the way Sungyeol hid behind sunglasses and dark corners, lowering his head when someone even looked his way. The paranoia was starting to bother Sungjong, so he decided to do something about it.

Sungyeol had talked about how long it had been since he went clubbing when Sungjong suddenly smirked; “I know exactly what we need” he said and the bar quickly changed to a small shop selling carnival clothes. They had a bit of fun trying on absurd goggles and curly wigs, but Sungjong’s mind was set. He pushed Sungyeol out of the store and followed a minute later with a suspicious paper bag.

“What is that?” Sungyeol asked curiously, reaching for the bag. “This is our disguise for tonight.” Sungjong smiled and pulled out a pair of moustache packed in plastic. “So, gringo or Poirot?” Sungjong did his best to not laugh at Sungyeol’s expression as he displayed the options. In the end Sungyeol ended with the bushier version. He didn’t bother to question Sungjong’s need to hide his face; at least now he wasn’t goofy alone.

With their tache tightly glued in place they hit the night.

Sungyeol couldn’t help feeling self-conscious after the bouncer had looked at him incredulously. The get up started to feel silly and he felt like hiding in a corner again rather than dancing in the middle of all those people. That is until Sungjong reminded him of his little show in the car on the way to the press-conference and practically dragged him to the dance floor.

Sungyeol’s mood improved quickly when he realised that no one recognized him. It felt refreshing. He was wearing a mask that allowed him privileges that his life as a celebrity had stolen away. Like dancing to his heart’s content with a disturbingly attractive guy wearing implausible pencil moustache.

For his own mental health Sungyeol decided that his heart was racing because of the heat.

After both of them felt more or less exhausted they moved outside, ordering tteok from a food stall passing by. As the pair sat down to eat and rest their feet, Sungyeol tried to yank off his gringo-tache with poor results, wincing a little. “It’s stuck” he laughed. Sungjong had a go at his own one and came to the same conclusion. “If you pull mine then I’ll pull yours?” he suggested. “Alright” Sungyeol compiled and pinched Sungjong’s hair-attachment between his fingers, following the smaller boy’s example. “One, two-“

A collective “OUCH” rang through the air as both of them moved before the count was over. “You cheated” Sungyeol laughed. “So did you” Sungjong sniggered back, rubbing his reddening upper lip.

“Thank you” Sungjong mused after a moment of pleasant silence. “Any particular reason?” Sungyeol asked. “For cheering me up” Sungjong smiled at the wall in front of them. Sungyeol was awfully conscious of the lump forming inside where his stomach should have been as he squeezed the frail shoulder right next to his. “No problem, we should do this more often…” Sungyeol swallowed as his hand felt momentarily just as glued to Sungjong as the moustache had been to his face just a minute earlier. Soft warmth radiated from Sungjong’s shoulder through his shirt to Sungyeol’s palm and it felt almost unbearably intimate.

Sungyeol sprung up abruptly. “I’ll walk you home” he said, too abashed at his thoughts to look Sungjong in the eye.

Just like that the jovial mood from before disappeared into a dense silence from Sungyeol’s part. This made Sungjong nervous about the parting to come, he talked on in an unnaturally fast pace. About family, future, friends; whatever to keep the rather one-sided conversation going. In his mind he was already sure that Sungyeol would confess to him or something else as disastrously wonderful.

Nothing like that happened, of course. When it was time to part Sungyeol still escaped eye contact and bid him an awkward goodnight, leaving Sungjong more than a little confused. Mostly about his own thought process.

With his head in a state of chaos, Sungjong was caught off guard by Myungsoo when he arrived home. The boy was by the window that gave to the street; “Where have you been?” he asked in a demanding tone. Sungjong didn't fel like dealing with his roommate right at the moment. “Out clubbing” he answered nonchalantly. Myungsoo frowned; “With Sungyeol?” “Yes, with him” Sungjong answered irritably, suddenly every bit as annoyed as when he'd left the house.

Myungsoo’s face was straight again; “Look, there’s something I’d-“, he began but was interrupted by Sungjong. “It’s really late and I have to get up early so I’m gonna turn in. Goodnight” he said sternly and fled into his room.

It was a restless night for three people.