Teddy cleared his throat before he spoke up.

“Um, Jiyong, do you mind if we have a word in the hall? I need to know about what your song is about so I can get the background music right.” Teddy said, giving Jiyong a cryptic look.

Jiyong sighed and got off of his stool to follow Teddy into the hall.

“Wow. This kid is surprisingly bold. I freaked out the first time had to go into the booth and that wasn’t in front of my seniors.” Danny said.

Seunghyun nodded. He wondered what possessed Jiyong. He was normally so shy around all of them but now he wanted to sing in front of them when he hadn’t sung in years. He would never be able to muster the courage if it was him.

Seunghyun sat on the couch, where the 1TYM members started to chat with each other about girls, for about 20 minutes. His eyes glued to the door. What was taking so long? What were they talking about? Should he go look for them?

As soon as he stood up the door opened and Teddy and Jiyong walked in. Jiyong’s face looked tear splashed. Teddy sat in his chair and started flipped open Jiyong’s notebook, starting to work on a beat for him. His face was determined but soft. Seunghyun knew that songs really could get to you if they were personal but it’s not like he sang it in the hall, did he? What was hurting him so much today?

Teddy and Jiyong were soon side by side, working in hushed tones. Seunghyun got goosebumps from his fingertips up his scalp. He didn’t know why but them working so quietly and Jiyong’s tear stained face made him anxious, yet frozen.

He stared at them as they worked. He caught occasional words but nothing to make sense of what exactly they were working on.

“Hey, Seunghyun, is it? Do you want help on anything we can do?” Danny asked the entranced boy.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I did want to talk to you for a bit.” Seunghyun admitted.

Danny smiled. “So, do you want to talk here or in the practice room?” Danny asked, looking at the two hard at work.

“The practice room would be good.” Seunghyun admitted. He needed to get away from the thoughts that were Jiyong and whatever it was that he was working on.

Soon, Danny and Seunghyun were sitting in the practice room. Danny was asking him about his family, music tastes, choices in clothes, heroes. It was almost like an interrogation. He clammed up. He wasn’t used to talking so openly with people he didn’t really know. He started giving vague answers until Danny started to make it more like a conversation. He started talking about his family in the U.S. and his favorite artists and foods. He told the story of his first love and muse who he thinks about to this day when he sings. He talked about what he wants in the future. He talked about the fun times he has had since he moved to Korea and how scared he was being in a new country.

Soon, Seunghyun started to feel closer to Danny. He started to laugh and joke with him and felt sad when he heard about his struggles. Eventually, little by little bit he started talking about himself. He talked about how he loved looking out the window at school and writing about what he saw outside. He told him about his favorite foods. How he liked to play with toys. Slowly he slipped in about Jiyong and how he has written so much more because of him and how he’s always on his mind and wants the best for him and always wants to stay by his side.

Danny bit his bottom lip nodding his head, looking like he was stewing things over while Seunghyun talked. Suddenly, he put his hand up telling him to stop. He scooted forward and looked closely at Seunghyun’s face.

“W-what are you doing?” Seunghyun said, nervous.

Danny suddenly got up and walked to the far end of the studio. He squinted at Seunghyun’s sitting form.

“Can you stand up for me, Seunghyun?” Danny asked him.

Seunghyun clambered up onto his feet. He pulled down his shirt and pushed his glasses on his nose.

“And can you take those off?” Danny requested.

Seunghyun took them off and the world blurred. He saw the fuzzy version of Danny approach him and look at his face again.

“You have a mysterious spark in your eyes, Seunghyun. That could be your ticket.” Danny said.

“I have a what?” Seunghyun asked, putting his glasses back on his face.

“You have a look in your eyes. I don’t know how to describe it but it’s really captivating. Too bad you have to wear those glasses. You may want to invest in contact lenses.” Danny explained vaguely.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Seunghyun asked him.

“Well, I’d say your personality is a lot like a maknae in a group. I’m a maknae. They are the little brother of the group and everyone gushes over their cuteness but you don’t look like the cutesy type. If I had to predict, I’d say you’d look like a hyung or leader when you are older. So, a hyung who acts like a maknae.” Danny rambled.

“And what the hell does that mean?” Seunghyun asked rubbing the place where his glasses pressed into his nose.

“It means you are very different, Seunghyun, but in a good way. You are, for a lack of better wording, like a child stuck in a man’s body…well, teenager’s body.” Danny explained with an apologetic smile.

Seunghyun guessed he could live with that. He did like that he wouldn’t have to change anything. He pulled at his shirt again and looked up to see Danny frowning at him.

“What is it?” Seunghyun asked.

“Um…it’s just…I know I’m not one to judge but if you were to audition, you may want to lose some weight.” Danny said in the softest way he could manage.

Seunghyun frowned. “What? I should end up like you guys, eating rabbit food and being crabby? I’ll pass. Until YG himself tells me to lose weight, I’m staying just the way I am.” Seunghyun quipped back at him.

Danny sighed. “I was about to say, if you lost some weight, I’m sure I would have the exact image for you.” He muttered.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Seunghyun asked curiously.

“Well, if you lost some weight and the glasses and maybe had a face mask every now and again, you could be quite the lady killer image.” Danny said.

“Lady killer? Me? Didn’t you hear? I already have someone and look at this. How could this be a lady killer?” Seunghyun told Danny like he was out of his mind.

“Seunghyun, do you know what an image is?” Danny asked.

“Isn’t it about looks or something?” Seunghyun answered.

“Partially. It’s about how people see us. I don’t know if you have seen since you are so young but people really aren’t nice to gay people here. If you really want to stay with your muse, you need to keep it as under wraps as you can. One of the best ways is to look like a playboy to explain why you don’t have a girlfriend.” Danny explained.

Seunghyun looked at his shoes. He didn’t want to hide how he felt but maybe Danny was right. Who was he kidding? Danny was right, well at least about having to hide. He couldn’t just walk down the street holding Jiyong’s hand; everyone would shun him. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Seunghyun, love isn’t always simple. Sometimes it takes sacrifice to stay with the ones we care about.” Danny said before walking out of the room to leave Seunghyun alone in the practice room.

He took off his glasses slowly and backed up, squinting to look at his image in the mirror. He in his stomach as much as he could. He sighed and put his glasses back on. He could never look like that. The best he could ever look is average. He shuffled out of the room to grab a water bottle from the refrigerator to somehow appease his stomach eating itself before walking back to the recording studio and Jiyong.