“Seriously?” Hyukjae looked around him, clearly seemed to be unpleased by the fact that Donghae actually brought him to a rooftop of a building. And here he thought that he could finally have some fun tonight.“This is the place you were talking about?”

“It’s not as bad as it seems,” Donghae said.

Hyukjae snorted. This wasn’t really what he expected, but still, it was a lot better than to be at home. He took a few steps forward until he reached the metal railings and took a look at his surroundings, watching the night view of Seoul.

It wasn’t like it was the first time he was seeing the endless skyscrapers surrounding him with the glimmering neon lights reflected beautifully on the buildings, but something just felt different. Now that he was up here, it was like he was viewing it from a different world. And he was slowly realizing, just how much he loved the silence around him.

“It’s…not that bad,” Hyukjae hesitantly said. He was about to step on the railings to take a better look at the view down there, but Donghae quickly stopped him.

“Careful,” Donghae said, pulling the redhead away from the railings, “You wouldn’t want to get hurt.”

“You need to stop treating me like a five-year old kid,” Hyukjae retorted. “It’s annoying.”

“A five-year old would be smart enough not to do that.”

For some odd reason, Hyukjae couldn’t seem to talk back, and it really annoyed him even more. He had never once felt so defeated like this, but this man named Lee Donghae who came from nowhere had just managed to step on his little pride that he held so high. If it were someone else, he would’ve beaten him up to pieces for sure.

“Take a look at the sky,” Donghae suddenly said, as he leaned back against the railings while keeping his eyes fixed on the redhead.

Hyukjae wanted to argue, but no words came out of his mouth the moment he looked up, and the sparkling stars lightening up the dark sky came into his sight. “Wow.”

“I told you, you’d like it.”

Hyukjae didn’t say anything and kept staring at the sky above him, and before he even realized, he was actually counting the stars up there. It felt like he was finally free, away from the cage that kept him from fleeing.

“Don’t tell me you’re counting the stars?” Donghae asked, as if he could read what was going through his mind.

“I’m not,” Hyukjae quickly denied it, but the look on Donghae’s face clearly showed that he didn’t believe him.

“You’re really a five year old kid.”

“Don’t start with me, Lee Donghae.”

“But it’s a fact that you’re still a kid,” Donghae gave a slight pat on the latter’s head, but his hand was slapped away instantly, “So don’t get too far away from me.”

Hyukjae was sure he must’ve been out of his mind at the moment, because there was no way that his heart skipped a beat just now, right? It was probably because he didn’t get enough sleep lately, yeah, that must be it. Clearing his throat, he quickly walked away and left the rooftop, with Donghae following him closely from behind.

________________________________

Hyukjae walked into the huge dance studio, sometimes nodding his head as he walked past a few dancers he could recognize. Most of them had already finished practicing and was leaving, but there were still a few who’d stay behind and continue to practice.

It didn’t take him long to spot Yunho, his former senior who had been working his off with him to build this studio three years ago. And now, he had become one of the most successful choreographers and dance instructors out there. A smile was instantly formed on Yunho’s lips as he spotted Hyukjae heading towards him with the usual grim look on his face.

“Hey, you should at least smile when you see me, you know.”

“Cut the crap,” Hyukjae scoffed at the latter, whose smile disappeared right away upon seeing the piercing glare he was giving him. “What’s the important thing that you wanted to tell me? I rushed here without having breakfast since you called me when I was still having my beauty sleep, you idiot.”

“Oh, about that,” Yunho laughed awkwardly, trying to find some proper words he could say without causing the redhead to flip out.

Taking in a breath, he grabbed a small box of strawberry milk on the table beside him, knowing that the younger would love it. But the only thing he received was a cold look from Hyukjae, and he knew then, even his favorite strawberry milk wouldn’t be able to make things better.

“I’m sorry,” Yunho finally said.

“Sorry for what?” Hyukjae frowned. He knew it wouldn’t be good. The moment he heard Yunho’s voice on the phone this morning, he could tell that it was going to be a bad news.

“You don’t have to come here anymore,” Yunho said, avoiding the redhead’s eyes. “You’re no longer a part of this club.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Hyukjae tried hard to stay calm, but he could hear his own voice trembling as he said those words. “Explain it clearly so that I can understand.”

Yunho sighed. “Jungsu called me yesterday.”

“And?”

“It was your father’s order, Hyukjae. I couldn’t do anything about it. He wanted you to quit dancing.”

Hyukjae could only stare at the latter in disbelief, while trying to process each of the words he had just said. He was actually hoping for Yunho to say that he was just joking and it wasn’t true, but it didn’t happen. Yunho just stood there without saying anything, looking at him with guilt written all over h