Ask any teenager of this modern day and they will tell you, being a fan of something is not just about liking their stuff. Oh no, that’s way too simple. Being a fan is about embracing and loving an artist’s work, be it a movie, music, or even books. It’s about watching their videos, downloading their pictures, buy merchandise, reblogging on Tumblr and sharing on Facebook and Twitter. For some, it’s a friendly hobby, for others, it’s a way of life.

                I would be lying if I said Starling Ent. wasn’t aware of this current global phenomenon. In fact, it’s the very reason Kris has been working so much lately. He loves the fact that his artists are becoming so popular. For the last few years, it’s been nothing but an uphill roller coaster ride, and every move he makes BxL do becomes a calculated strategy to win girl’s hearts, whether it’s cheesy teasers or y make up. He was careful and precise. Did it work? Hell yes.

                Kyungsoo was one of those fans who bought it. He bought the package Starling Ent. was selling, hook, line and sinker. Didn’t even wink or bat an eye. It started as an innocent view of a Youtube video, then curiousity started digging its hook in. The hook pulled and pulled, dragging Kyungsoo with it. Before he knew it, he was completely trapped by BxL’s charms. He was a complete and hardcore fan.

                But it’s quite surprising to see how powerful music can be. Kyungsoo’s father passed away not too long before he started getting into BxL. Kyungsoo was the only son in the family, and after his father passed on it suddenly became his job to look after the family, but he was too young and his father died too sudden. He wasn’t prepared. And instead of rising up to the challenge like a real man, he shrunk back and hid away.

                Kyungsoo wanted nothing more than to disappear. He couldn’t imagine a world without his father and neither could the rest of his family. His mother was a hopeless wreck, and his sister locked herself up in her room for days. He wanted to help, but he was useless himself. How can you rescue others when you are in the deepest of your own life?

                One night, Kyungsoo went online. He came across a random post about this new duo BxL. He started watching one video. It was their debut video, I Luh Ya Gurl. Kyungsoo was so entranced by the duo in the funky music video; they have good looks, awesome dancing skills and killer voices. Baekhyun’s high note was the hook that dug into him. He spent the whole night researching their music and their profiles that by the next morning, he was able to sing all their songs and dance the choreography.

                Being a fan became the only life Kyungsoo loved and wanted. He couldn’t imagine becoming anything else. He didn’t want to become anything else. Being a fan was great. It introduced him to music and photography, the two hobbies which has turned his life around. For a while, there was stability and something to look forward too. Every day is a day of hope and wait for new updates and new pictures. His heart pounded at the notifications of new videos and he laughed when they laughed, he cried when they cried but most importantly, they taught him to never give up, and that life was beautiful and that his contributions, no matter how small, means the world to them. He felt, for the first time in a long while, useful.

                There are so many people at the Seoul Music Festival, where BxL was supposed to perform. Kyungsoo had a bundle of banners in his arms, handing them out to fans and affiliates of his website. “Here you go, take one! Take one!” The banners were yellow with the words Baekhyun X Luhan printed across and under the name was Forever in Paradise scribbled below. Fan banners, balloons or light sticks are crucial in showing fan support and Kyungsoo’s fan club has been printing quite a few lately. They found that they have to print even more than usual because BxL’s popularity has skyrocketed.

                “I can’t wait for this performance!” Kyungsoo said, taking his place at the stadium.

                “You say that about every performance.” Sulli teased, poking him in the ribs. Kyungsoo edged away, focused on his camera. “I personally don’t think this will be any different than their other performances.”

                “We’ll see about that.” Kyungsoo smiled, shaking his wrist to reveal the red wristband he wears so proudly and looked behind him. It was a great sight to see other fans holding onto his banner and supporting his favourite group. Later, they will be searching on Tumblr or Facebook for his fantaken pictures. Kyungsoo has pride in the pictures he uploaded. He believes he’s can use his camera to capture the real BxL, the one fans want to see the most.

                When the duo finally came on, Kyungsoo stood on his seat and started snapping away. His efforts to help promote BxL through his website and continuous support (monetary ones) has enabled him to score better passes at shows. He clicked away, snapping Baekhyun, and then Luhan, occasionally getting both of them in the same shot. When Luhan did a hip , he screamed alongside the girls, while still holding onto the camera. He’s a god at multitasking indeed.

                “Byun Baekhyun! Lu Han! Sarangaheyo!!” after a couple of shots, he finally put down the camera and grabbed his banner, leading the fan chants. The fans followed him as he rallied on the top of his voice, and eventually the whole stadium joins in. The performance is over and he cheered at the top of his lungs. He clapped like a proud mother watching her two babies.

                “Thank you so much!” Baekhyun and Luhan bowed. “Thank you for coming out here to see us today. We’re hard at work on our next album, and we’ll be back with a better, stronger image for you very soon. Thank you and we love you!”

                News of the comeback stirred up the crowd and it got Kyungsoo’s heart pounding. Another comeback? So soon? Who cares anyways, this is exciting! Kyungsoo cheered as loud as he could until the boys left. He sat back down and his voice was almost hoarse.

                “Here’s your cough drops.” Sulli handed to him. “You always have to scream yourself hoarse eh?”

                “How else are they going to hear me?”

                “Hear you? With all of this noise? If they could even hear themselves it’s a miracle.”

                “Did you hear news of their comeback? They said they are coming back!”

                “I know right?! Isn’t it exciting?!” Soon, Kyungsoo, Sulli and a number of fangirls got into a heated and excited discussion about what the next concept would be. He showed his pictures to the fans behind, who squealed when they saw a bit of Luhan’s tummy flash.

                The festival ended a little early as the fans trudged out of the stadium, sweaty and voiceless. Kyungsoo always stayed behind a little more to snap more pictures. By the time he made a move to exit the stadium, the place was almost empty. He was tired yet energized, sad that it was over yet excited for tomorrow. It was a lovely mix of two feelings and he liked that. It was a healthy balance, and he didn’t mind indulging in both. He looked down at the camera and looked at the last picture he took. It was a nice shot of Baekhyun and Luhan with their arms around each other waving at the crowd.

                “They look like newlyweds at the end of their wedding.” Kyungsoo muttered to himself, snickering away. He made a mental note to save the picture at his wallpaper.

                Another reason why Kyungsoo loved being a fan, if ever the world was in turmoil, or his life was turned upside down, he knew he could count on his favourite group to be there at the end of the day, their hands together, smiling at Kyungsoo. As long as Baekhyun and Luhan are there, he would be at peace.

                It was the perfect anchor in his world.

                                                            ***********************

                Speaking of anchors, Luhan has one too. No, like literally, a real anchor. His mum is a huge antique fan, and she found the giant metal anchor in a flea market in China. She spray-painted it gold and gave it to her son when he finally got his own place in South Korea. The huge thing weighs a ton, but Luhan still dragged the old thing every time he moved. Baekhyun thought it was grotesque at first, but after a while they got used to it and even said that it added some character to the otherwise dull dorm.

                But if we’re going to continue in metaphorical terms, then I guess it would be safe to say that Luhan’s anchor is his best friend Sehun.

                Sehun and Luhan first met each other while they were still trainees at Starling. It started off with Luhan practicing his singing in the studio and Sehun just happened to stumble upon him. He praised Luhan, saying his singing is beautiful, even though just earlier his vocal coach Jonghyun had scolded him for not holding his breath out long enough and going off key in several areas. Luhan didn’t really believe Sehun’s praises, but it was nice to hear them.

                They were conjoined at the hip from then on. They trained together, went for bubble tea together, went to the movies, lunch, dinner, shopping and even showered together. They were so close; everyone thought they were either a couple, or twins. Twins was a bit more common, since they have roughly the same height and almost the same facial features. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been fooled quite a few times as well.

                Unfortunately for Luhan, Sehun left just a few months before their proposed debut. Luhan was devastated that Sehun left him; he had been looking forward to debuting with his best friend. It was something that they had talked about for a long time (albeit Luhan was a bit more excited than Sehun). Sehun explained that it was something he had to do.

                “I just don’t think Starling can give me what I really want. I would rather go my own way and start over. I want to be in control of my career and not bonded down like that.” Yes, those were his exact words.

                Nevertheless, the two of them stayed close friends no matter what. So maybe they couldn’t be conjoined as usual, since Sehun started modelling and had to spend more time from Luhan and Luhan met someone new to make his debut with. One of the reasons why Luhan found it hard to accept Baekhyun was because that spot was supposed to be Sehun’s. It could have been his best friend instead of a total stranger. Knowing that hurts just a little bit.

                And do you know what else hurts? Being in love with your best friend. Yes, it’s terribly cliché, but Sehun actually fell for Luhan the very first time he saw him. Actually, it was love at first note, and yes, it was a lousy note because Jonghyun yelled at Luhan for hitting the note wrongly, but Sehun could have sworn to god that it was the sound of angels coming down from heaven. Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but Sehun was indeed in love with Luhan. And I’m sure he still is.

                Part of the reason why Sehun left (I wouldn’t say a big one, more like 10%, because can you honestly believe that he would leave the love of his life for that?) is that he didn’t think he could bare being by Luhan’s side 24/7 anymore without his heart going into overdrive and his body trembling in nervousness. They did shower together (only once because Sehun would do anything to avoid that happening again) and Sehun couldn’t stop staring at Luhan’s body without raising a . Luhan’s body was perfect in his eyes. He was lean and muscular with alabaster skin. He looked like a beautiful blank canvas, pure and untainted. Since then, Sehun fell asleep every night to dreams and images of him tainting that gorgeous canvas in the dirtiest, most ravenous way possible.

                “You look like something the cat dragged in.” Sehun quipped as he sat across him in the café. Luhan’s hair was a mess and sticky due to sweat. He pulled a snapback over it to hide the mess and he was wearing an old T-shirt and loose pants. You look like something the angels spent years working on before letting the cat carry you was what he probably would have said if he had no control.

                “I just finished rehearsal, so yeah, I’m aware I don’t look like a million bucks.” Luhan rolled his eyes. “It’s been really exhausting.”

                “Is the new choreography hard?”

                “Oh yeah. You know Minseok’s nuts right?” Luhan snickered. “This one involves spins, more body rolls then I can count and a female partner.”

                “I can imagine the girls’ reaction now. OPPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

                “Shut it Sehun! There are people watching us!” Luhan slapped his friend’s arm.

                “Let them see. We’re not doing anything illegal.” Sehun said. He knew Luhan was careful of his image, but Sehun preferred to just be himself sometimes. He didn’t like being constricted, but he kept his voice down for Luhan anyways.

                “It’s embarrassing since I keep slipping up. Baekhyun is doing much better than me.”

                “Still jealous?” Sehun asked. He knew Luhan was, no matter how the boy would deny it.

                Luhan shrugged. “I don’t know. I wish I had what he has, but at the same time he’s so nice and I like him a lot so I can’t really hate him. It’s kind of half-half. Do you get what I mean?”

                “I feel ya.” Sehun nodded. When it comes to confused feelings, he’s the boss. “But you are just as good as him. Take it from me okay? There are people out there who will love you no matter what.”

                “I just don’t wanna disappoint them.”

                Sehun leaned in closer, watching the way Luhan’s eyelashes fluttered against his gorgeous eyes. “You can never disappoint them.” You can never disappoint me.

                “Thanks Sehun.” Luhan smiled, fist bumping him. One waitress was bringing in their order and as she put down their coffee, she looked up at Luhan in surprise.

                “Oh my god! Are you Luhan from BxL?”

                “Yes I am,” Luhan smiled, bowing his head a little. The waitress covered in shock, but she was quiet enough to not garner the attention of whole restaurant. “Can I take a picture with you?”

                “Sure.” Luhan stood up and posed for a picture with the waitress. Sehun was sitting at the side, swirling the straw in his glass. One of the guys seated behind him twirled around to look at the commotion. He tapped on Sehun’s shoulder.

                “Gorgeous, isn’t she?”

                “Huh?”

                “Over there, taking the pictures. She’s easily the prettiest human being in the café.”

                He is indeed.

                “She has got such lovely hair. It’s like silk, and look how it frames her face.”

                Yeah.

                “And that skin. I bet it must be so soft and supple. Her skin literally glows at you.

                Yeah.

                “And that body. Imagine all the things you could do with that body. If it were me, I’d worship it like a temple.”

                I already do. Almost anyways.

                “Her eyes are so beautiful, as if they tell a story. Her legs are so fine and those lips. Can you imagine what it would be like to kiss those lips?”

                I always do.

                “Thank you for the picture!” the waitress thanked Luhan profusely and went on with her work, skipping away because she was so happy. The guy behind Sehun got up to try and make his move on the pretty waitress.

                “You think she’s hot?”

                “Huh? Who?”

                “The waitress. You’ve been staring at her all this time.”

                “I was not.”

                “Yes you were!”

                “Oh Luhan, you have no idea how wrong you are.” Sehun shook his head. He looked at Luhan.

                I was staring at you, you beautiful idiot.

A/N: I thank you all for your support thus far!! I've been writing a lot and this story definitely seems to have progressed the fastest, perhaps I could update more often. Also, I have written a very steamy love affair for both Hunhan and Taoris, so stay tuned if you want to read that! LOL

On another note, did anyone see Baekhyun's getup for Singing in the Rain?

Hee hee!!! He did so well though, and I'm so proud of him!!

Comments, subbies and upvotes are loved!! Please do leave them!