A/ N: Hey all~!

So I'm pretty sure all of you guys are just like... Obsession?? What story is that?? Yupp... I'm sure it's been THAT long...

But please enjoy the chapter! And... I'll get back to you at the end of the chapter with some more news...

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Layers of fatigue mixed with subtle traces and thoughts of Hyera flooded Sungjong’s body and mind, as he sat slumped in a sofa at Infinite’s hair and makeup salon, waiting for his turn. At some point, he felt himself slip away into a light slumber. His breathing became heavy, and the world around him gradually went blank, without color and without sound. The comfort of the blankness that enveloped Sungjong’s mind, however, began to swivel. It was gradually replaced by gray, a shadowy and dark mood settling over.

The recognition of the nightmare came to Sungjong almost immediately. Soon, the lighted form of Hyera became visible, her pale face the clearest of her image. It already frightened Sungjong to see Hyera so pale, but once her image became clearer and clearer, his fright heightened and clouded the gray surroundings even further. Hyera’s immense brown eyes stood out from her pallid features, gleaming with a layer of moisture, staring straight ahead of her as if frozen to do so. The warm brown colors radiated the painful emotion of fear that had haunted sungjong so deviously, but when no tear drops fell from those large pupils, Sungjong became aware of a shift in mood. Hyera's lips were moving, trying to tell Sungjong something which he could not hear and could not understand. More than fearful, Hyera's eyes seemed to express worry, even restlessness. Sungjong tried to call out to her, knowing it would be futile; the more he tried, the more anxious and urgent her eyes seemed to become. Finally, realizing the hopelessness of her efforts, Hyera finally just stopped moving her lips and drew her hands up to cover her face. Though her eyes were covered, Sungjong could tell that she wept into her hands. Watching her misery, unable to do anything to help her, Sungjong begged for the nightmare to end. As if adhering to his wish, the grayness began to envelop Hyera, hiding her figure. When the shadows had completely obscured all from view, Sungjong felt his mind pull away from the nightmare, back to reality.

With a jolt, Sungjong awoke, finding himself leaning his head on the back of the sofa. Myungsoo looked over at him briefly with an indifferent expression. Sungjong ran a hand over his face, the unsettling images of the nightmare fresh in his mind. His heart rattled wildly, and he grimaced, pained at how he'd seen Hyera, so anxious to tell him something. A shudder crawled through him as he tried to even his breathing. Just then, Myungsoo let out a muffled cackle, taking Sungjong by surprise. Sungjong turned toward the older boy who stared down at his phone screen with an elfish smirk.

“Hyung, what are you laughing at?” Sungjong asked.

“Hmm? Nothing. Just texting Jiae, you know how crazy she gets sometimes,” Myungsoo shrug off.

Once the word hit him, all Sungjong caught of the rest of Myungsoo’s response was ‘Jiae’. Text. The exact reason why Sungjong had nervously asked Hyera for her phone number the night before – so he could somehow have some kind of reassurance for when nightmares of Hyera endangered him.

Sungjong flipped his phone out of his pocket, scrolling down his contacts until he came to the name Hyera had put in for herself. It simply read, Hyera. It was no cause for excitement, but yet, Sungjong smiled to himself. Already, the shivers that had crawled over his skin were going away. What should he say? Sungjong was a social person; he regularly texted his parents, his younger brother, his sunbaes, his Infinite hyungs - everyone in his contacts, and he always had a purpose when he sent those people his texts. What was his purpose for texting Hyera? What if she doesn’t even answer? She could be busy. Sungjong glanced over at Myungsoo, who now seemed to have pulled up an internet site on his phone. If Jiae is texting Myungsoo hyung, then the girl group trainees mustn’t be practicing yet…

“Myungsoo hyung,” said Sungjong, making Myungsoo look up. “What do you usually say when you text Jiae?”

The older boy stared at Sungjong with the same expression he had worn five minutes ago, probably the same expression he would always wear if he had no other reason to portray anything else. “Why?” he answered simply.

“Because I don’t really text Jiae that often, so I was just wondering how you do it so much,” stated Sungjong. With that, Sungjong seemed to have hit some inner nerve, as Myungsoo shifted his eyes for a moment.

With a shrug, Myungsoo replied coolly, “I just ask her what she’s doing, and then she tells me and asks me the same.” Then, he ended the conversation by returning his attention to his phone, turning an impassive side view toward Sungjong.

It felt like hours before Sungjong typed into his phone screen exactly what Myungsoo had said before clicking the send button. Annyeong. What are you doing? Was what he had sent Hyera. When the phone screen told him that the message had been sent successfully, an instant moment of panic struck Sungjong. What have I done? His heart began thumping noisily in his ear, and the seconds seemed to tick by with mockery at his text.

The vibration of the phone in his hand jerked Sungjong’s whole body forward. A flash of the miserable face of Hyera, weeping into her hands, perturbed Sungjong’s mind for a moment, before slipping away. He opened the text message he had just received.

TO: Sungjong

FROM: Hyera

Sent: 10.1.11 7:46a.m.

Annyeong. I’m eating breakfast. What are you doing?

The words on the screen spread through Sungjong’s body with incredible speed, and along with them, a tingling sensation which sent waves of comfort and relief against the anxiety and despair. He quickly clicked the reply button and began typing: Hair and makeup… I fell asleep briefly and had the nightmare again… thanks for answering my text. For letting me know you’re okay. Now I feel much better.

Once the message sent, Sungjong breathed out deeply, much more easily. He glanced over at Myungsoo, silently thanking the older boy for his help. Sungyeol, who had finished his hair and makeup, strolled over and plopped down on the space on the sofa in between Sungjong and Myungsoo, yawning. Sungjong’s phone vibrated energetically in his lap, once again.

TO: Sungjong

FROM: Hyera

Sent: 10.1.11 7:51a.m.

I’m sorry about the nightmare… and I’m glad that I helped in some small way. I hope you’ll be well for your schedules today.

The Infinite members were headed to Ilsan for a fansign event that day, followed by an MBC Music Core performance. Sungjong couldn’t guarantee that the rest of his day would be peaceful without being haunted by unexpected attacks of the nightmare, but he felt that if only Hyera could be in reach through even just a small connection in their text messages, he would be okay.

TO: Hyera

FROM: Sungjong

Sent: 10.1.11 7:54a.m.

Will you help me throughout the day? Will you let me make sure I can reach you?

When Sungjong received Hyera’s yes in response, he felt the last wisps of the haunting memory leave his mind. Then the Coordinator Noona called him for his turn, and Sungjong made sure his phone was held tightly in his hand as he joined Sunggyu hyung in front of the wide spread mirrors.

*****

The busier Infinite’s schedules, the more Sungjong felt he had to rely on Hyera’s texts of reassurance, for his mental and physical stamina. He had no opportunity to meet with her, as the Infinite members were caught up practicing during late hours almost unbearably. Over the course of the next few days, Sungjong and Hyera didn’t get to see each other face to face, but became noticeably more comfortable and informal in their text exchanges.

Sungjong hadn’t realized when it had started to occur, but the first time he caught himself - a puzzling, even bewildering event which he had to mentally slap himself to stop – was right before an MBC Charity Power Concert stage, when Hyera texted him a good luck message as well as informing him that she was having dinner with the Woolim company staff. As he stared at the screen of his phone and the message Hyera had sent, he noticed his mouth grinning from ear to ear – his eyes narrowing in miniature smiles – from the strength and reassurance the message gave him. The amount of energy Sungjong actually found in Hyera’s small messages to trudge on through his busy days completely awed him. One thing was definite: the slivers of the terrible images of Hyera’s tears were cowering away against the waves of warmth sent through just a simple electronic device.

He planned to thank her with much gratitude, once he got the chance. He wanted to return as much of the warmth and energy as he could. Thus, Sungjong awaited his next meeting with Hyera fervently.

*****

Hyera’s breath was trembling. She tapped along the empty Woolim hallway, arriving in front of the biggest practice room in the company building. Four days had passed since her last meeting with Sungjong, between which the two had exchanged enough texts to fill up her message box three times. She had kept asking herself the question, what are we doing? What are you doing, Lee Hyera? But she couldn’t bring herself not to. Whenever Sungjong texted her, it was as if she could feel his unsettlement through the electronic device. Hyera had no idea what to think about the boy’s predicament, that what caused his terror and his fear was her, Hyera, but what could help him forget and feel better was also her. And all the while, the two of them were breaking rules that could possibly be fatal, if not for both, then at least for Hyera.

A stream of music caught Hyera’s ears as she entered the practice room. It was lit dimly as always, and in the middle of the wooden floor, stood Sungjong. As she strolled into the room, she recognized the music as the beginning of T-ara’s Roly Poly. Then the main music blared out into the air, and with it, Sungjong began to dance, waving his arms over and around his face, his expression transforming into the pixie that Hyera was sure lived inside the boy, reserved and hidden until he took on a female song to perform.

The Roly Poly dance was very similar to Wonder Girls’ Tell Me, both being in the ever-so-popular Korean Bokko style. For one who stayed away from dancing as much as possible like Hyera, Bokko was like a foreign language. But Sungjong, as Hyera watched him smiling and digesting the music with his flow of movements, seemed to speak this language too fluently. A stream of laughter flowed out of Hyera’s lips, as she stood, watching the boy perform for her. The thought crossed her mind and stuck, settling over her. Sungjong prepared this performance for her. What did she do to deserve such a greeting? Her lips smiled, laughed, and mouthed the words of the song, her eyes, never leaving Sungjong. The way he looked at her made her stand there. The way his pixie expression radiated as he danced, almost commanded her to enjoy his performance. It was enchanting.

Waving one hand over and around the face, the other arm extended toward the audience. Keeping rhythm with the bending of the knee. Then, the finale, a finishing point of the finger toward the ceilng. When Sungjong’s performance ended, Hyera clapped by herself vigorously. The trembling in her breath was gone, the questions she had had in her mind stored away, replaced by the warmth and energy of Sungjong’s surprise performance for her. Sungjong, shutting his IPod off, leaped toward Hyera, shouting, “Surprise!”

Hyera was still clapping, laughing, and grateful for the uneasiness lifting from her chest with each bout of laughter.

“I had to thank you for helping me through these past few days, with your texts, so I prepared this. Aren’t you impressed?” said Sungjong, grinning sheepishly but proudly, cheeks flushed from the exertion of the dance.

Nodding, Hyera replied, “I have to say, I’m a little impressed. I had a great laugh.”

Sungjong beamed, his eyes never leaving Hyera. For a moment, the two remained silent, regarding each other, a sense of warmth, a hint of friendship passing between the two. Or so, Hyera thought. Except, her heart wasn’t beating exactly the way it was supposed to, when one shares a warm moment with a friend. The beats were uneven, the thumping, even slightly uncomfortable, and she wanted to break the discomfort.

“What dance am I learning today?” asked Hyera, breaking the warm silence.

“We’re not focusing on a specific dance today,” said Sungjong, responding to the interruption of their connection smoothly, allowing the warmth to disperse into the air around them without too much regret, “I want you to get used to the feeling of dancing itself, of moving your body to the music to compliment the melody and beat, and being free to express what you think the music wants to express.”

Hyera nodded, although she wasn’t quite sure what Sungjong meant. Nonetheless, the boy was turning his IPod on again, so Hyera just kept listening.

“I’m just going to turn on music, any type of music, and let’s just dance. The two of us,” said Sungjong, as he clicked the IPod to life and raised his head. What floated out into the practice room was a smooth, easygoing jazz tune, composed of various soft tones of brass instruments and a steady drum beat.

Hyera stood frozen to her spot, her arms stuck to her sides. She looked at Sungjong with worry in her eyes. She hadn’t expected this from him, in the least. Sungjong, stepping closer to her, held out one of his hands. Hyera looked down at the palm for a good minute, before peeling one of her arms from her side forcefully and placing her hand into the palm. The next moment, Sungjong had taken her other hand as well, so that they held both of their hands out in front of each other.

Sungjong began to step his feet lightly, from side to side, matching the flowing jazz tunes. Because Sungjong was moving in front of her, and because the two were connected by their hands, she found herself moving as well, following Sungjong’s steps. It wasn’t difficult, and in fact, it felt right. Their simple side-to-side step matched the music appropriately. With a smile, Sungjong drew Hyera toward him, and then spun her around, Hyera caught by surprise but going along, with just a few fumbled steps.

To her disbelief, Hyera actually found that she felt comfortable, dancing. Well… this isn’t exactly dancing... more stepping, really. But it’s a start.

But then, the smooth jazz music faded away and was replaced by a bright, energetic guitar sound Hyera had often heard before. Here, Sungjong let her hands go and stepped back a step, his head already nodding to the transformed melody. In a matter of seconds, Sungjong’s head, shoulders, arms, hips, feet – his whole body and every joint of his muscles – began moving to the beat. The song had the effect on him; the music and its rhythm inspired energy, vitality, dance.

Finally, when the English lyrics began, Hyera recognized the song as Michael Jackson’s Black or White. Sungjong was clapping his hands and making a circle around Hyera, his face half full of the pixie expression, half of just enjoyment from the music. “Hyera, dance!” he exclaimed, “Just listen to the music and tell me it doesn’t get you moving!”

It wasn’t even a challenge of any sort, but Hyera was caught in it. Yes, she stayed away from public displays of her dancing when possible, but having fun with music, that was another idea altogether. Eyes brightly lit, Hyera felt her head nodding to the beat of a song that could make buildings move. She was spinning, her feet were leaving the floor in different intervals, and she cried out “Whoa!” the same way Michael Jackson did in his song.

She could hear Sungjong laughing somewhere near her, but she closed her eyes and jumped up and down, disregarding anything around her. Without her sight, she felt as if she were spinning in air, her feet occasionally touching the floor but for the most part floating. Up and down, up and down. Hyera had never really known the Michael Jackson fever; it was sort of before her time, she felt. But this song, this moment, was all she needed to understand completely all of those Jackson fans who had mourned with all their hearts at the death of the king of pop. Up and down, up and down. Shouting. Then, Hyera felt her feet lifting strangely, not exactly like they had with the same up and down rhythm, but higher. And then, she crashed, felt herself knock against another being with arms. Sungjong. But the second it took for Hyera to realize she had crashed into Sungjong brought her slamming onto another surface: the floor.

“Ouchh,” Hyera whined, and opened her eyes, looking up at the ceiling of the practice room. Something, someone, was partially on top of her. She looked down at Sungjong, who halfway lay on her, and whose limbs were oddly tangled with some of her own.

“Ugghh…” said Sungjong, peeling himself off of Hyera, “Yah, I told you to dance, not lose control of yourself!”

“Ohh, sorry…” Hyera muttered, sitting up as Sungjong did also. She felt her cheeks heat up, but at the same time, she still heard Black or White playing in the background, and the fever of the music hadn’t left her yet. She smiled, looked at Sungjong, and then burst out into laughter.

Sungjong was embarrassed by the fact that after Hyera had lost her balance and collided with him, they fell to the floor with Hyera first. He was the guy, the one who was supposed to take the fall.  These very thoughts jogging his head, Sungjong was taken aback by Hyera’s sudden laughter, until looking at her, he started laughing too. Not because of anything in particular, but just because Hyera, sitting there, laughing after her fall, was cute.

The fall had partially been his fault too. He had been watching her, enjoying the music, jumping up and down, grinning at her silliness. He should have been more alert. Maybe the choice of song was a little too energetic. Sungjong reached over and shut his IPod off. The song had been about to end anyway.

After Hyera stopped laughing, she fanned her cheeks and asked Sungjong, “How was I?”

Sungjong pondered only for a moment before responding, “Crazy.” But then, he grinned, showing a look of approval in his face. “At least, you enjoyed the music. Feeling the music when you dance should be an important step. Although, I wouldn’t really call what you did just now… dancing,” he added.

“Yah, I thought I did well enough!” Hyera cried in her defense.

Sungjong stood up, then helped Hyera up with a hand. When did they start holding hands this many times a day, like it was no big deal?

“We should get going,” he said, “See you here same time tomorrow?”

Hyera beamed up at him from her short height, her brown eyes glittering and radiating delight. “This was really fun. Yes, tomorrow,” she said, nodding.

Even as she waved to him in the hall, Hyera’s shining eyes sent jittery waves of energy through Sungjong. His heart was beating unevenly, but what mattered more was that when he was with her, and even more when she enjoyed the time that he was with her, everything was fine.

*****

TO: Hyera

FROM: Sungjong

Sent: 10.4.11 1:43a.m.

I had fun today. I think as long as I can be with you like today, I’ll be okay. So…Goodnight!

TO: Sungjong

FROM: Hyera

Sent: 10.4.11 1:50a.m.

Today was really, really fun. Thanks for being my dance teacher. I really need it. See you tomorrow, and goodnight!! 

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A/ N:

So pretty important Announcement:

I will officially be going on a HIATUS with this update of Obsession. It's not that I have Writer's Block (I've never actually had that...), it's that I feel like this is a very important time for me to focus on school right now. I'm sure Spring is just one heck of a busy mess for EVERYONEE~

So, I want to declare myself on HIATUS for the months of February and March. And, if all goes by plans, then I should be back and chipper, in April (INFINITE's Comeback!!!).

I hope all of you guys aren't stressed too much with work and all! Let's all just grudge through it together!

As for the next fic I've hinted at (Sorry I've delayed it...), some of my readers on No Limit Infinite figured it out right away, but not those of you here~

It IS a Woohyun x OC fanfic :) I can't wait to start posting it, after I get back from Hiatus!!

Thank you so much, for reading. And thank you so much, for being a fellow fan of Infinite. Wishes of good health and good fortune for the time I won't be here!! (I'll probably be around ocassionally, hehe~)