Chapter Text
“It’s cold and windy…and you’re taking me out to eat ice cream?”
A very annoyed Jinhyung was being pulled along by his friend, who only smiled but ever so slightly flinched at Jinhyung’s intense gaze. “C’mon, I really want you to meet him. This guy has alot of experience under his belt, you could learn a thing or two from him. You started training already right? This guy is in UnderNineteen!” It was Jinhyung’s turn to flinch. He knew about the auditions and he debated on joining, but he didn’t want to set himself up for disappointment. He didnt feel like he could compete for real just yet, so he stuck around his circles in dance studios instead. “Yeah but its not really proper training, I’m just…doing dance covers.” Jinhyung huffed as his friend continued to tug him along.
“Chulsoo-yah!”
A very cheerful voice called out as they entered the ice cream shop, Chulsoo was quick to come over to embrace his friend.
Jinhyung stood rooted on the spot.
The stranger was beautiful.
“So you’re the infamous Jinhyung, when they said you’re tall they weren’t lying. I wonder if there’s a voice to match.” Jinhyung just blinked, not comprehending the person in front of him. Chulsoo’s friend had such a pretty face which was made to be an idol, his eyes seemed to sparkle with some mischief, a smile that curled in such a charming way, and he definitely didn’t look korean. There was just this aura around him that Jinhyung just stared, it did not even register that this guy was speaking korean so he muttered in english a quiet “Uhm…yes. I am Kim Jinhyung.”
Chulsoo and his friend laughed, and Jinhyung finally snapped out of his daze. He wanted to turn back, disappear and hide in embarrassment, when he felt a hand pat his arm. “Hello Jinhyung, I am Muti.”
***
“WHY DID YOU LEAVE?!”
Muti looked up from his sketchpad to see a very exasperated Jinhyung looming over him. They were in the same ice cream shop some time after the finals for UnderNineteen aired. The one where Wumuti left.
“Jinhyung-ie, they put the wrong shade on you again…its too light, no one will see how pretty your skin is.” Muti stood up from the booth and reached a hand to rub the makeup off Jinhyung’s cheek. Jinhyung had just finished filming another dance cover for the dance studio, and they did his makeup as usual. “Idol make up” to make his skin look brighter and fairer. He didn't like it, but that's how idols should look, right?
The studio got together to watch the UnderNineteen broadcast. Nobody knew Jinhyung was friends with Wumuti and he liked it that way. He could watch his friend grow and succeed, Wumuti inspired him to pursue his own path. He trained just as hard, dancing and singing…but he still felt like something was missing. Whenever he saw Wumuti perform, it made him try harder…but then, right before the final, his hope left the show.
“Don’t change the subject.” Jinhyung’s intense stare could bore a hole, but Wumuti just smiled and motioned him to sit in the booth with him. The ice cream shop was fairly empty and the few people who were there didnt seem to give too much notice to the outburst earlier. Jinhyung slid into the booth across from him, still looking at his friend for answers. “You were so close to the final, everyone loves you. Everyone online has been speculating, you’re totally trending right now. Why did you give up?” Wumuti sighed and focused on his sketchbook again to finish his drawing. It looked like a thorny heart. “The reason doesn’t really matter, I just didn’t want to do it anymore.”
This is when Jinhyung felt his voice raise a pitch. “Just because you didn’t want to do it anymore? So you just quit? Because with such natural talent like yours, you can easily get accepted. You already debuted in China and you also left…why are you doing this, Muti-hyung?” Wumuti didn’t say anything, he just got out of the booth and walked up to the register and ordered. Jinhyung bit his lip, a little worried he crossed a line and offended his friend…or he hopes that someone is still his friend.
When Wumuti returned, he placed the ice cream infront of Jinhyung. The ice cream cup was so full of toppings you could barely see the ice cream underneath. “Hyung, I—-” Jinhyung started to apologize when Wumuti motioned to the ice cream. “Would you eat that?” Jingyung blinked, “wh-what?” Wumuti pointed to the ice cream, revealing a well manicured and decorated nail. It looked like a press on. Jinhyung wanted to comment on the nail, but the way Wumuti looked at him made him flinch. He took the spoon and looked at the overloaded cup, he usually only had syrup drizzled or very minimal toppings. He ate one of the toppings until he could get some of the ice cream, it was his favorite mugwort flavor. He knew not alot of people liked it because it was so uncommon, but when Wumuti found out, he didnt get the usual teasing and was told it made him more charming.
“That's how I felt. They put so many toppings on top, and while it looks nice, no one can see what's really underneath.” Wumuti said softly, as he looked at his own cup, probably cherry or red velvet flavored. Jinhyung swallowed hard and looked at his friend, a little at a loss for words. “Hyung…” He tentatively reached over to take one of Wumuti’s slightly trembling hand and ran his thumb over a nail. It was so pretty. Now that he notices, Wumuti’s usually brightly smiling face looked tired and there were shadows under his eyes. It wasn’t just Jinhyung who was struggling, Wumuti was too, but Wumuti had the courage to do things his way and not just follow the crowd…unlike Jinhyung. He couldn’t speak up on his styling and was constantly conscious of himself, just trying to blend in instead of being seen. Shouldn’t an idol want to stand out? “...I wish I was like you.”
Wumuti looked up at Jinhyung with so much fondness, it made the younger one’s heart clench.
“ 진형아, 나랑 더 많은 시간을 보내고 싶니? “
(Jinhyung-ah, do you want to spend more time with me?)