Work Text:
too much light. too dark. still too dark. no, this setting casts a creepy shade all over the room. yes, yes, just like-no, too light again. perfect. now, onto the armchairs. is this the best angle? yes, it’s good this way. the softest one for his special boy, of course… but, what if he liked harder, firmer chairs? no, he looked soft, he definitely would prefer the soft one. with two pillows, one to rest his back on and one to hug. it was cold outside; would it be better if he brought a blanket or if he turned on the heating? no. a blanket would be a good idea, maybe he disliked the thick, velvety feeling of heated air. two cups and their saucers on the end table, a bowl filled with sugar cubes in between them. clamps for the sugar, teaspoons, a half-emptied box of apple cinnamon teabags. that was his favorite, no? that’s what his naver profile said.
three knocks on the door almost made him drop the kettle. wonjin hissed when two drops of boiling hot water came out and landed on his thumb, however, any glimpse of pain disappeared after shaking his hand for two seconds.
“come in!” he said, using his spare seconds to check his reflection on the screen of his phone. not a single hair out of place, the red tie resting immaculately over his ironed white shirt. his pinkish strands didn’t exactly match the crimson-colored silk, maybe he should’ve gone back to burgundy for the day. he was in due for a retouch, his washed-out dye begged for some attention. it did match his rosy cheeks, though. he thanked whoever lived up there in the sky for not sending any blemishes to ruin his morning.
the door opened and there he was, the most beautiful boy his eyed had ever had the pleasure to witness.
“i am sorry for being late. i’m so sorry!” hyeongjun apologized with a deep bow, moving his head in strange directions so his gorgeous brown hair didn’t get messy when getting up again. “mrs. lee needed to talk to me about an english test i missed. i am sorry for making you wait; i promise it won’t happen again if we get the chance to talk somewhere in the future.”
wonjin, being his usual pathetic self, couldn’t do other than nod and smile, brushing off any worries hyeongjun might have about his two minutes of lateness. or three, he didn’t care. judging by that pretty smile that appeared on his best dreams of the week, it worked. he closed the door behind hyeongjun, making sure to set a “do not disturb” hanger onto the doorknob. the last thing he needed was to be interrupted during the following hour.
“may i offer you a cup of tea? i hope you like apple cinnamon, it’s the only variety i could find.”
“it’s my favorite!”
of course, it was. wonjin checked three times. he grabbed the kettle again and walked to the table before hyeongjun sat down on the soft armchair, covering his legs with the wool blanket, and setting a round cushion over his thighs. his enthusiastic yet polite expression was a perfect summary of his personality, at least the personality he showed on television and social media. but that had to be his real character, right? there was literally no way song hyeongjun, the nation’s precious fairy, would have any character flaws. he poured boiling hot water inside both cups, making one serving of tea for himself before letting hyeongjun make his own to his taste. several cubes went into the reddish liquid, it would be overly sweet. just like hyeongjun himself.
wonjin didn’t believe in fairies until hyeongjun came into his life.
he sat down in front of him, not before taking the two items resting on the remaining chair out so he didn’t crush them by accident. he turned the voice recorder on; he could perfectly use the ipad on his right hand, yet he preferred a better audio quality. hyeongjun deserved the best and only the absolute best wonjin could give him. apple pencil on hand, he opened his favorite notes app before the first words in a while came out of his mouth.
“hello! this is ham wonjin, and i am a member of the school’s newspaper club,” he started before a first tea sip to clear his throat. “first of all, hyeongjun, thank you for accepting this interview with us, it’s a pleasure to have you here. well, i don’t think anyone here doesn’t know who you are, but, just in case, could you please introduce yourself?”
“the pleasure is mine, wonjin. hello, to whoever is reading this! my name is song hyeongjun, and i am a soloist under starship entertainment. in the year 2018 i came out in first place in the survival show named hideout: remember who we are and promoted with cravity for a year until the disbandment. i’ve been on my own since then.”
wonjin remembered it as if it had been yesterday. hearing about a massive new survival, watching their promotional song, falling in love with the adorable ending fairy boy with curly hair and crooked teeth. reading everything upon “song hyeongjun” once the broadcasting channel released his profile, spending his weekly allowance on voting as much as he could. he cried whenever his trainers treated him badly, sobbed like a little kid the first time he got the biggest number of votes in an evaluation. he skipped school to go to the live recording of all evaluations, made little banners with his one pick’s name in bright yellow letters, almost fainted when a rumor said his favorite person in the world. his mother had to hold him and bring him a cup of water after he almost passed out when hyeongjun’s name was announced as the center of the new public-chosen group.
hearing his ultimate bias would transfer to his high school was like a late christmas present. he could never talk to him, of course, hyeongjun was a busy boy and didn’t attend school regularly because of his schedule but seeing him around was more than enough.
“you just finished the promotions for break all the rules. congratulations on your triple crown!” wonjin clapped fast, so fast the little ‘thank you’ hyeongjun said couldn’t really be heard. “but that doesn’t mean your promotions are actually over for the time being, doesn’t it?”
“you’re right about that!” replied hyeongjun, with a smile that made wonjin forget every problem he could think of. “i will be promoting one of the b-sides of my latest mini-album, cloud 9. i hope you can support me!”
“we definitely will. it was your first comeback since you had your solo debut back in november. how does being a solo artist compare to being part of a group?”
“well…” muttered hyeongjun, fixing one of the flowers on his hair. today’s color, white. the last time wonjin had seen hyeongjun, his head was full of red roses. now, because of him, everyone in korea, of all ages and all genders, wore flower hair accessories. hairclips, flower crowns, mere flower-patterned hairbands.
“do you need a mirror? i think i have one.”
“no, no, it’s okay! thank you for asking. well, as i was saying, it’s… different. i feel lonely most of the time, i miss seeing the same people every single day, my members taught me a lot and they’re the reason why i am the man i am today. yet, being a solo artist gives me more artistic freedom. i couldn’t choose between them, but, after experiencing both, i think every idol who makes part of a group should experience working alone at least once during their careers. i think it’s an important opportunity to grow as an artist, and as a person.”
so eloquent. so wise. wonjin scribbled some random words on his tablet before jumping onto the next question.
“sadly, we don’t get to see you much at school. do you ever wish you could live, you know, a regular life? be a regular teenager.”
“i think all idols sometimes want to live like a regular citizen,” hyeongjun laughed, brightening wonjin’s day once again. “i miss going out with my friends, sneaking out to the shopping mall on the weekends, just… living my life, you know? so, i make the most out of my free time. that’s why i love going on vacation, i can explore and be myself.”
“we all need a break once in a while. what do you do in your free time?”
“lately i’m interested in gardening. i’ve always loved flowers, but i didn’t know how to take care of one until now! i started a tiny orchard at home, and i’ve been posting some pictures on it on my instagram account.”
a flower taking care of flowers, how cute. nothing could take wonjin’s stupid smile out of his face.
“how about when you’re having a hard time? what do you do?”
“i’ve been criticized in the past for crying too much…” hyeongjun looked down, and wonjin’s blood boiled. he remembered all the ugly comments. how dare they hurt his precious hyeongjun, the purest boy in the whole world? “but it’s the only thing that actually relieves me. my parents taught me that it’s better to let it all go, rather than repressing it. so, well, i cry. i try to keep it to myself, you know, so i don’t seem like a crybaby on television again, but when i’m alone it’s easier to explode in tears. it heals my soul.”
wonjin wrote down some words again before scrolling down, checking the following questions. the following three were questions sent by fellow students, all vain, stupid things they would know if they were true hyeongjun fans, like him. by then, hyeongjun’s cup was empty and he only had enough tea for one short sip if anything.
“we have some little questions sent by some of the students at our school! are you ready?”
“yes, wonjin!”
wonjin had to bite his tongue so he didn’t jump and kiss his cheeks right there, right then.
“what’s your favorite food?”
“i like korean food in general. probably my mom’s kimchi stew.”
“how do you study for your tests?”
“i don’t do well on my own, it’s hard for me to focus, so starship has hired private tutors for me.”
wonjin glanced upon the third question. just a stupid ‘what’s your favorite color?’, that somehow got in the list instead of actually meaningful stuff. should he take a risk? a quick look at hyeongjun’s eyes made of fairy dust was enough of an argument.
“the last question: is there anyone special in your life right now?”
silence for a few seconds. hyeongjun’s expression didn’t show any particularly negative emotions, yet wonjin feared the worst.
“i’m single!” he finally giggled. “i’ve never dated before and i don’t think i’ll have a date or even my first kiss in a long time. right now, my focus relays on my music career, and i’m not quite ready to give my heart to anyone.”
fair enough. wonjin was sure that he was lying: hyeongjun was seventeen and he was gorgeous, he had probably had some romantic interests in the past. nonetheless, revealing any kind of feelings could hamper his career. people were crazy, and his beautiful angel had already dealt with some obsessive fans.
“that was the last question. once again, thank you for accepting this interview. please say goodbye to the school community. to all students, thank you for your attention!”
“hi, this is hyeongjun! i want to thank all my classmates for showing interest in me. i hope you support my future work. have a nice day, everyone!”
just like that, wonjin pressed a red button on the voice recorder, finishing the interview. he left his ipad on the table before saving all changes, shaky hands making all of his actions more difficult than usual. he had just asked song hyeongjun about his love life. did that mean he had an opportunity? did he even like boys?
the bell signaling the beginning of the next class slashed his thoughts.
“wonjin, i would love to stay here and help you clean up, but i have a very important physics test right now. if you want, i can come here on the next break and help you out,” he commented, his brown eyes looking as round as the moles on his face. wonjin only wished he could kiss his pout.
“n-no, it’s okay. good luck on your test.”
“thank you so much! i had a lot of fun. see you soon!”
just like that, hyeongjun bowed once again before bolting out of the tiny room the newspaper club used for reunions and interviews. wonjin watched him go, a broad smile forming on his lips as soon as he was completely alone. he sat down, daring to hug one of the pillows hyeongjun had been hugging that past hour. maybe next time he’ll be brave enough to ask for his number.