Chapter Text
This night is cold in the kingdom
I can feel you fade away
From the kitchen to the bathroom sink and
Your steps keep me awake
It was a cold November morning.
Yeosang groaned loudly, as he pulled the cover over his head, trying to stay in the warmth of the bed for as long as he could. But he knew he would need to get up soon for his early morning class.
Yeosang was in his second year at university, majoring in mathematics. Unlike his first year, most of his classes this year started at 8 in the morning. But luckily, it also meant that he was free most afternoon, allowing him to pick up a part-time job at the coffee place near his university.
When that final alarm rang, Yeosang kicked the duvet away and rolled off the bed, knowing that he could no longer postpone getting up. The air was chilly, the hairs on his arms stood up; thus, he quickly grabbed a hoodie on the chair and made his way to the bathroom to get ready.
After putting on a layer of BB cream to cover up his birthmark, it was now half past 7, and he would need to hurry up if he wanted to get to class on time with time to spare.
Hurriedly getting out of the bathroom, the blonde grabbed his bag and coat from his bedroom and headed toward the door, stealing a quick glance at the closed door at the end of the corridor. Wooyoung was probably still asleep. Being the light sleeper that he was, Yeosang was woken up by Wooyoung’s steps coming back late last night, like every other night, despite the latter’s best attempt to keep it quiet.
Yeosang had been living with his childhood friend, Wooyoung, after they moved to the new city for university. They had been around each other since their memory started to form, since their parents were university friends and eventually next-door neighbours.
And since forever, wherever Yeosang was, you could always find a Wooyoung nearby.
They went to school together, walked home together and hung out in each other’s room until their parents called them home. At one point, their friends even thought that they were brothers, considering how close they were.
When the time to apply for university came, the duo knew that their separation was inevitable, as they wanted to study different majors. Wooyoung had always been passionate about dancing and performing, while Yeosang, who had no real dream, chose mathematics, which was his best subject in school.
But the best friends did not want to part way just like that, so they decided to apply to different universities in the same city, who luckily offered them the spot they had wanted. Wooyoung enrolled in a prestigious art college at the north side of the town, while Yeosang’s university was located at the south. Despite the distance, they chose to live together – it was always comforting to be near a close friend in the new, terrifying city. After weeks of searching, they found this cozy 2-bedroom apartment 20-minute on foot away from Yeosang’s university but more than one hour away on bus from Wooyoung’s college. Somehow, they made it worked and still lived together in their second year.
However, since the second year started in September, the clash in their schedules had kept them apart; the number of times that they were both at home was scarce. Wooyoung was introduced to this dance group by a course mate, Yunho. Their practices were scheduled in the evening and finished late at night. Hence, by the time Wooyoung got home, Yeosang was already in bed, though the latter was always aware of his friend tiptoeing back to his room. When Wooyoung woke up in the afternoon and got ready for his afternoon classes, Yeosang was at his part-time job. Thus, when November rolled over, the total number of times they had a meal together could be counted on fingers and toes.
That reminded the elder that he had not seen Wooyoung for like a week now. Since his morning classes tomorrow were cancelled, Yeosang took note that he should stay up, wait for his childhood friend tonight, and catch up with him.
“Urgh, I’m still so sleepy… why are all our classes so early in the morning?”
A figure flopped onto the seat next to Yeosang, 2 minutes before the class started.
“Good morning to you too, Jongho. You seem lively and excited for class as always.”
The younger looked up, shooting daggers at Yeosang’s teasing smile. But before he could come up with a retort, the professor had walked in and started the lecture.
Jongho was a year below Yeosang, majoring in engineering. However, they shared Application Maths lectures and classes this year. Being in the same study group, they had gotten quite close with each other. The younger was considerate, kind, funny and just good at everything. He was respectful to Yeosang’s space and boundary but knew when he could push it a bit to get his huyng to talk.
Yeosang was an introvert but talking to Jongho had come so naturally. The blonde was grateful for the appearance of Jongho in his life, as the younger was basically his first friend in university. Their weekly ranting session about their relative subject and life had immensely released the build-up stress and partially filled in the empty space in Yeosang’s life.
Quietly opening the door, Wooyoung had expected darkness and silence like every other day; instead, he was greeted with bright light and television noise. His gaze was quickly caught by the figure of a sleeping blonde beauty on the couch.
Dropping to his knees, the black-haired man’s hand made it way to the blonde hair, brushing some out of Yeosang’s face then lightly stroking the hair, as his eyes gently traced along his best friend’s peaceful sleeping features with admiration. No matter how many times he had seen his friend sleeping when they were younger, he could never get enough of his beautiful, sculptured features.
Wooyoung’s free hand reached up to stroke his friend’s fluffy, soft cheeks, but it was quickly stopped the moment it touched the cold skin. Frowning, he realised that Yeosang had fallen asleep without at least a light blanket to keep him warm.
Pondering whether to wake up the elder or get a duvet and cover him up, Wooyoung decided to opt for the former – he did not want Yeosang to wake up with neck or back pain from the uncomfortable sleeping position the night before. His hands dropped to the blonde’s shoulders and lightly shook them.
“Yeo-ah, wake up. Don’t sleep out here. It’s cold.”
The blonde stirred a bit, his eyes fluttering open as he tried to comprehend the situation. His eyes blinked rapidly to get used to the bright light, but he could make out a hazy figure of Wooyoung in front of him.
“Oh, hi. You’re back?” The black-haired boy nodded slightly. “I wanted to wait for you, but I guess I fell asleep half-way through. How was your day?”
“It was alright.” Wooyoung stood up and moved to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, with Yeosang tailing behind. “It has been stressful at the dance practice. The group is super nervous about the competition this Friday. Ah that’s right! You’re coming to our competition right? I’m sure you have not forgotten about that right?”
Yeosang had, in fact, forgotten about it. His best friend had told him about the competition and made him promise to come and watch (of course Yeosang would never miss it for the world) two months ago, when the dance group decided to sign up for the competition. Now he wondered if he could find tickets anywhere.
“Of course not.” The blonde lied. “I will definitely be there to cheer for my favourite person.” That was not a lie. Even if he had forgotten to get the ticket, he would turn the world upside down to find spare ticket or find a way to sneak in, in worst case.
The black-haired man looked sceptical – he knew his friend, and he knew that guilty look flashing in his friend’s eyes. But he did not expose his best friend. Yeosang had never broken a promise between them, so even if he had forgotten, he would definitely find a way to watch the competition.
“By the way, there will be an after party at San’s and Yunho’s house after the competition. You should come.”
Needless to say, the blonde was reluctant. He never enjoyed party and booze, or people in general. He always felt out of place at a party. And now Wooyoung wanted him to go to a party, where the only person he knew was Wooyoung?
“It’s okay if you don’t want to go. I know you don’t like parties. But I would love for you to be there. The celebration would be incomplete without your presence.” Wooyoung said, seeing the hesitance from his friend.
“No. I’ll come. I would like to celebrate the occasion with you too.” The elder quickly said. He did not like the idea of disappointing the younger, and he could feel that his friend genuinely wanted him to be there too. It would only be one night, there was no harm in going, and it would make his best friend happy too. Little uncomfortableness was nothing in comparison to Wooyoung’s happiness.
That night, the two best friends finally had the much-needed catch-up conversation that lasted hours.
Wooyoung talked about how San, Yunho’s housemate and another member of the dance group, had promised to dye his eyebrows blue if they would win the competition. Motivated by that, Wooyoung also made the promise to bleach and dye his hair purple if they could bring the cup home. The progress of the group was smooth too, everything was already worked out and now they were just trying to make the dance sharper and clearer. At the end of last week, the team had decided to take a well-deserved break and gone to this great restaurant, which had the best fried chicken Wooyoung had ever eaten. According to Wooyoung, it was a must-try, or else he would personally drag the blonde there and force feed him those delicious chickens.
Yeosang loved watching Wooyoung talk, especially about dancing as his eyes glistened sparks of passion – and it was such a beautiful sight to behold. He teased the younger that he would look like a tiny grape if he really dyed his hair purple, which made his friend pout and decided to go for a lilac colour instead. He then just laughed at the threat of being force fed in public by his childhood friend – it would honestly not be the worst thing in the world – but he still complied and promised to visit this restaurant at some point, maybe with Jongho. The blonde then proceeded to complained about the enormous pile of work his professor had given and how Jongho had been swearing non-stop when they were studying together at the library, drawing multiple glares from their fellow students.
The conversation was smooth and easy, as the duo leaned on opposite end of the couch, legs tangling in the middle of the couch, nibbling through their midnight snacks, talking, teasing each other, and laughing at random funny occurrences in each other’s life.
A warm feeling rose and filled Yeosang’s stomach. It might have been a while since they last spoke – but they were best friends, nothing could separate them, their conversation would always flow this natural and easy.
The best friends talked for hours, until the snacks ran out and it was too late for Wooyoung to keep his eyes opened. They quickly said goodnight and went back to their own rooms.
The next few days were hectic for Yeosang. He had to hand in an assignment for one of his classes, and then rush to find a ticket for Wooyoung’s dance competition. The day before the competition, he finally found a person selling their ticket on one of the online marketplaces. Thank God! His plan for sneaking in was not pretty, and he in no way wanted to carry that out.
Yeosang arrived at the concert hall, where the competition was held, 30 minutes early to retrieve his ticket and settle in his seat. The concert hall was big, about 50 rows, split into 3 sections, with ground and upper floors. His seat was not the best, located at the left wing, somewhere at the back, 30 rows away from the main stage.
There were eight groups competing, each with very different styles, from hip hop to contemporary. All the groups’ dances were clean and full of energy. Yeosang really wanted his best friend to win, but he could not deny the fact that the competitors were extremely strong. He was getting nervous. He could only hope that Wooyoung’s group had a strong stand-out point that would differentiate them from the rest of the competition.
Wooyoung’s group was the last one to perform. The dance was very calm, with bright, light vibes at first. The start featured two boys in love, a tall one and a shorter pink-haired boy. Their movements were soft and fluid, full of love and caring. The tempo of the song, then, dropped into tense, dangerous, low beats as Wooyoung in pale white make up and bright red lipsticks appeared, while the taller dancer disappeared to backstage. The dance between Wooyoung and the pink-haired boy was full of seduction and temptation as they circled around each other, playing a push and pull game.
Yeosang suddenly felt hot. His heartbeat was raising as he stared unblinking at the seductive expression and sexy movements that his best friend was showcasing. Every time the dancer brought his hand up to swipe at his mouth, the blonde could not stop himself from staring at the former’s plump lips. When the dancer pulled his dance partner into his arm (as the latter struggled to escape), Yeosang’s mind started to imagine himself in that position. Shaking his head, the blonde begged his brain stop treading into those dangerous territories and re-focus onto the dance.
The blonde was quickly saved as Wooyoung retreated when the tall dancer returned to the stage. The music picked up its speed, as it went back to its original upbeat vibes, with subtle tension, created by the slower, more hesitant beat. The tall dancer’s movement was still flawless, showing full tenderness and caring towards his partner, while the latter now was more reluctant and less responsive.
As tall dancer disappeared again, Wooyoung reappeared on stage, starting another cat and mouse game; only this time, the pink-haired boy was more responsive and gave in much quicker. His expression was super sexy as he softly trailed a hand down Wooyoung’s cheek.
The music changed abruptly to an aggressive tone with quick beats, as the tall dancer returned to stage, clearly fuming. He yanked the arm of the pink-haired boy and shoved him behind his back. He launched towards Wooyoung, clearly wanting to land a punch at Wooyoung, only for the latter to swiftly avoided it. The way the fight was staged was absolutely brilliant. The tall dancer’s anger and resentment could be whole-heartedly felt by the audience, in contrast to the confidence and arrogance demonstrated by Wooyoung. When the tall dancer gave a swift kick, Wooyoung did a back-flip at ease, earning gasps and applause from the audiences.
The fight was soon interrupted, as the pink-haired dancer planted himself in the middle of them and then came to Wooyoung’s side, holding onto his arms.
Despite having seen them flirt the whole performance, this particular moment caused a tug at Yeosang’s heart, but he refused to dwell on it. He, by no means, wanted to understand what it might indicate.
The loud gasps and cheers from the audiences pulled him from his daydreaming land back to reality.
On stage, that moment when the pink-haired boy chose Wooyoung, water was dropped from the ceiling, making everyone wet, including the dance group, the stage as well as the first two rows of audience. The tall dancer, wet hair sticking to his face, sorrowfully gazed up at his now former lover, as he made his final attempt to get the latter to change his mind. His dance oozed desperation and sadness as his ex-lover still clung to Wooyoung’s side; though what they had missed was an evil, confident smirk blooming across Wooyoung’s face.
The music slowed down to a sad tune, aided by the long sorrowful sound of a violin. When the tall boy finally looked up again, his eyes sparked determination, mixed with pain, as he glared at his lover for the last time. Fist clenching, he made a swift, powerful, clean 180o turn, exiting the scene, while his ex-lover finally reached out his hand, but stopped himself, hands held back on his chest. The scene was heart-breaking, the hollow, lonely silhouette of the tall dancer forever imprinted in the mind of the audiences.
If the audience thought that was the perfect end, they were dead wrong. The music suddenly changed into a dark, dangerous tone with extremely fast beats, raising the heartbeat of the audience. The light on stage dimmed, as all the other dancers exited the stage, the spotlight now focused on the two main characters on stage.
Wooyoung started to circle around the now terrified pink-haired boy, with pure hunger in his eyes. Yes, it wasn’t lust. It was hunger, like he was staring at food. The boy made a desperate attempt to escape out of fear but was stopped. Wooyoung grabbed his arm, pulling him back; his hand went up, meeting the other boy’s chin as the latter sprung his backward, before letting his head drop limply. The dancer yanked his partner’s collar, as his lips came to meet the latter’s neck, teeth bare, wild eyes staring straight at the audience. As he shoved the limping body of the pink-haired boy, a wide victorious smirk spanned his face – at the end of the day, it was just another prey.
The spotlight turned off, and when the light was on again, the whole dance group had appeared at the stage, bowing in the thunderous applause of the audience.
It was well-deserved. The dance was clean and full of energy. The storyline was truly captivating. The stage presence and expression were powerful and mesmerising.
“You did so well today, Woo! The performance was absolutely beautiful! I am so proud!” Yeosang texted his best friend from his seat during the 15 minutes of break as the panel of judges discussed the winner.
At the end of the break, everyone gathered back into concert hall for the winner announcement. Suspension was high in the air, as the candidates gathered on stage, waiting for the judges.
Yeosang was sure every team here deserved the win, as they must have prepared hard to deliver those flawless performances. But he was biased. He had witnessed the hard work that his best friend had put in for the last 2 months, trying to balance both schoolwork and dance practice, while facing the long daily commutes. Wooyoung deserved that win!
Yeosang could feel proud tears prickling in his eyes when the judges finally announced the winner to be Wooyoung’s group.
Every emotion flashed across the team members’ faces, from tension to wide-eyed surprise to pure bliss. They gathered in a group hug, before the tall dancer, one of the three main characters in the performance, stepped up to accept the cup.
This was when Yeosang’s gaze, which had never left Wooyoung since the start, met his best friend’s searching eyes. The latter broke into a wide smile as his right hand formed a peace sign, placed onto his heart, eyes still gluing to the blonde.
Yeosang felt warmth spreading across his heart, as he did the same thing.
This was their small ritual of celebration. When they were in middle school together and completely ignorant of the real world’s difficulties, they made a promise to never be separated from one another – they would either succeed or fail together. And when they would succeed in anything, they would do this small gesture – two together, always, heart-to-heart, inseparable.
Yeosang was sitting at the entrance, waiting for Wooyoung and his friends to change their outfits and clean up their make-up.
“Yeo-ah!”
Walking towards the said man was no other than Wooyoung, dressed in a loose black silk shirt, tugged into his black skinny ripped jeans. The man looked out of this world in his black smokey eye make-up. Yeosang could feel his heartbeat raising, as he dared not to look directly at the boy.
Eyes darted around, he spotted a figure behind Wooyoung. It was that handsome pink-haired dancer. The blonde just stared as Wooyoung slowed down a bit, waiting for his friend, who then draped his arm around the black-haired man’s shoulder. Yeosang’s heart sunk at the sight of them snickering something and teasing each other from afar, and the blonde quickly tried to shake off the arising weird feeling.
“Yeo-ah, this is Sannie! You remember? This is the amazing dancer I was telling you about.” Yes, he remembered. San’s name appeared quite often in their conversation. “He’s also in his second year, majoring in literature at my college. He’s Yunho’s housemate, and that’s how he joined the dance group too. Sannie, this is Yeosang, my one and only childhood friend! The one that has been stuck with me since we were born.”
“Hi, Yeosang. It’s nice to finally meet you in person. This little guy right here has been talking non-stop about you, this childhood friend of 20 years, ever since we met three months ago.”
“Yah! Don’t tell him that. He’ll think I’m weird.”
Wooyoung shouted, trying to bite San’s shoulder, which was swiftly dodged, as the latter released his hold on the younger and came in front of Yeosang, hand reaching out, cute smile on his lips. San looked so soft and warm here, unlike the dancing beast that the blonde saw on stage. It made him feel a bit more comfortable, though he was still shy and cautious around new people.
“Hi, it is nice to meet you too.” Clasping their hands together, the blonde returned with a polite smile.
“Yeo-ah, how was the performance? What do you think? Were you surprised by the ending? San wrote the storyline, you know? I wasn’t sure that you would made it. So, when I saw your text, you have no idea how happy I was. I finally found you in the audience at the end! Did you see that? Also, we won! Can you believe it?”
The elder suddenly felt a weight on his body as the black-haired dancer sat down on the bench, arm draping on his shoulders, face inches away from his own.
“Ugh- stop shouting into my ears, Woo.” The blonde teased, making a disgusted face, hoping it would mask the tinted blush on his cheek, but he did not move away. He had always loved the younger’s skinship and attention, it made he feel loved and wanted, though doing it in public still made him feel quite shy.
“And yes, I saw your performance. It was amazing! The people around me were literally on the edge of their seats. San did an amazing job writing that script. It was impressive, unexpected, and mesmerising as hell.” Yeosang stopped for a second, before turning from San to Wooyoung, staring straight into Wooyoung’s eyes. “But you, Woo. You were stunning, captivating, beautiful, sexy! Your dance was clean, powerful, and full of grooves! You deserved that win and I’m proud of you!”
Wooyoung was speechless.
He knew that Yeosang was good with encouraging words. They had been there for each other through thick and thin. The elder was there to cheer him on when he thought he had failed the exams and would not get the grades to go to his dream college. The elder was there to reassure him that he was an amazing dancer, when he had his first stage freight before his performance at middle school’s anniversary. The elder was there to congratulate him when he won his first dance competition in high school.
Yeosang was always there, encouraging him, nudging him onto this path. But something was different with his speech today. In fact, something was different in his eyes, but the black-haired man could not tell what it was, as he kept staring into the blonde’s beautiful eyes.
“Ahem.” The pair jumped at the sound, as they broke the eye contact, diverting their gazes towards something else.
“I hate to interrupt this precious moment. But the Uber is here, at the entrance. We’re gonna be late if we stand here any longer. Woo-ah, you remember that we have a mission to prepare and welcome the guests to the party, right?”
The trio stood up, making their ways to the taxi, Wooyoung’s arm still on Yeosang’s shoulders.
The two dancers were lost in their own conversation, while Yeosang looked down, his thoughts were still lost in that moment minutes ago.