Chapter Text
"Origin of Love". Uhm Kijoon.
Now that Kyuhyun had discovered the title of the song and the name of the man he had met at the wedding, he could easily find more videos of his singing. Most of them were live videos recorded by fans and he spent an entire night watching them all. Then he scoured the internet for more information concerning Uhm Kijoon and his rock band, Phantom, including their other songs and covers. Nothing, however, could quite compare to the man's live singing, which he had heard at the wedding.
"I want to hear him sing again..." With that single thought occupying his mind, Kyuhyun surprised himself with an uncharacteristic act of impulsiveness when he found out that the band would hold a concert soon.
Before he could quite grasp what he was doing, he already came all the way to the livehouse, bought a ticket, and lined up to get inside.
It would be such a waste to go home now, Kyuhyun told himself sternly, even though the excitement was wearing off as he began to get intimidated by the crowd. He felt out of place and quite certain that he looked out of his elements as well, the way he dressed himself in baby blue sweater and white pants, and all the uncomfortable fidgeting he wasn't able to help. The stares he received made it obvious, and he could hear the deliberately loud teasings, asking what he could possibly be doing here or whether he got lost.
Kyuhyun couldn't help a long sigh of relief as the curtain of darkness inside the hall finally hid him from curious onlookers. It was already packed inside, but he had no intention to get squashed at the front section anyway. He did miraculously manage to find a spot around the middle where he didn't have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and offered a clear view to the whole stage.
But then the band came out.
In a matter of seconds, the people crowding the rear area pushed forward with loud screams. Kyuhyun froze in panic as he got carried along with the horde. By the time he noticed the uncomfortably crushing pressure from all around him, it was already too late to escape. He could barely turn his body, much less squeeze through to get out-
All hell broke loose when the man Kyuhyun came to see walked onto the stage. Kyuhyun's heart skipped a beat at the sight, but he didn't have a chance to analyze it because the crowd began roaring the vocalist's name "Kijoon! Kijoon" while he was still busy gasping for air. Someone elbowed the side of his head and his glasses fell off, robbing him of any chance to see the stage. Without thinking, he bent his knees and slid down little by little in an effort to look for them, right when the band screamed their greeting.
That was when everyone closed in from all around him and he blacked out.
When he finally came to, Kyuhyun didn't know where he was. His sight was still blurry and he barely registered a woman hovering above him, asking him questions; he just felt a huge relief that he was no longer trapped in the middle of the crowd. He must have given the right answer anyway, as the oxygen mask (he didn't notice he had them on) was taken off and he was brought to a sitting position on the long couch. Sadly mourning his lost glasses and squinting his eyes, he now recognized the paramedic uniform and thanked the woman who told him to take it easy.
Only when the paramedic had left that he noticed a man seated on a chair next to the couch. Even through his poor eyesight, Kyuhyun could easily recognize him.
"Hi," the man greeted him, sounding both amused and concerned. "We meet again."
Kyuhyun gaped, then flushed, barely managing to suppress a mortified whimper.
"I must say this is a surprise. I didn't see you as the type who would come to this kind of concert."
"Concert..." Kyuhyun drew in a sharp breath. "You-you're… aren't you supposed to..."
"The concert's already over," Kijoon chuckled. "You passed out and were brought backstage from the very beginning, according to the paramedic."
"Ah…" Filled with regret and self-loathing, Kyuhyun dropped his face onto his palms and groaned. "I didn't even get to watch you sing…"
"...You came to watch me?"
Kyuhyun stiffened, inwardly scolding his loose mouth. How embarrassing. Might as well announce to the man himself that he had been listening to all his songs, watched all his videos and bought all his albums while playing the memories of Kijoon singing on that wedding day over and over again in his mind like an overly obsessed fan-
Speaking of albums… Well, this… this was his chance, probably a chance of a lifetime. He got nothing to lose, did he?
"I-!" He snapped his head up, looking for his bag, and found it at the foot of the couch. He grabbed it and rummaged through the contents frantically until he found the marker he had brought in a desperately hopeful moment, along with a stack of Kijoon's albums. He nearly bit his own tongue as he shoved them towards Kijoon and pleaded, "Sign-- you-- your signature! Please!"
Kyuhyun kept his head down, too embarrassed to look at Kijoon. He flinched when Kijoon's fingers touched his chin, then tilted his face up so their eyes could meet. Kyuhyun couldn't help but melt a little inside when he saw the smirk painting the older man's face.
"I would love to sign them for you." Kijoon leaned in closer. Too close. "But only if you give me your phone numbers."
Kyuhyun blinked and Kijoon's smirk grew.
Moments later, Kyuhyun could only let out a single syllable in response. "Huh?"
And that was the beginning of the mismatched pair.