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"Should I kiss you?"
Ireah looked up at Heejae with an unfazed look on his face. "Why?"
Heejae's forehead wrinkled and he bit his lower lip. He was thinking about how to explain when Ireah got up from the floor. Ireah tapped on Heejae's chin with his forefinger.
"Just say what you want. If you bite your lip like that you'll bleed again," Ireah said softly, smiling at Heejae. He walked to the corner of the room, took a water bottle from the table, then sat on a chair downing water. They had only practiced for about an hour and he was already thirsty. It seems that his stamina to dance has decreased a lot compared to when they were active in the group.
Heejae stopped biting his lip, walking quickly after Ireah. He also picked up a water bottle and poured the clear liquid into his mouth. At this time, there were only the two of them in the practice room, because the filming crew hadn't arrived yet and the choreographer who taught them was excusing himself out for something. It seems like a perfect time to express his personal opinion to Ireah. "So, I was thinking maybe we could make the choreography more challenging?"
Twisting his bottle cap Ireah replied calmly, "singing high notes while lying down is challenging enough for me."
Hearing Ireah's answer, Heejae fell silent. He stood still in front of his best friend, until Ireah finished closing the bottle and putting it back on the table. After Ireah's eyes refocused on him, Heejae said, "I've done some studies."
Ireah blinked his eyes, his eyebrows raised slightly, which meant that he felt interested. What studies has Heejae done? "And what is that?"
Heejae immediately pulled out the empty chair on his right side and positioned it right next to Ireah. He sat in the chair while taking out his phone from his trouser pocket. "I watched youtube. And you should check at the clickbait for Hyesung's team."
"Ah, I've seen that." But Ireah still rests his shoulder on Heejae's shoulder comfortably so he can focus on the phone screen. "Love Killa, right?"
"Yes." Heejae opened Peak Time's official channel and started checking the number of views and showed it to Ireah. "The number is high, right."
"But our views are higher, Heejae-ya," Ireah replied according to the facts. "Our Hello got much more views than Love Killa."
"Well, Hello uploaded before Love Killa, so it already got more views." Heejae looked at his phone quietly. Maybe Ireah was just making excuses because doesn't want him to change the choreo?
For the second time, Ireah gently tapped Heejae's chin with his index finger. "You bite your lip again. Never mind what I said earlier. What do you want me to do? Do you really want to change the choreo? Show me."
Before Heejae could answer, Ireah had already taken the phone from his hand, put it on the table, and then pulled his hand to stand up. They walked to the middle of the room then stood next to each other, facing the mirror wall.
Heejae's face brightened as he positioned Ireah facing him, with Ireah's back facing the mirror. "So for my part, I sing and you kneel in front of me, right? Then the dancers would be between us holding each other's wrists. After I finished, you immediately turned around and sang your part. I thought maybe we could add some movement while I was singing and before you sing."
Ireah listened intently while thinking how adorable Heejae could be when he was excited about something. At the beginning, when they were going to perform for the first time in Peak Time Heejae was very tense, then after some time and he got more comfortable he wanted to join the dance unit, but the vocal unit just desperately needed him. Now might be Heejae's chance to really dance, so while sharing ideas, Ireah can see Heejae's eyes gleaming. Ireah smiled softly. "What is the movement you think about?"
Heejae gently pushed Ireah's shoulder down until he knelt in front of him. Then he began to sing his part, and when the part was almost finished, he urged Ireah to stand up. Ireah complied, but before he actually stood up, Heejae pulled his hand so that he staggered forward and his cheek slammed into Heejae's collarbone. Heejae finished singing his part but did not let go of Ireah's hand, until Ireah stood up normally. Now they were standing very close, until the front left side of Ireah's body was attached to the front left side of Heejae's body. "It seems that the timing is off. Is your cheek okay?"
Without thinking, Ireah nodded his head then slowly withdrew his hand from Heejae's grasp. "Hmm. I'm fine. Shall we try it again?"
"Yes. Sure." Heejae stepped back, smiled happily, then watched Ireah kneel back in front of him. "I actually don't know what to do with my left hand."
Ireah looked up looking at Heejae. "Try again like earlier. Let's say you're almost done with your part." He extended his left hand to Heejae.
Heejae grabs Ireah's hand and pulls him. This time Ireah was able to find his balance quickly and he didn't bump his cheek, but then Heejae's left hand grabbed his waist, making him automatically press his whole body to Heejae. Heejae's cheek almost touched his, but Ireah didn't think about pulling back at all.
"If your hand is on my waist it won't be visible from the front," Ireah said, looking back so he could see the reflection of his back from the mirror. He also saw Heejae's arm wrapped around his waist. "The dancers hands will cover us from the waist down, right?"
"Ah that's right," Heejae commented, noticing their reflection in the mirror. "Ireah-ya. It feels like you lost some weight. Your waist is so thin."
"That's good news," Ireah replied with a grin, breaking free from Heejae's embrace. He looked at Heejae calmly. "How about you just hug my neck? It will be visible from the front. But I shouldn't stand right in front of you."
"Why?" Heejae asked innocently, looking into Ireah's eyes with a curious look. His right hand was still holding Ireah's left hand.
Ireah smiled, standing tall right in front of Heejae. "Because I am taller than you. You'll become invisible if I stand like this. Check it on the mirror."
Heejae poked his head over Ireah's shoulder. And although he was a little reluctant to admit it, Ireah was indeed taller than him. Heejae sighed. "Must be nice being a tall person."
Hearing Heejae's comment, Ireah laughed. He knelt down again in front of Heejae. "Must be nice to be a handsome person."
Heejae's eyes widened looking at Ireah. "You are handsome too. Tall and handsome."
"Stop it. You're gonna give me goosebumps," Ireah commented with a laugh, then realized Heejae was still holding his hand. "Are you in need of moral support? You haven't let go of my hand."
"Oh. Sorry." Heejae releases Ireah's hand, and Ireah extends it back to Heejae.
"It would be better to pull my wrist. Your other hand should be wrapped around my shoulders."
"Oh, so now you're the one who wanted to create the choreo?"
"Just try it first."
So Heejae did it. The result wasn't too bad, but their faces came back together as Heejae put his arm around Ireah's shoulders. "I'm sorry that my arm is too short."
"Your arms are not short–" Ireah quickly denied as he turned to Heejae, as Heejae turned to him. Ireah's lips brushed against the corner of Heejae's mouth and they immediately pulled away.
Heejae muffled his exaggerated screams, "aaarghhh..."
And Ireah just laughed. "Isn't this what you actually thought when you first asked me to add something to the choreo?"
Heejae had finished screaming and looked at Ireah gloomily. "No it was not. But it doesn't matter about what I think."
"It does matter," Ireah said, smiling sweetly, looking at Heejae with a curious look. "Then what are you really thinking about?"
"This." Heejae walked quickly up to Ireah, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him closer. He faintly pressed his lips against Ireah's for a few seconds and then let go. "This is what I have in mind."
For a moment Ireah could only look into Heejae's eyes, his mind was a little blank, but then he came back to his senses. He could feel Heejae's cold sweaty hand on the back of his neck. "Do you think you can do this on stage?"
Heejae looked at Ireah anxiously. "It seems too much, doesn't it? What if I just hold the back of your neck and grab a bit of your hair? I obviously won't hurt you."
Ireah nodded briefly. "Yes it was too much, especially because you did it so hurriedly as you were nervous. You can grab my hair while looking at the main camera and I'll look to my right side."
"Okay," Heejae answered, letting go of Ireah's neck with a thoughtful face. He bit his lower lip for a moment before asking, "do you think this would be an interesting clickbait?"
"Explain your definition of 'interesting'," Ireah replied casually, smiling as he shook his head. "I think it's okay as long as we can set the right timing. Now let's try again."
They redo the choreography from the beginning, and arrive at the part they are looking forward to. Heejae firmly pulled Ireah's wrist, making sure front sides of their bodies were pressed together but not actually facing each other, and his hand at the nape of Ireah's neck as he clasped a little of his golden hair.
"Heejae-ya."
Since Heejae was busy making sure their pose was perfect through the reflection of the mirror, he just muttered absent-mindedly. "Hmm?"
"Why did you even think to kiss me on stage?"
Heejae's face turned tense. He nervously glanced at Ireah, who now only saw him through the corner of his eye. He swallowed hard before answering. "I observed the performances of other teams, and when there was a part like this, the judges also squealed. It seemed intriguing for the audience and I wanted to try it. Are you mad because I kissed you?"
Ireah took a quick glance at Heejae, scoffing in disapproval. "You called that a kiss?"
"What–" Heejae's sound of protest was no longer audible because Ireah had already pressed his lips firmly against his.
Ireah kept his eyes open, cunningly observing Heejae's eyes widened and his cute face that started to flushed. He rubbed Heejae's lower back, held him closer protectively and started sucking on Heejae's lower lip. He smirked as Heejae shut his eyes closed and slightly opened his mouth, sloppily trying to mimic Ireah's action on his upper lip. After Ireah felt Heejae's grip on his wrist tighten and the arm around his shoulder tensed, Ireah withdrew.
"That's called a kiss, Heejae-ya," Ireah said calmly, taking a step back from Heejae who could only gaped his mouth breathless with flushed cheeks. "Oh, and I wasn't upset about earlier. I'm not the type to hold a grudge, you know."
"Oh." Only that could come out of Heejae's mouth. He blinked, taking a few deep breaths as he stared at Ireah's lips for a few seconds before finally coming to his senses. "Ah, and thank you for the very detailed explanation."
"No problem," Ireah said with a smile, then saw Heejae's hand still gripping his wrist. "Oh, do you want to leave a mark on me?"
Heejae immediately released his grip. "Why do you say it so weirdly?"
Ireah took a step forward, whispering in Heejae's ear. "But you're the one who thought of kissing me on stage in front of hundreds of spectators."
"Stop it," hissed Heejae, feeling his face heat up. "It's just an idea we probably shouldn't have done."
"We'll definitely do it," Ireah challenged, smiling broadly as Heejae's face got more red. "Your version, just hugging and grabbing my hair part."
Heejae unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. "Agreed."
"That's for the camera," Ireah continued, smiling mischievously. "But behind the camera we're going to do my version."
Heejae couldn't help but swallow. "But I need to sing–"
"Oh, you'll be able to continue to sing," Ireah said quickly, with a suggestive grin. "But a few minutes late."