Archive of Our Own ^beta

Long, black hair half tied up with a red ribbon, light makeup decorating his face but not covering the mole under his eye, a baggy t-shirt and a knee-length skirt, Hyunjin always stands out in a crowd, even if he doesn’t mean to. Seungmin vividly remembers when he saw Hyunjin for the first time: he was tall, he had a small face, and when he came out to showcase his ballet dancing while wearing a skirt during their introduction week, he drew everyone’s attention, he was so handsome. And when he danced, his moves were filled with emotion and power, and his well-proportioned body only enhanced the impact of his performance.

Seungmin was awed as he watched it, and he was definitely not the only one, Hyunjin has been popular with everyone since that day, which didn’t surprise Seungmin in the slightest. What did surprise him, though, was when he found out that instead of another vocal major, Hyunjin, a ballet major, would be his roommate, and that Hyunjin seemed to be kind of shy and even a little closed off and aloof at first despite his confidence in wearing whatever he wants and having his own unique expression of himself. Nevertheless, Seungmin simply tried to treat him as he normally would treat strangers and see where they’d go from there.

Now, after knowing Hyunjin for more than 2 years already, Seungmin can’t even imagine that he first thought that Hyunjin might be unfriendly, but he also knows that that was just Hyunjin’s defense mechanism against people who wanted to take advantage of him and his naivety. Seungmin saw that even before Hyunjin slowly opened up to him, but once he really got to know his roommate, he actually understood everything, and while Seungmin still thinks that Hyunjin is as extraordinary as his first impression made him seem, he also learned that Hyunjin is also just as human as he is, with emotions and doubts and insecurities, but that only made him more lovely in Seungmin’s opinion.

As Seungmin got to know Hyunjin, he definitely developed a crush on him, and at first he just thought it was simply because of Hyunjin’s good looks and the way his aura and way of expressing himself is just so… extraordinary, the way he just intrigues everyone, the way he’s just unapologetically himself, but when after months and months Seungmin’s feelings only grew, he knew that he fell for Hyunjin as a whole, everything included.

Seungmin hasn’t told Hyunjin about his feelings yet, because sometimes Seungmin still can’t believe that he’s friends with such a wonderful and exceptional person who is wanted by everyone, and even though Hyunjin doesn’t shy away from complimenting Seungmin’s voice and comes to visit every single showcase and performance from Seungmin, Seungmin still wonders if he’s too boring or normal for Hyunjin.

It’s probably unfair to think that way, because Hyunjin is honestly one of the kindest, most supportive, and most loving people Seungmin has ever met and he shouldn’t underestimate Hyunjin’s kindness, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not scary to confess your feelings and be at your most vulnerable in front of someone, even when they both trust each other with their own vulnerable sides (especially Hyunjin).

“Hey, Minnie! Sorry I’m a little later, I was discussing some things with Sungie for the upcoming collab project,” Hyunjin pulls Seungmin out of his thoughts, and only now he notices Jisung, a song-writing major, who Hyunjin is doing a collaborative project with. Jisung waves at him and Seungmin as he walks past and Seungmin waves back, softly greeting him, before he turns to Hyunjin again.

“That’s okay, how’s the project going? And the teamwork? You’re not fighting?” Seungmin asks, and Hyunjin laughs. Hyunjin and Jisung had a rough start when they were paired up to work together in their first year, and despite that it was simply a misunderstanding that they worked through smoothly once they understood each other, they still sometimes joke about it. Not to make either of them feel bad about what happened, but to emphasize how they completely flipped from having a bad first impression to now voluntarily working together on a project, and that their growth is something to be proud of. Seungmin remembers that Hyunjin struggled with what to do with Jisung at first, so Seungmin is genuinely glad and impressed at the fact that they’re close now.

Jisung is pretty similar to Hyunjin, a bit shy yet expressive and not afraid to dress or look different than others, passionate and creative, sensitive, too, and Seungmin is happy that they can relate to each other and help each other, because he can tell that it makes Hyunjin happy. Anything that makes Hyunjin happy makes Seungmin happy too, even if it sometimes makes him a little jealous as well (even if he knows that Jisung has a boyfriend, Seungmin just wishes he could make Hyunjin as happy as Jisung does with his jokes). 

“We aren’t fighting! The opposite, actually, we immediately agreed on an idea and concept for both the song and the dance,” Hyunjin excitedly tells Seungmin as they walk back to their dorm room, his bright smile making Seungmin feel warm. “I showed Jisungie an improvised dance with the vibe I had in mind and he immediately had inspiration for lyrics, too, so he said he’ll work on it as soon as he gets home.”

“Oh nice! I knew you two would work together well.” Seungmin bumps their shoulders together and Hyunjin chuckles. “I can’t wait to see what you’ll make of it! What’s the theme—”

“Hyunjinnie!” A girl who looks like she’s from the ballet department, too, approaches them and Hyunjin jolts a little in surprise before he turns to her. “Me and some others from the ballet dep are going to hang out this Saturday, and I was wondering if you wanted to come, too.”

Hyunjin presses his lips together and shares a look with Seungmin before he answers, “I’d love to, Songyou, but I was going to study for music theory together with Seungminnie.”

Songyou groans. “Ugh, music theory. Boring. Can’t you reschedule?” 

“I can’t, sorry. Seungmin has vocal lessons on Sunday,” Hyunjin answers apologetically. “Maybe next time. Have fun, though!” 

“Thanks. Have fun with studying too, I guess,” Songyou sighs, and it’s almost as if she doesn’t even see Seungmin standing next to Hyunjin. Maybe she just doesn’t know who he is. “If you change your mind, text me, yeah?” 

Hyunjin agrees before they part ways and he and Seungmin continue walking back to the dorm together.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna go hang with them?” Seungmin asks softly, feeling a bit bad that Hyunjin had to decline because of him. 

“Yeah! I wouldn’t let you hang just like that,” Hyunjin huffs as if it’s obvious, and a smile tugs at Seungmin’s lips as he watches Hyunjin unfasten the ribbon in his hair and run his hand through it once they enter their room.

“I know, but I can imagine that you’d rather hang out with them than study, so I’m just wondering if you don’t still want to reschedule,” Seungmin offers, putting down his bag before taking off his shoes. “I don’t know, we could do it after my vocal lesson, or—” 

“It’s fine, Minnie, thank you,” Hyunjin assures with a small chuckle, running a hand through his hair before he ties it up again, but now into a messy bun. “Studying may be boring, but studying with you is way better than doing it alone, and I know that you’re always tired after your lessons, so let’s just do it on Saturday, yeah?” 

“Sure.” Seungmin smiles, and he flushes a little when Hyunjin mutters that it’s hot and takes off his shirt, leaving him in a tank top and his skirt. Seungmin is by now used to seeing Hyunjin like that, but he still can’t help but stare sometimes, raking his eyes over Hyunjin’s lean yet toned body and looking at the way he manages to look so good yet comfortable in his skirts. It also doesn’t help that Hyunjin has developed his muscles a bit over the past year—

“And besides! I’ve hung out with them all before, and yeah, it was fine, but I’d rather just stay in this week with things getting busier and all,” Hyunjin continues, pulling Seungmin out of his daze, and Seungmin smiles, remembering that Hyunjin can be a bit of a homebody at times. 

Sometimes Seungmin forgets that Hyunjin doesn’t always like all the attention that’s constantly on him, but then he remembers that Hyunjin isn’t the way he is for attention, he’s the way he is because he’s himself. It reminds Seungmin of when Hyunjin complained about being uncomfortable with people staring at his skirt and at his legs, especially whenever he was wearing shorter skirts, and Seungmin dumbly asked why then he wore skirts, if he didn’t like the attention. 

“I just think skirts are comfortable, I can move in them well, and I like the way they look,” Hyunjin had answered defensively, crossing his arms. “I don’t do it for the attention, and I’m not going to change just because other people can’t stop staring.” 

Seungmin blushed in shame and rushed to clarify himself. “I’m sorry— I didn’t mean to imply that you do it for the attention or that you should change or anything. I– Sorry. You’re totally right that it’s not your fault, and it sucks that people are making you uncomfortable.” 

“Thank you,” Hyunjin muttered half-reluctantly and half-gratefully. Seungmin thought that he had messed up with Hyunjin then, but fortunately his little mishap didn’t stop them from becoming friends. 

Now that Seungmin thinks about it, he even thinks that Hyunjin has never gotten mad or angry at him after that, if he was even mad back then to begin with, and that thought makes Seungmin’s heart start beating a little faster. Seungmin has never gotten mad at Hyunjin either, but that’s different, because Hyunjin is just… Hyunjin. Seungmin doesn’t see any reason to get mad at him, ever, not when Hyunjin would never purposefully hurt anyone. 

“Did you already get your assignment for the end of the year showcase?” Hyunjin asks when they’re eating dinner together. “Will you be doing a collaborative project too?”

“Both, actually! Though the collab is simply with other vocal majors. We just got our assignments today, and we have to do a performance in duos or trios to show off our harmonizing skills, but we also have to sing at least one solo song,” Seungmin explains, and Hyunjin’s eyes light up as they always do whenever Seungmin talks about singing. Seungmin smiles bashfully at the way Hyunjin looks at him before he continues, “I paired up with Jeonginnie already, but we haven’t decided on any songs yet, so if you have any suggestions like last time…”

Hyunjin’s eyes grow even wider and Seungmin can’t help but snicker softly. The last time Seungmin got the opportunity to pick the songs he wanted to sing, he asked Hyunjin for help because he couldn’t decide and they have basically the same taste in music. Hyunjin also has expressed his love for Seungmin’s voice many many times and he has requested him to sing a song they both like before, so Seungmin thought Hyunjin would maybe come up with a good suggestion. 

And that he certainly did, because when Seungmin finished his exam, his teacher complimented him on his song choice, saying that it fits his voice very well and that he was able to deliver the emotions perfectly. So, Seungmin is definitely willing to take suggestions from Hyunjin again, especially if it makes Hyunjin smile as brightly as he’s doing now.

“Oh! I already know that you two are going to be amazing!” Hyunjin cheers, his cheeks squishing with how wide he smiles. “I’ll definitely look through my playlists, and if you have some sort of theme for your performance, I can see if I can find some songs to fit that, too.”

“That’d be great! I’ll let you know once we agree on a theme or topic.” Seungmin mirrors Hyunjin’s smile, Hyunjin’s excitement being contagious, and he remembers what he wanted to ask before they got interrupted by Songyou. “Speaking of— You said that you and Jisung agreed on an idea and concept already, right? What is it going to be?”

"The topic they gave us was inspiration, sort of, so to make a song and dance about what or who inspires us, either a combination of what inspires either of us or a common thing that inspires us both, or it could simply be about inspiration itself, too," Hyunjin explains, and Seungmin hums as he listens. "So, uhm, yeah, Jisungie and I both take inspiration from a variety of different things, but mostly from our own emotions, and after talking about it for a bit we found out that we both have a muse, too, so we're going to make muses our theme." 

Seungmin’s mouth falls open and Hyunjin blushes, pressing his lips together as he rubs his neck. "I didn't know that you had a muse. It— It sounds like a good topic, though, I imagine that you can put in a lot of emotions that way." 

“Definitely. I’m excited to see what we’ll make of it,” Hyunjin answers with a small smile before he tucks a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “I wish we could have a project with the vocal majors too, though! I’d love to dance to something you sing.”

Seungmin’s cheeks feel warm at the way Hyunjin says as if it would be the biggest privilege, but if they’d do that, the privilege would be all Seungmin’s. “Me too, though on the other hand I would also want to focus on your dancing and not have to think about singing as I’m watching.”

Hyunjin gasps. “Oh my gosh— you’re right, that’s a big downside. I wouldn’t want to miss a single note you sing!”

Seungmin chuckles at Hyunjin’s exaggeration — it is an exaggeration, right? — and they talk some more about their day and other random topics as they clean up and do the dishes, but Seungmin can’t stop thinking about the fact that Hyunjin said he has a muse. Seungmin wonders who it is, and he knows that it doesn’t necessarily have to be someone Hyunjin sees in a romantic light (though he thinks that Jisung’s muse might be Jeongin, his boyfriend) and it could just as well be his mom or a celebrity Hyunjin looks up to or something, but Seungmin still isn’t sure if he should ask. 

It wouldn’t be him anyway, however much Seungmin would want it to be. Hyunjin has been Seungmin’s source of inspiration and the one he imagines whenever he sings love songs many times, and it’s not like Seungmin doesn’t know that Hyunjin sees Seungmin as a good friend or anything, but Seungmin can’t imagine that he’d be interesting enough to be Hyunjin’s inspiration very often, let alone be his muse .

“Hmm… What to do for a theme…” Seungmin trails off. He’s brainstorming for ideas for their performance with Jeongin. “Hyunjin told me his collaborative project has the theme inspiration and muses, so I thought maybe we can do that, too, but I don’t really know any songs with that theme.”

“Oh right! Jisungie told me about it, too. But yeah, I don’t really know any songs with that theme either,” Jeongin says, looking down at his notebook while fidgeting with his earlobe, and Seungmin smiles. 

“Did Jisung perhaps also talk about his muse?” Seungmin asks, and Jeongin takes in a breath, blushing, and Seungmin can’t help but coo at his friend. “So he told you that it’s you?” 

“Y-Yes— I mean— How do you know?” Jeongin stutters. “Jisungie only told me yesterday and he seemed to be a bit shy about it too, even if he was also kind of smug and proud.”

Seungmin laughs, already imagining the way Jisung must’ve brought it. “Hyunjin told me that he and Jisung both have a muse, so I just assumed that it was you.”

“That bastard is so creative I was surprised to hear that he has a muse when he can take inspiration from literally anything!” Jeongin huffs, and Seungmin barks out a laugh. “I mean, I guess that also kind of explains why he can take inspiration from me, because I would never have expected that, to be honest.”

“Why not? I think it’s pretty inspiring to eat sand—” Seungmin laughs when Jeongin raises his fist at him threateningly. 

“I should have never told you that story!” he groans and Seungmin snickers. 

“No, but seriously, I’m sure Jisung told you as well, but I can see why you’re his muse!” Seungmin tells Jeongin, who smiles bashfully, his ears turning red. 

“I guess. He did tell me my extraordinary smile often inspires him…” the younger mutters, and Seungmin softens, feeling warm. He’s happy that Jeongin and Jisung have such a cute and heartwarming relationship, and he finds himself craving the same thing with Hyunjin, but he quickly shakes away that thought.

“Do you want to have our theme be about him, too?” Seungmin offers to try to distract himself from his thoughts and because he can tell that Jeongin would probably be able to convey his feelings well that way, too. 

“What?— I mean— maybe, but what about you?” Jeongin perks up and tilts his head curiously before his eyes widen. "Oh! And then you can sing about Hyunjin of course!" 

"What?—'' Now it's Seungmin’s turn to be surprised and blush, and Jeongin fondly rolls his eyes. 

"Oh come on, you told me about your crush on him, and you two might not be together, but your feelings for him are similar to mine for Jisungie, no?" Jeongin raises an eyebrow and Seungmin averts his eyes, shrugging. “Oh right— Hyunjin offered to recommend some songs, but he’ll have to find out our theme either way, I guess. But also— Did Hyunjin tell you who his muse is?”

“Uhm, no, he didn’t, why?” Seungmin isn’t sure where Jeongin is going with this. 

“Interesting.” Jeongin nods to himself. “Okay, well, unless you don’t want love to be our theme, we can have that be our topic and you can just tell Hyunjin that we chose it because of me and keep the rest to yourself like Hyunjin did. Unless you want to tell him—” 

“Definitely not!” Seungmin cuts in, his heart hammering in his chest at the mere thought. “I’m fine with love being our theme, though.”

“Why are you so reluctant to tell him? Don’t you think there’s a chance that you’re his inspiration for their project too?” Jeongin offers and Seungmin almost chokes on his own spit as he flushes bright crimson. 

“ What? Why– Why would you think that?” Seungmin stutters, trying to compose himself, but his heart isn’t listening to him at all. 

“I don’t know, maybe because he didn’t tell you who his muse is, maybe because Hyunjin always looks at you with an expression that just… Let’s just say it’s almost worse than how Jisungie looks at me sometimes,” Jeongin explains, and Seungmin’s heart jumps into his throat. Does Hyunjin really look at me like that?

“I– Hyunjin looks at others really fondly, too. He’s just like that,” Seungmin mutters, and Jeongin sighs softly. “And besides, I’m sure that someone like Hyunjin has a more interesting muse than me, someone who is more out there, maybe, someone who conforms less to the standards.”

“Hmmm. Maybe, but I think you’re underestimating how much Hyunjin likes and admires you,” Jeongin says, and it doesn’t help Seungmin feel any less warm or any more calm. “Didn’t you once say that Hyunjin sometimes makes you feel like you’re the most extraordinary person on the planet? What if that’s just because he sees you like that?”

Seungmin whines and hides his overheating face in his hands, the mere possibility of what Jeongin is suggesting making his heart go into overdrive. “I— I don’t know— I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

Seungmin feels a hand on his shoulder, but it only manages to ease him a little. “I get it. All I’m saying is to think about it, but either way you can use that feeling in our performance!” 

Seungmin exhales deeply and removes his hands from his face once his mind isn’t overtaken by Hyunjin anymore before sending Jeongin a sheepish smile. “You’re right, I guess, I’ll just focus on channeling my feelings into the songs. Let’s continue working on our performance then.” 

At the end of the day, Seungmin and Jeongin head to the practice space where he knows he can find Hyunjin and Jisung, and, as expected, they find their two friends still immersed in practicing. Jisung is tapping on his lap rhythmically and humming while a tune plays and Hyunjin dances to it, wearing his usual tank top, flowy skirt, and pointe shoes. 

Even though Seungmin has seen Hyunjin dance many times, he never fails to be mesmerized by the way he dances so elegantly yet with power, the way his skirt flows as he turns, and the way every move is loaded with so much emotion. Every time Seungmin watches him, he’s transported to another dimension where only Hyunjin exists and nothing else, and he thinks he could watch Hyunjin dance for hours on end like this, but he’s pulled out of his trance when Jisung gasps and promptly stops the music. 

“Jeonginnie! Seungmin!” Jisung jumps up from where he sat and Hyunjin stops dancing too, looking confused. “Did you hear any of the lyrics? I mean— They’re not finished yet but it’s a surprise!”

“Are you being sappy about me, Jisungie?” Jeongin laughs and Jisung blushes. “Don’t worry, I didn’t hear anything.”

“Good. And— It’s not all about you. I have to incorporate Hyunjin’s perspective too,” Jisung says, kissing Jeongin’s cheek as the younger pulls a disgusted face. “You already have my confession song for you if you want some sappiness, this one will focus more on inspiration.”

"Fair. I will try to be patient and wait until the showcase," Jeongin chuckles, but his rosy cheeks betray that he's touched. "Your dancing looks great as always, by the way, Hyunjin." 

"Thanks, Innie." Hyunjin smiles and ruffles Jeongin's hair fondly before he turns to Seungmin. "I'll quickly be taking a shower and then I'll join you, yeah?" 

"Of course, take your time," Seungmin tells him, and Hyunjin’s sweet smile makes his heart skip a beat. Even the smallest, simplest things Hyunjin does seem to be extraordinary and make Seungmin feel so much, and sometimes Seungmin wonders if Hyunjin knows what he does to Seungmin. 

Jisung and Jeongin say goodbye to him, leaving Seungmin to wait for Hyunjin on his own, but he doesn't mind, he can just relax and maybe think about Hyunjin dancing. He probably can't deduce who Hyunjin’s muse is based on his dance, and probably not from Jisung's lyrics either, but that doesn't stop Seungmin from thinking and wondering about it. 

Seungmin is pulled out of his thoughts by someone approaching the changing and shower room and giving Seungmin a curious and slightly judgy look. 

“Who are you and why are you lurking near the changing rooms?” the guy gives him a disgusted look. “Are you here to creep on Hyunjin?—”

“No!” Seungmin quickly cuts in, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment of being accused of that. “I’m his roommate, I’m just waiting for him so we can go home together.”

The guy looks as if he doesn’t really believe Seungmin, but then Hyunjin comes out, combing a hand through his damp hair. “Thanks for waiting, Minnie— Oh, hey, Donggyeo, what’s up?”

Donggyeo gives Seungmin shifty eyes before he turns back to Hyunjin. “Yeah! There was just this move we went over in class that I don’t quite get and you always nail them so well, so I wondered if you had some time to show me?” 

“Oh, uhm, yeah sure, how about tomorrow after class?” Hyunjin suggests, and Seungmin’s stomach churns a little in jealousy. 

“Great! See you then, Hyunjinnie!” Donggyeo grins, his hand finding Hyunjin’s side before he skips away and Hyunjin and Seungmin head to the dorms. 

“Was… Was that guy flirting with you?” Seungmin asks slowly, and Hyunjin gasps.

“What? Wait— Was he?” Hyunjin looks at him with wide eyes and Seungmin chuckles. “I mean— I guess he could have asked a teaching assistant or professor for help…” 

Seungmin snorts and shakes his head at Hyunjin’s naivety, though he genuinely thinks it’s a lovely trait. “I don’t know the guy, but I’m just saying it’s an option.”

“Ugh! Then I’ll have to turn people down again…” Hyunjin groans, throwing his head back. “It really doesn’t get easier.”

“You’re too kind, Jinnie,” Seungmin sighs, bumping their shoulders together before he chuckles to himself. “You know, when Donggyeo came, he thought I was creeping on you because he didn’t recognize me.”

“ What?! ” Hyunjin exclaims dumbfoundedly. “I mean— You’re not from the ballet dep, no, but you’re always with me, and we have lunch together when we can too! I can’t believe he didn’t even recognize you! Now I definitely have to reject him.”

Seungmin barks out a surprised laugh and lightly pushes at Hyunjin’s arm. “Pfft— I get that I don’t really have a lasting impression on people, though, especially when I’m next to you—”

Seungmin takes in a breath when Hyunjin suddenly grabs his shoulders and stops walking, looking at him seriously. 

“Don’t say that about yourself, Minnie!” he urges with a strong grip on Seungmin’s arms, his eyes glimmering with sincerity. “Just because you don’t stand out necessarily doesn’t mean that you’re forgettable or that you can’t leave a lasting impression on anyone!” 

Seungmin huffs out a chuckle, his cheeks heating up at Hyunjin’s intense gaze and words. “Thanks, Jinnie. I was just saying that I understand—”

“And besides, ” Hyunjin continues, deliberately cutting Seungmin off, though he does it gently — Hyunjin is always so sweet to him. “Even if you stand out less next to me or whatever, you’re important to me, and anyone who’d pay attention to me and not only to how I look, would notice you, too.”

Seungmin flushes bright red and he averts his gaze before he explodes from all of Hyunjin’s sweetness and the way Hyunjin looks at him. Sometimes he still can’t believe that Hyunjin just says those things out loud — another extraordinary trait of him — and it never fails to make Seungmin feel the most special for a little while, it makes him feel like he's just as extraordinary as Hyunjin is. 

"I— Okay," Seungmin stammers, always losing his composure around Hyunjin, especially whenever he compliments him so sincerely. "Sorry, I don't know what to say." 

"You don't have to say anything, you only have to believe me," Hyunjin whispers, and Seungmin’s heart makes a fuss in his chest, his legs trembling lightly as they continue walking. 

Seungmin takes the whole walk back to their room to calm down and even then he still feels a little shaky and warm, but his brain works enough to remember that he still wants to ask Hyunjin about his day. Hyunjin smiles and tells him about his ballet class and how working on his project with Jisung went smoothly before he asks Seungmin about his day and specifically how brainstorming with Jeongin went. 

"It went well! We came up with a theme, partially thanks to you and Jisung," Seungmin tells him, and Hyunjin looks surprised. "I asked Innie about whether he's Jisung's muse since you two have inspiration as your theme, and Jeongin was really cute about it so I asked if he wanted to sing songs for him, and that way we came up with love as our theme. It might be cheesy, but I think Jeongin can really express himself that way, and I'm sure I'll be fine too, especially if I have some song recommendations from you." 

Hyunjin positively lights up, his whole face shining brighter than the sun. "That's so cute! You know that I love cheesy things, Minnie, and I definitely will do my best to scour through my endless love playlist to pick the best songs! Is any type of love song okay or do you want something more specific?" 

"Uhm, I guess because it's sort of a reaction to Jisung writing songs for Jeongin and him being Jisung's muse, we would sing more grateful and admiring songs?" Seungmin answers, and Hyunjin nods, looking as if he’s already thinking about which songs would fit that. 

"Okay, I can do that, but am I recommending songs for Innie too or mostly for you?" Hyunjin asks. "And are you okay with those kinds of songs too? It's sweet that you do this for Innie, but you shouldn't sacrifice yourself." 

Seungmin presses his lips together into a smile. Hyunjin really never fails to look out for me, huh? “I won’t, don’t worry. I can work with those songs too, like, love songs about admiration and all.”

Hyunjin nods, a curious glint in his eyes, but he doesn’t ask about anything, thankfully. “Okay, good, because I definitely have some songs that fit! Just give me some time to make a playlist.”

“Of course. Take your time, I appreciate the recommendations,” Seungmin answers and Hyunjin smiles, pulling him into a hug.

“You know I’d do it gladly. Especially considering I’ll hear them in your voice!” Hyunjin exclaims excitedly and Seungmin laughs. “I already can’t wait until the performance.”

“Me neither.” Seungmin melts into the hug and relaxes, feeling comfortable in Hyunjin’s arms. If Hyunjin keeps being like this, Seungmin thinks he can definitely convey the love songs well. And maybe that means it’s about time that he tells Hyunjin about his feelings finally, but with all the preparations for the showcases coming up, Seungmin thinks it might be best to leave a confession for after their performances, because if Hyunjin were to reject him, he might not be able to sing happy love songs with much conviction anymore, much less knowing that Hyunjin knows about his feelings and doesn’t return them — he’d never want to make Hyunjin feel guilty either. 

But for now he won’t think about a possible rejection, he will think about how extraordinary Hyunjin makes him feel, he’ll think about how Hyunjin makes him feel happy and loved, and he’ll channel that. 

Picking songs doesn’t end up being difficult at all, Seungmin already had a playlist of songs that remind him of Hyunjin, and Hyunjin comes with a list of songs he recommends the evening Seungmin told him about their theme, too, so Seungmin and Jeongin get to practice some songs and come to an agreement on which ones they want to sing together and solo. 

Seungmin goes straight back to the dorms after class since Hyunjin is helping Donggyeo and he said that he didn't know how long it'd take so Seungmin didn’t have to wait for him. Seungmin feels a bit weird about Donggyeo possibly using this time to flirt with Hyunjin, even if he knows that Hyunjin will reject him if that happens, he just hopes that Donggyeo will be nice about it, knowing that Hyunjin hates hurting people. 

As he waits for Hyunjin to come back, Seungmin finishes up some homework and gets started on preparing dinner for the both of them, getting out Hyunjin’s favorites in case he will need some consolation. Seungmin doesn’t consider himself the best cook and he prefers cooking together with people (he thinks that Hyunjin is better at it than he is), but, if necessary, he can make a decent simple meal by himself. 

It takes a bit before Hyunjin finally returns, but that gives Seungmin time to get their dinner ready. When he hears the click of the door, he perks up and quickly turns off the stove to greet Hyunjin. 

"Jinnie! You're just in time, I only need to plate the food—" Seungmin jolts when Hyunjin slams the door shut, and his stomach drops in worry. 

"Take your time, I'm going to take a shower first," Hyunjin grumbles, making a beeline for the bathroom as his fists are clenched around the fabric of his skirt, and he doesn’t even spare Seungmin a glance. 

Seungmin stands there for a moment before he tries to push down his worries and distract himself by plating their food and getting it ready to eat. Food may not solve all of Hyunjin’s problems, but being hungry doesn’t help when you’re grumpy or upset, and maybe simply the fact that Seungmin made his favorite dish will help a little too. Hopefully.

The fact that Hyunjin is taking a shower here instead of in the changing rooms at the college also doesn’t bode well, their shower here is kind of crappy so it probably means that Hyunjin wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but Seungmin doesn’t want to draw any conclusions before he hears from Hyunjin how everything went. 

When Hyunjin emerges from the bathroom, he at least looks less seething than before, but he still looks upset as he sits down and sighs deeply, running a hand through his hair. “Thank you for the food, Minnie. I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem. I hope it can cheer you up a little,” Seungmin answers, and Hyunjin smiles a little, though it’s still a tad forced. “Do you want to talk about it? Was it Donggyeo?”

Hyunjin nods, pressing his lips together as he takes a bite of his food with a sour expression. "Yeah. You were right, he did ask me to teach him just so he could flirt. He was being super cheesy and forward, but I did manage to reject him, and he was like… relatively fine about it, but he just has a big mouth and— ugh." 

"Did he insult you?" Seungmin asks urgently, trying to hide the anger in his voice, and Hyunjin’s eyes widen a little before he shakes his head. 

"No— well, not directly, he kind of implied that I don't know what I want or what's good for me, even if he did accept that I don't want to date him," Hyunjin explains, stabbing his chopsticks into his food with a scowl. "He just doesn't know me, and I told him that, but he— gosh, he was just so stubborn and he thinks he knows it all better than me." 

“That must be so frustrating,” Seungmin whispers, sliding his hand over the table to hold Hyunjin’s for a moment. “Hopefully he’ll leave you alone about it, and I think it’s good that you’re standing your ground. If there’s anyone who knows themselves well, it’s you.”

Hyunjin softens and squeezes Seungmin’s hand as he smiles softly, taking his hand back. “Thank you, Minnie, that already makes me feel better. I hope I made myself clear to him, but either way I will try to not let him affect me.”

“Good. I will cheer you on and support you, too,” Seungmin tells him in a whisper, feeling a bit embarrassed to just say that out loud, he’s not really one to voice it, but he thinks that Hyunjin might like to hear this right now. And indeed it pays off, because Hyunjin smiles happily, and genuinely, and it makes Seungmin’s heart flutter. 

“Gosh, you’re the sweetest, Minnie,” Hyunjin mutters, shaking his head a little before taking another bite of his food. “And you even made me my favorite food!”

“It’s no problem, really, I’m glad to help.” Seungmin shrugs, trying to stay casual, but his cheeks are probably red. He just wants to see Hyunjin happy always, and while he can’t get himself to say it out loud right now, he hopes that Hyunjin knows that, he hopes that Hyunjin knows that he’d do anything for him. 

After dinner, they cuddle up together on Hyunjin’s bed and watch a drama together, Hyunjin’s head resting on Seungmin’s shoulder as he does more often, and Seungmin feels warm. He’s glad to see that Hyunjin seems to be feeling better, and while he doesn’t like seeing Hyunjin upset, he doesn’t mind the way he gets a little extra clingy. (In fact, he likes it, a lot.) 

Seungmin likes how domestic this evening has been, and as he watches the couple in the drama be sappy and romantic with each other, he can't help but imagine himself and Hyunjin in those same scenarios, and he finds himself yearning to share that same intimacy with Hyunjin. 

“You know, this episode always makes me think,” Hyunjin mutters, and Seungmin hums to show that he’s listening. “They’re so romantic now, and I love that a lot, but I know that Hwiyeon idolizes Sangbin a lot, which– I understand, it’s easy to idolize someone you love, I still do that too sometimes, but I also know that I wouldn’t want to be idolized. I wouldn’t want someone to think that I’m perfect, I would want someone to see my imperfections and love me with all my flaws, you know?”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Seungmin replies, his heart bouncing in his chest as he wonders what Hyunjin is referring to. He’d love to believe that he loves Hyunjin with all of his flaws, he really thinks he does, and he has seen Hyunjin in his vulnerable moments, but sometimes he becomes unsure about himself. Even if I love all of his flaws, would I still be interesting enough for him? 

“Another thing about it… A love where you idolize someone doesn’t really seem fair, does it?” Hyunjin continues and Seungmin nods, agreeing. "I mean, maybe if you both idolize each other it might be fair, but that sounds even worse to me, or maybe it cancels each other out, I don't know. My point is that a relationship is supposed to be a two-way street, and if you idolize someone, how will you ever feel like equals if you put the other on a pedestal? How will you ever believe that your partner genuinely loves you back like that? Or will you only see their love as a benevolent gift? And that isn't even talking about how pressuring it is for the other to be seen as perfect."

Seungmin is a little speechless listening to Hyunjin ramble, and he feels like this speech is partly meant for him, even if Hyunjin doesn't mean it that way. Seungmin was just wondering how someone as extraordinary as Hyunjin could like someone as plain as him, but Hyunjin is right, they're both human, and while Seungmin still thinks that Hyunjin is wonderful and special, Hyunjin probably doesn't see himself like that, and he probably doesn't have the same criteria as Seungmin for who is extraordinary. It doesn't mean that Hyunjin likes him back the way Seungmin likes him, but it means that there's at least a chance that he does, and before this, Seungmin had been reluctant to accept that. 

"You're right— I hadn't thought about it like that, yet, but I agree," Seungmin says, fidgeting with the ends of his sleeves. 

"You do? I mean, I don't think you're someone who idolizes someone you like, right?" Hyunjin looks up at Seungmin from where his head is still leaning on Seungmin’s shoulder, his skirt draped over both of their legs. " I can sometimes get a bit caught up in my romantic fantasies, but yeah, I try not to." 

"Hmm. I guess I don't really idolize the people I like, but I sometimes find myself wondering if I can live up to anyone's romantic fantasies, you know?" Seungmin admits, feeling a bit embarrassed to talk about this, but he trusts Hyunjin. "But your words made me remember that everyone is equal, we're all human, even if that may not have been your exact point."

"No, it was!" Hyunjin sits upright and turns to Seungmin with eyes glimmering in passion. "There are lots of sides to this, and love doesn't make sense and it affects everyone differently, so while you shouldn't idolize someone, love — any type of love — can make you feel like the most mundane things are special or wonderful, so I know that you will be able to live up to someone's romantic fantasies."

Seungmin gulps thickly, Hyunjin’s words making his mind spin and his heart go wild. Hyunjin shouldn’t say these dangerous things, he shouldn't give Seungmin hope that he could be part of Hyunjin’s romantic fantasies, but gosh that hope feels good. 

"Thank you, Hyunjin," Seungmin murmurs, his cheeks feeling warm. "I'd tell you the same, but I think you already know that, so I'll say that I'm positive that someone will love you as you are, with your flaws, too." 

Seungmin doesn’t know where the courage to say that came from, but Hyunjin’s touched expression and bashful, bright smile is definitely worth it, and so is the warm hug that follows with Hyunjin’s hand ruffling the hair on the back of his head. 

"I knew that just being with you would make me feel better, but you tripled my expectations and my mood," Hyunjin admits softly, his breath hitting Seungmin’s skin, sending goosebumps down his arms. 

"I'm glad," Seungmin whispers, and they stay like that for a while more until deciding to wrap up their day and head to bed (at least, Seungmin will head to bed, Hyunjin usually stays up a bit longer). 

Seungmin’s heart doesn't calm down as he crawls into bed and recalls everything that happened this evening, but he tries to not overthink the possibility of Hyunjin loving him back and wait until after the performances until he does anything. Now he’s extra excited for the performances, not only because he gets to do what he loves, singing, and he gets to see Hyunjin dance, but also because he thinks it’s time to confess his feelings to Hyunjin (which makes him incredibly nervous too, because he still doesn’t believe that he’s Hyunjin’s muse, but he at least sees the chance of his feelings being returned or Hyunjin not breaking his heart (he’s too kind for that)). 

“Fuck— Jisungie and Hyunjinnie’s performance has been moved forward because there are some students having problems with public transport,” Jeongin curses under his breath as he looks at his phone, and Seungmin’s stomach drops. “Now they’re one of the firsts.” 

“Oh shit– Will they be able to watch us still?” Seungmin asks worriedly. They’re already preparing for their performance so it’s definitely too late to switch places with another duo so that Hyunjin and Jisung can come to watch. The performances are divided up so that the dance and producer collabs are after all the vocal majors, but Hyunjin and Jisung need time to prepare too, and Seungmin and Jeongin are one of the lasts ones to perform, so Seungmin hopes that they can still watch each other. 

“I don’t know— I hope so.” Jeongin worries his lip between his teeth. “Jisungie said they’ll try, and knowing them they will, but…”

Seungmin chuckles and softly agrees. Knowing Jisung and Hyunjin they’ll definitely do their best or even skip their preparation to watch them, but Seungmin doesn’t want to get his hopes up and he doesn’t want Hyunjin and Jisung to sacrifice being prepared for their performance to watch them. He shakes his head to get rid of his racing thoughts before he starts doing some warm-up exercises for his throat together with Jeongin before their classmates will start performing. 

Seungmin’s heart is already cranking up its pace when they announce that the performances are starting, and Seungmin cranes his neck to try to see if he can see Hyunjin and Jisung in the audience, but it’s dark and it’s packed, so he can’t see anything. He really hopes that they can make it, because even if the performances will be recorded, Seungmin and Jeongin prepared this for them, they will be singing their songs with Hyunjin and Jisung in mind. so them not being there would suck. Seungmin especially feels for Jeongin, who was looking forward to performing for his boyfriend, but Seungmin thinks it might be harder for him to convey his feelings, too, if Hyunjin can’t make it, and he was excited to sing for Hyunjin as well. 

He tries to distract himself by watching and cheering on the performances, but when it’s their turn again, Seungmin can’t ignore his nerves anymore. He shares a look with Jeongin and they hug briefly for good luck before entering the stage. Seungmin immediately inspects the crowd, looking for— Hyunjin. There he is, already wearing his ballet attire (including a skirt), standing next to Jisung, and they’re both smiling brightly as they wave at him and Jeongin. Seungmin can’t hold back a smile as he subtly waves back, and he sees that Jeongin has spotted them, too, his eyes disappearing and his dimples making an appearance as he grins happily. 

“Hi all, thank you for coming to our performance,” Seungmin begins, his hand is a little shaky and sweaty, but for now the happiness that Hyunjin and Jisung are watching is winning over his nerves. “My name is Seungmin and this is Jeongin, and we’ll be singing a few songs with the theme ‘love’. It might sound like a cliche or cheesy theme, but we want to emphasize and embrace the joy that comes with loving someone and being loved, in any way, platonic, romantic, familial, and so on. I hope you’ll enjoy our performance.”

Jeongin introduces the first song they’ll be singing together before the audience starts clapping and Seungmin snorts when he hears Jisung yell that he loves Jeongin (and Seungmin too). Seungmin takes a deep breath and shares one last look with Jeongin before he hears the first note of the first song and starts singing. 

The song is about meeting someone who catches your attention, someone who intrigues you from the moment you met them, and while Jeongin chose the song, Seungmin can relate to it a lot , too, maybe even more than Jeongin can. As he sings, his eyes trail over the audience, but they can’t help but keep finding Hyunjin over and over again, taking in his awed expression, his glimmering eyes, and his almost lovestruck look. 

He can’t hold Hyunjin’s gaze for too long, and when he harmonizes with Jeongin he looks at his partner to make sure they hold their tone well and are in sync. Like that, the first song seems to end in a blink, and it’s Seungmin’s turn to sing a solo song. 

It’s about falling in love with someone close to you, someone special to you, and it's actually a song that Hyunjin recommended, so it's even more meaningful to Seungmin. On top of that, the lyrics really hit home, and he wonders how Hyunjin could have picked such a perfect song for Seungmin to sing. 

When the song starts, Seungmin’s voice is a little bit unstable, but he soon stabilizes himself and gets immersed in singing the song, channeling all of his feelings into every word of the lyrics. His eyes involuntarily flick up to look at the audience, and his gaze immediately zeroes in on Hyunjin. His heart flies into his throat, but he keeps singing, for Hyunjin, and the way Hyunjin’s face lights up and he looks positively starstruck, makes Seungmin feel the song even more. 

When the high notes at the end come around, Seungmin puts all of his focus on that, unable to keep looking into Hyunjin his eyes, and he doesn’t know if he hits all the notes perfectly, but he knows that he is more immersed in the song than he’s ever been, his feelings consuming him before he lets them all out through the song. 

He’s met with loud applause when he finishes the song, and he smiles bashfully as he bows and thanks the audience. The next two songs are together with Jeongin again, and then Jeongin has his solo song before they’re done. Seungmin is still a little shaky from singing alone, but he calms down as he closes his eyes and Jeongin starts singing the next song. 

He’s so absorbed into singing, the songs seem to go by in a blink, and before he knows it, it’s time for Jeongin to end with his solo song. They chose Jeongin to sing last so he could have his serenade to Jisung be extra special (Jeongin was a bit shy to agree to it, and he doesn’t consider it a serenade, but Seungmin knows that Jisung will be seeing it like that, and he knows that he’ll love it). 

A burden falls off his shoulders as he realizes that he’s done with his performance now so he can relax and watch Jeongin sing his heart out to Jisung. When Seungmin looks at the crowd, he sees Jisung with his hand in front of his mouth, his eyes wide and watery, while Hyunjin is smiling fondly. 

Hyunjin’s gaze trails to find Seungmin and somehow his expression softens even more, making butterflies erupt in Seungmin’s stomach and heat creep up his neck at how loving Hyunjin’s eyes are on him while Jeongin is the one singing right now. 

Seungmin is only pulled out of his trance-like state of staring at Hyunjin when Jeongin finishes singing and Jisung pushes through the crowd towards the stage and climbs up to hug his boyfriend, whispering that he loves him, and kissing him. The audience laughs and applauds them happily, and Jisung and Jeongin are bright red as they pull back. Jisung apologizes before he gets off the stage again and Jeongin and Seungmin thank everyone for watching their performance. 

Seungmin catches Hyunjin’s eyes again, and his friend mouths that he did amazing and holds a hand over his heart, signing that Seungmin touched him. Seungmin smiles bashfully and nods in thanks before they get backstage again. Gosh, that felt great.  

There is one performance left and then they'll get their feedback, after which they'll have to rush to catch the dance and music production performances. The professors tell Seungmin and Jeongin that they've scored well on conveying the lyrics and harmonizing together and they get some tips on what to improve, but they've definitely passed the class. Relief floods Seungmin’s system, and he and Jeongin high-five each other happily, but they don’t have much time to hang around, because they have to run towards the stages where Hyunjin and Jisung are supposed to be performing in a bit. 

They arrive just in time for the first act to start, and Seungmin wonders how Hyunjin and Jisung had the time to set up and prepare for their performance, but he trusts them to not sacrifice their own performance to watch them, so he doesn't worry about it. 

He knows a few people from the dance and music production department, but he's mostly anticipating Jisung and Hyunjin’s performance, even if everyone has impressive things to show. It feels a bit weird to immediately change gears after their singing performance, but Seungmin doesn’t want to miss Hyunjin’s dancing for the world, and he can always talk with Jeongin about their performance later. 

Seungmin doesn’t know if it’s just him and Jeongin yelling loudly, but the audience seems to be louder when it’s Hyunjin and Jisung’s turn, and even though Seungmin had already seen how Hyunjin looked, now that he’s on stage, Seungmin can see it in full glory. He’s wearing his usual ballet attire (a skirt is included in that), and his hair is tied up into a ponytail with a white ribbon. The only thing different from how he normally looks is that the light makeup adorning his face is a little bolder and the fact that he changed his earrings to one dangly one and a stud instead of two small hoops, but Seungmin still thinks he looks stunning, extraordinary — even more than usual. 

“Hi everyone, thank you for coming to our performance,” Jisung starts off, settling behind a small keyboard with his laptop. “As you know, the theme of these performances is ‘inspiration’, and our performance is about our muses. I wrote a song about my muse, about how, while I get inspired by a lot, he always sparks my inspiration no matter how bad my writer’s block gets, but I also incorporated some elements from how Hyunjin draws inspiration from his muse.”

Jisung nods towards Hyunjin before he hands him the microphone, and Hyunjin accepts it with a small smile. “Yeah, uhm, my muse is special to me because he makes the most mundane things seem beautiful, and even if others might not see it, he’s extraordinary to me, because he makes me feel extraordinary things.”

Seungmin takes in a breath as people around him coo at Hyunjin’s sweet words, and what Hyunjin says reminds Seungmin of when Hyunjin talked about how love can make the most mundane things feel special. It makes Seungmin wonder whether Hyunjin’s muse is someone he’s in love with, even though he said that any type of love can do that, and the description of his muse not necessarily seeming very extraordinary plants a seed of hope in Seungmin’s heart. 

“Who are your muses?” someone from the audience calls out when Hyunjin hands Jisung back the microphone, and Jisung chuckles. 

“He knows who he is,” he answers, winking towards Jeongin and mouthing ‘love you’ before he holds the mic towards Hyunjin with a hesitant look. Hyunjin bends down and looks in the direction of Seungmin, who unconsciously holds his breath as Hyunjin softly answers,

“I hope my muse knows who he is too.”

What?

Seungmin’s heart stops working for a minute and he hears Jeongin gasp and mutter something but he doesn't process any of his words nor any of his own thoughts. Before he can get himself back together, the performance starts and Hyunjin’s first move already steals Seungmin’s breath away. Ballet is an elegant dance, but Hyunjin manages to simultaneously show power and fragility in his moves, conveying a storm of emotions in just a few movements. 

The way Hyunjin’s skirt flows and seems to follow Hyunjin only adds to the dance, and while Seungmin is mostly focused on Hyunjin, Jisung’s emotional song enhances the whole performance and brings it to another level of feeling, as expected of their sentimental friends. Hyunjin seems to be completely immersed in his dance, but whenever their eyes briefly meet, Seungmin feels a rush of feelings he can barely even begin to identify before he's already hit with the next one, and like that, Hyunjin takes him along on his emotional journey. 

When Hyunjin does his final move, the performance seems to have both been too short and never-ending at the same time, and as Seungmin watches Hyunjin catch his breath he notices that he's out of breath himself too. Seungmin is only pulled out of his trance when the audience starts clapping and cheering loudly, Jeongin yelling that he loves Jisung, and Seungmin dazedly claps along, trying to process everything that just happened. 

Their eyes meet and Seungmin dumbly gives Hyunjin a thumbs up, making Hyunjin snort and smile, but before Seungmin can even figure out how to convey everything he thought of the performance, Hyunjin and Jisung have to go backstage and let the next performers have their turn. It’s nice to see the other performances too, but Seungmin needs at least 3 full performances to get even remotely close to internalizing the realization that he might be Hyunjin’s muse and Hyunjin might like him back. 

The seed of hope Hyunjin planted in his heart earlier has already grown a lot and might even already be starting to bloom, but Seungmin still is hesitant to fully embrace it until he hears from Hyunjin himself. After the last performance, Seungmin and Jeongin are both vibrating with excitement to see their friends and talk about their performances and share all their thoughts. 

“Jisung!” Jeongin yells as soon as they catch a glimpse of them, and they both run toward Jisung and Hyunjin, jumping into their arms for a hug. “You did so well! And the song was beautiful as always, I think your muse deserves a private performance as an encore— both of your muses do!”

Jeongin kisses Jisung’s chubby cheek before he gives them both a pointed look, and Seungmin’s heart jumps into his throat while Hyunjin rubs his neck sheepishly, his ears colored red as his eyes flick towards Seungmin. 

“Yes– uhm, we can do that sometime…” he trails off, and Seungmin holds his breath in anticipation of what Hyunjin will say. “Uhm– can we talk, Minnie? Innie you sang really well, by the way, I—”

“You can tell me all about that later, just go talk to Seungminnie and I’ll go tell my nerd boyfriend how much he’s a nerd for writing a song about me,” Jeongin assures, making everyone laugh, but Seungmin’s nerves return when Hyunjin gently grabs his wrist and pulls him over to a more quiet spot. 

“So, uhm… about my muse,” Hyunjin begins softly, letting go of Seungmin’s wrist and looking down, his hands fidgeting with the hem of his skirt. “I…”

“Is it really me?” Seungmin asks when Hyunjin stays quiet, and Hyunjin nods, looking up to meet Seungmin’s eyes with his own wavering ones.

“Yes, it is— You are my muse,” Hyunjin answers with a trembling yet confident voice, and Seungmin feels like his breath is stolen away again. “I— You didn’t know?”

“I— No, I didn’t. I didn’t dare to think that,” Seungmin stammers, shaking his head. “I mean, I– I’m just me.”

Hyunjin huffs and his eyes shimmer when he looks at Seungmin seriously. “That’s exactly the reason you’re my muse. You’re you. You— You just… As I said, you’re special to me. You make me feel extraordinary feelings.” 

Seungmin whimpers involuntarily, and he slaps a hand over his mouth as he tries to compose himself, but his heart is bursting, the flower of hope spreading its petals through Seungmin’s chest. 

"I— gosh. " Seungmin takes a deep breath to try to get himself back together. "You inspire me too, Jinnie. I— I often think I'm boring, or too normal, but you make me feel like I'm extraordinary. I— when I sang, it was about you. It was for you." 

Now it's Hyunjin’s turn to gasp, and his eyes turn watery as he looks at Seungmin in disbelief. "Really? I— gosh, you're going to make me cry, Seungminnie." 

Seungmin softens and chuckles lightly when a single tear falls down Hyunjin's cheek. He brings up his hand to gently wipe it away, the urge to comfort Hyunjin winning over the storm of other emotions he feels, and Hyunjin leans into the touch. “Don’t cry, Jinnie.”

Hyunjin smiles sheepishly and closes his eyes for a second as Seungmin lets his hand fall down to Hyunjin’s shoulder. “Sorry, it’s the after-performance emotions, I guess, and the fact that I– I’ve been pining for you for so long. I told myself I’d talk to you today, when neither of us has any performances or exams left. And I didn’t even necessarily plan to tell you about my feelings, only about you being my muse and then go from there, but I— I didn’t expect you to return my feelings, let alone that the–the love song you sang was for me. ”

Seungmin blushes and shrugs, feeling embarrassed under Hyunjin’s touched and loving gaze. “I– I didn’t assume that me being your muse meant that you have feelings for me, too, but I just… You always say such sweet things and I needed to return the favor. I didn’t even think about that I was admitting to my feelings.”

Hyunjin chuckles and smiles so brightly that Seungmin thinks he will be blinded. “I’m happy that you told me. I… Could I get a private encore of your performance, too? Or together with Jisungie.”

“Sure, we can do that,” Seungmin snickers, and Hyunjin pulls Seungmin into a tight hug, lifting Seungmin up and spinning him around, making Seungmin laugh happily, butterflies raging in his stomach, flapping up the flower petals.

“Sorry, I’m a little sweaty—” Hyunjin puts Seungmin down again, and Seungmin laughs. Normally, he’d mind, but now his euphoria wins over any discomfort he might’ve felt.

“Yeah, go take a shower, you sap.” Seungmin pushes at Hyunjin’s shoulder playfully, and Hyunjin grins. “And then… let’s meet up with Innie and Jisungie again to talk about the performances before we, uhm, pick up this conversation again?” 

“Yes, sounds like a good plan,” Hyunjin agrees with a giddy smile, and he sneaks a chaste kiss onto Seungmin’s cheek before he runs off to the showers, leaving Seungmin with his heart making a fuss about it. 

When he goes to find their friends, he finds Jeongin and Jisung kissing in a corner somewhere, which makes Seungmin laugh, especially when the two yelp and pull back as they flush bright red. Jeongin tries to distract from being caught by asking about Hyunjin, and Seungmin explains that he’s taking a shower, but both Jeongin and Jisung give him a pointed look, probably meaning that they’re curious about what they talked about.

Seungmin blushes thinking about what Hyunjin told him, and his heart flutters, so it takes a minute to compose himself and find the right words. “Uhm, well, Hyunjin told me that I’m his muse, yes, but— let’s talk about that when he’s back, yeah?”

Jeongin and Jisung reluctantly agree, and they talk about the performances until Hyunjin joins them and they compliment him and he compliments them on their performances too. 

“And your harmonizations were beautiful, but your solo songs were too, I understand why Jisung was almost bawling at the end,” Hyunjin rambles, making big gestures with his hands. He turns to Seungmin with a loving look when he continues. “And Minnie… gosh, I was almost crying at your solo, too, I just could relate so much— and that wasn’t even when I knew that you were singing to me.”

Seungmin looks away before he implodes, his fingers feeling all tingly and he can’t stop smiling.

“Wait— Seungmin, so you already told him that you were inspired by him too?” Jeongin gasps, and Seungmin blushes even more as he nods. 

“So does that mean you two are finally together?” Jisung asks, and Seungmin and Hyunjin share a look. Seungmin sees his own hope reflected in Hyunjin’s eyes as the latter smiles bashfully and chews on his plump lower lip.

“I– we didn’t talk about that yet, but… I’d really like to call Seungminnie my boyfriend if he’d like that too.”

“Yes, I would like that too,” Seungmin answers softly, and the bright smile Hyunjin gives him makes him feel like the most extraordinary person in the world. Seungmin grabs onto Hyunjin’s hand in an attempt to release some of his overwhelming feelings, but he can’t seem to shake away this happy and giddy feeling he’s had since Hyunjin confirmed that he’s his muse. 

“Oh my gosh this is so romantic!” Jisung exclaims, and Seungmin snorts. “Congratulations you both! We’ll leave you two to celebrate both the performance and this new development in your relationship, right, Innie?”
“Yes, let’s do that,” Jeongin agrees with a chuckle as Jisung swings an arm around his boyfriend, and they all hug each other goodbye before returning to the dorms. 

Seungmin and Hyunjin hold hands again, Seungmin mindlessly brushing his thumb over the back of Hyunjin’s. Hyunjin has a happy bounce in his step and his skirt dances with every step, reflecting his joyful mood. When they get inside, Hyunjin pulls Seungmin close, flush against his chest, and cups his jaw with his free hand. 

“My Minnie, my muse…” he whispers, making Seungmin’s heart stutter. 

“Just kiss me, Hyunjin,” Seungmin breathes impatiently, thinking he won’t be able to handle it if Hyunjin makes him feel even more than he’s already doing. Hyunjin chuckles bashfully before he leans in, closes his eyes, and gently brushes his lips over Seungmin’s. 

Seungmin closes his eyes as he reciprocates, his free hand resting on Hyunjin’s hip, and he softly sighs into the kiss, finally able to let out more of his feelings he’s accumulated throughout the day. Hyunjin’s lips on his feel as extraordinary as Hyunjin himself feels, and the way Hyunjin’s hand caresses his jaw makes Seungmin melt. 

“I still can’t believe that I’m actually you’re muse, Jinnie,” Seungmin mutters against Hyunjin’s lips. “For… for how long?”

Hyunjin pulls back and bashfully tucks a strand of long hair behind his ear. “Uhm, I don’t remember exactly, but I know that hearing you sing has always inspired me. I think it wasn’t too long after you comforted me because that professor didn’t want me to wear a skirt for my showcase that I began noticing how often you inspire me, and then when I watched you perform for the first time, I knew that you had become more than just inspiration to me. Not long after that, I also realized that I had fallen in love with you.”

Seungmin should have expected to hear something that would have his heart going wild and his knees going weak, but Hyunjin manages to surpass his expectations time after time. Seungmin shakes his head, feeling speechless for a moment, but he also feels so… Special. 

"I— I'm going to need a bit more time to fully process this," Seungmin admits with a sheepish chuckle, and Hyunjin softens. "I… I just never expected you to think this way about me when you are so extraordinary yourself, but that conversation we had about that drama episode already opened my eyes a little bit to how you see the world, and it's beautiful, so I'll do my best to embrace it."

"Seungminnie…" Hyunjin whispers, his expression showing how touched he is. "Gosh— this is why you're extraordinary too, even if it’s simply because you make me feel extraordinary feelings, but aside from that you're exceptional, too." 

"I sure feel like that right now," Seungmin murmurs, and Hyunjin leans in to kiss him again, lovingly yet more passionately than before.

“As you should,” Hyunjin breathes between kisses, and all Seungmin can do is kiss him again and again to try to convey everything he feels, to convey how special Hyunjin is to him, too. 

And Seungmin thinks that Hyunjin is right, love can make you feel like even the most mundane things are exceptional, because he thinks that even if Hyunjin wouldn’t have long hair, even if he wouldn’t wear skirts, even if he wouldn’t be a ballet dancer, he would love Hyunjin just as much, and he’d still think that Hyunjin would be the most extraordinary person in the world.

On the other hand, those things are all part of Hyunjin, too, the way he expresses himself both emotionally and in his appearance is a part of him, and it’s a part of why he is such an exceptional person as well. It’s complicated, just like humans are complicated, but what Seungmin knows for sure is that he loves Hyunjin with all of his extraordinary traits, hobbies, and clothing, and in return, Hyunjin makes him feel like he’s just as extraordinary. 

The end.