Chapter Text
He really doesn’t know how he ends up here.
Sitting among hundreds of screaming fans, donning giant professional cameras or dressed up to the nines, making Sanghyeon feel entirely out of place in just his simple jacket and baggy jeans.
He really is too weak when it comes to his sister, he thinks.
He still remembers the devastated look on her face when their mother had learned she had spent all of her yearly allowance on an idol’s album, buying an obscene amount of copies in order to get into a fansign, before being banned from going as a lesson against her reckless spending.
She had cried all night, wailing penetrating the walls for what felt like hours, before she had eventually come to find Sanghyeon, red-rimmed eyes, hands behind her back in the way she always did whenever she wanted to ask something of him.
That was how he had found himself here, eyes squinting at the bright lights, feeling entirely out of place, as he looked down at the list of questions his sister had equipped him with.
He really doesn’t know why he had agreed to this.
They’re questions he would have never think to ask another human, let alone a celebrity he was meeting for the first time and knew nothing about.
To his credit, he had briefly listened to a few songs at her behest, after being informed that it was rude not to listen to them if showing up to a fansign.
They’re sweet.
Not what he would usually listen to, but he can see why they’d be popular, with that soft and silken voice that could probably lull him to sleep.
Still, he feels entirely out of his depth, like he’ll be caught out at any moment.
He runs a hand through his hair, before looking up at the ceiling, fixating on the bright lights. If he had the choice, he would be playing basketball with his friends, or at home gaming.
Then all of a sudden, the room bursts into screams and cheers. Wincing slightly, he looks up to see a figure emerging at the front, lights increasing in intensity, almost blinding him.
But when his eyes finally adjust, his mouth parts slightly, feeling like he had been hit straight between the eyes.
The idol at the front is nothing less than the word beautiful.
He’s tall and slender, with dark almond eyes, silky black hair shining under the lights, and artificial blush swept across his cheeks in a way that makes him look prettier than any girl Sanghyeon has ever seen before.
He swallows.
The boy looks around the room, as if committing every single face to memory, before locking eyes with Sanghyeon, who immediately feels all logical thoughts fall out the window.
Shit.
He quickly looks away, heart pounding.
What the hell was that? He wasn’t usually one to be swept up in something like that.
He frowns slightly, rubbing an uncomfortable hand over his chest.
Right— it wasn’t special. This was just what idols did for a living.
He was only here for his sister anyway.
With poised and elegant steps, the boy at the front then sits down in a chair, waving around the room, before taking up a microphone, launching into a greeting, the name Chuei Liyu lighting up behind him.
Not that Sanghyeon had forgotten— his sister had drilled it into his head with the intensity of a military captain. But it was different being able to match the name to the face.
Even his speaking voice is musical, as silken as the songs Sanghyeon had listened to.
He feels completely disoriented.
Was it humanly possible to look and sound like this— so delicate and yet so present at the same time?
Before long, the greeting section is over, and the fans are sorted into a lineup for the fansign. Sanghyeon finds himself somewhere along the back end, and winces slightly at the misfortune.
He really should have arrived earlier.
The idol probably would be tired by the time he got to the front, and not be bothered to deal with whatever strange questions his sister came up with.
Still, he was already here. He had no choice but to tough the process out.
He tries to busy himself with his phone, to pass the time. He had prepared some playlists to listen to, and some games.
But oddly, he finds himself drawn to the way the other looks, smiling at his fans with the same level of attentiveness each time they came up, eyes sparkling in a way that no human should be able to do.
Was this all customer service? Was every smile truly genuine?
It feels like hours before it’s finally his own turn.
When he’s eventually called up, he stumbles slightly as he mounts the stage, legs not working properly, before taking a seat.
“Hi there,” the boy greets him with a soft smile. He doesn’t reveal any signs of fatigue at all, nor does he comment on Sanghyeon’s less than graceful entrance.
He can’t help but feel grateful for it all.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you before. First time?”
At that, Sanghyeon blinks.
“You remember all of your fans?”
The other only quirks his lips in response.
“I try my best. Each fan is precious and different to me,” he says, before tilting his head slightly.
“But it would be hard not to notice someone like you,” he adds on, and Sanghyeon’s eyebrows furrow together.
“What do you mean?”
The other only stares back at him for a moment with amusement, and Sanghyeon can’t help but notice that up close, his dark almond-shaped eyes are even more alluring.
“Well you’re very good looking, aren’t you? Are you sure you shouldn’t be up on the stage instead of me?” the idol asks, leaning forward, a twinkle in his eye.
Sanghyeon blinks back at the comment, feeling somewhat warm under the collar.
Was this guy flirting with him?
Or was this just what all idols were like?
“What’s your name?” the other presses onwards, with a smile.
“Sanghyeon,” he says back blankly.
“That’s a nice name. How should I address you? Are you younger or older?” the other asks, tilting his head.
“I’m…I’m an 07 liner,” Sanghyeon responds, tripping over his words.
“Ah, I see. I’ll call you Sanghyeon-ie then,” the other smiles, placing a palm against his cheek. Sanghyeon had heard of idol charisma before, but it was entirely different being subjected to it in full force.
Was this what his sister had wanted?
The other reaches out for the album in his hands, and before he can even register it, he begins to sign the album.
“To Sanghyeon-ie,” the other says, as he writes.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” the other concludes, before capping the marker.
Oh, his sister is definitely going to kill him.
That was supposed to be her name on the cover.
“So how long have you been a fan?” Liyu asks, swiftly moving on.
About 30 seconds, Sanghyeon thinks about saying, but he doesn’t want to risk being killed by the fans around him.
“Um. I liked your latest album,” he says instead, before internally cursing— this was supposed to be a debut album. But the other only smiles knowingly back at him.
“Really? Which song do you like best?” he asks.
“The title. I really like the second verse,” he blurts out.
It’s true. It’s nothing like what he would listen to normally, but there had been something about it that he had unexpectedly liked.
“Really?” the other asks.
Before he can respond, the other sings part of the lines, voice soft and silken, eyes never leaving his own.
Sanghyeon feels his mouth go dry.
“I like your voice,” he says, before his brain can catch up to his mouth.
“I would hope so,” the other laughs softly, before gesturing at the gift in his arms.
“You have a gift for me?” he asks.
“Yeah, it’s uh…” he trails off, before passing forward a bag.
Liyu looks into it inquisitively, before raising his eyebrows.
He pulls out a rabbit keychain. It’s the exact model of keychain as Sanghyeon’s own puppy one that his sister had gifted him earlier that year, and all of a sudden he wants to kill her— because now it looked like they were matching on purpose.
“Oh, it’s like the one on your bag,” the other comments with amusement.
“Uh…yeah,” he responds.
“Can I see?” he asks, and Sanghyeon can’t help but go along with it, pulling the keychain off and passing it to him.
“How cute. Maybe I’ll take this one and you keep the rabbit one then. That way we can match,” the other says with a smile.
Sanghyeon only stares back, in a daze.
How was he supposed to explain that it wasn’t his intention to match, that he had no business carrying around a rabbit keychain, or that the keychain wasn’t even from him, when the other was looking at him like that?
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” he responds back automatically.
“Great,” the other smiles, eyes crinkling.
Oh shit.
“I see you have some questions for me?” the elder presses gently.
“Um, yeah,” he says, snapping out of it, before unfolding the crumpled piece of paper.
He feels entirely disoriented at the situation, watching his puppy keychain sitting to the side of the desk, next to this angel-like entity.
“Do you…do you prefer being called baby, prince or baby prince?” he asks.
He’s going to kill his sister.
What the hell were these questions?
He can tell the other is surprised by the questions too, by the way his eyebrows raise, but he answers the question nonetheless.
“Baby,” he says, before resting a palm against his cheek.
“Do you want to try saying it?” he asks.
Sanghyeon thinks he could combust on the spot.
What the hell?
“Um…baby?” he blurts back, not sure why he had given in, and the other’s smile widens, before throwing his head back in a laugh.
Sanghyeon hasn’t even had a chance to call his girlfriend that before— not that he ever had one— but now he was calling a random guy he had never met before by this nickname.
“You sure are shy for someone who wrote these questions.”
He’s about to open his mouth to defend himself— to deny that they were from someone as usually sensible as him, when he sees the other’s manager tapping him on the shoulder, then his own wrist.
Was their allotted time together really this short?
“Ah. What’s your next question?” Liyu prompts, kindly.
Sanghyeon takes the hint. He lays the piece of paper flat against the table, a man on a mission.
“Um…what do you think is your best quality?”
Liyu tilts his head slightly, before levelling a smile at him.
“What do you think it is?” he asks.
Sanghyeon’s eyebrows furrow at the question.
“Me?” he asks.
“I’m more interested to know what my fans think,” the other says.
Sanghyeon stares back at him blankly.
What can he say? He doesn’t know anything about the elder.
Plus, his sister really would kill him for answering a question that had been intended for the idol himself.
“Your smile,” he says, finally.
“My smile?” the other asks, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s pretty. It’s like…being warmed up from the inside,” Sanghyeon responds.
He doesn’t know where the words are coming from.
But the other blinks back at him, a hint of surprise peeking out from behind that usually teasing expression, and his lips quirk up slightly in a display of something strangely real.
His manager taps him once again on the shoulder, and Liyu breaks out of it.
“I think you probably only have time for one more question, Sanghyeon-ie,” he says, gently.
Sanghyeon nods, although he can’t help his stomach from doing a flip at the nickname.
He looks down at the final question on his sheet.
“Where would you go on your ideal date?” he asks.
Liyu lets out a small huff of laughter at that.
“Are you asking me out?” he asks.
Sanghyeon’s cheeks warm.
This is the worst day of his life. Maybe.
“We would go to the beach, I think,” Liyu finally says with a small smile.
Sanghyeon stares back.
“I would prepare a picnic basket with some things to eat, and we would watch the tide come in as we talked about our favourite things.”
“Doesn’t that sound nice?” Liyu asks, tilting his head.
The way he describes it somehow makes it sound real. Like it was Sanghyeon with him on the date, rather than just a hypothetical scenario.
He feels his skin buzz slightly at the thought.
“Surely I— your date would contribute a little more than that?” he can’t help but ask.
The other stares for a moment, before throwing his head back in laughter, like sunlight.
“You can set up the umbrella. And carry our things. You seem very capable,” the other says with a twinkle in his eye, and Sanghyeon swallows.
“You can count on me,” he finds himself saying. He feels ludicrous, planning a date with a guy he had only just met a few minutes ago.
“It’s time to move on,” his manager finally pipes up again, and Liyu stares back at him, almost looking disappointed.
“Looks like our time is up. We can continue planning another time, okay?” he says, holding up a pinky finger.
Sanghyeon feels his stomach turn, knowing that there wasn’t likely to be another time.
This is probably how they get you.
But he takes it nonetheless, sealing in a promise that he definitely can’t keep.
“Yeah,” he says, before picking up his things and moving on.
“See you again next time, Sanghyeon-ie,” Liyu waves, smiling softly.
Sanghyeon almost feels sorry to leave.
—
He’s silent the entire bus ride home.
It had felt strange, leaving like that— almost empty, like he had lost something precious.
It was silly, though. He didn’t usually care about this kind of thing at all.
And it was the other guy’s job for god’s sake.
But the slight peek of something real had thrown him off somewhat— even if on paper they had nothing in common.
Was the experience usually like this?
When he finally makes it through the door, he’s greeted by a piercing shriek.
He had expected his sister to attack him instantly, but not like this.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, eyebrows furrowing together.
“Hyeon-ah, you’re famous! Look!” she says, shoving her phone into his face, before he can even comment on her lack of honourifics.
On her screen, he sees a picture of himself and Liyu, mid conversation, the idol’s cheek in his palm, and a caption of “What the hell…saw a freaking handsome guy at the fansign today…the visual chemi is just too good. Who is this?”.
There are over 7,000 shares of the post, with the numbers continuing to grow by the second.
“What…? I only left an hour ago,” he says, blinking.
“You’re blowing up everywhere! My friends are all asking why you’re at the fansign instead of me,” his sister throws her hands up in despair.
“Tell me you got the answers to my questions at least?” she asks.
Sanghyeon frowns, as he sets his things down.
“Yeah, they were weird as hell. He probably thought I was a crazy stalker or something,” he replies, pressing a finger into her forehead. She yelps at the action, before pushing it aside.
“Ya, I just wanted him to feel my love through the questions!” his sister shoots back, before her phone buzzes with a call.
She immediately answers, turning tail.
“Oh my god, you saw? I know, it’s so—!” he hears her start, before she runs to her room, her door slamming shut.
Sanghyeon winces slightly at the sound, before looking down.
He doesn’t know how to react to the events of the day.
He also doesn’t know if he wants to search up the picture himself, because it makes things feel strangely real.
“See you again next time, Sanghyeon-ie,” Liyu had said, with that gentle smile of his.
He’s sure it doesn’t mean anything.
He doesn’t care.
He immediately heads to the bathroom, turning on the tap. He leans down, splashing water on his face, trying to erase the image of the other’s smile, his eyes, from his mind.
It doesn’t work.