If Music be the Food of Love [Chapter 13]
Title: If Music be the Food of Love
Chapter: 13/13
Genre: romance, humour, AU
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Henber (main), minor QMi, LunBer, other ninja pairings
Summary: When Donghae decides to skip his first two weeks at SM High, his twin sister Amber impersonates him and joins the prestigious performing arts school to meet her idol, Cho Kyuhyun. Hijinks ensue as she tries to keep from being found out by her roommate Henry, dealing with romantic mix-ups along the way.
A/N: Based on the movie She’s the Man, a take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The title is a quote from the opening lines of the play.
Amber spent the next hour explaining her subterfuge to those whom she was closer to, dragging Donghae along with her as proof for those who found it hard to believe. It was tiring, and each person who stared at her in shock just made her feel worse about lying to them.
“You really made a lot of friends here in just two weeks.” Donghae commented.
“Well, you know, I didn’t want you to become a social pariah in school.” She joked. “If not for me, you wouldn’t have been able to join the dance group until next semester.”
“Thanks, I guess.” He grinned, ruffling his sister’s hair affectionately. He wasn’t exactly mad at her for what she did, considering that it had been his actions that had allowed her to do it in the first place. Besides, twins always stick together.
“I also found out that a surprising number of boys in this school are gay.” Amber quipped, earning an interested look from him. “If you’re very nice to me, I’ll even consider telling you which ones they are.”
Donghae snorted. “You’ll tell me anyway just so that I don’t rat you out to our parents.” While she considered this proposition, Donghae frowned as something occurred to him. “Please tell me that your roommate was one of the gay ones.”
“I’m afraid not.” Amber shook her head, going tell-tale red at the thought of Henry, which didn’t go unnoticed by her brother.
Donghae gasped in outrage. “You like him! You slept in the same room with the boy you like, and for two whole weeks! Scandalous!”
“Shut up.” She punched him in the arm. “Besides, he’s probably really mad at me right now for lying to him all this while.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” He pointed out reasonably. “Let’s go and find him. Didn’t those third-year students say they were in a band performance?”
Amber was really reluctant to approach Henry, but Donghae had already made up his mind to do so. In the worst case scenario, Henry would just refuse to speak to her, and she wouldn’t have to ever see him again. “They’re probably in the performance hall - that’s where the more serious performances are held for the parents and VIPs invited by the school.”
“Any good dance performances?” Donghae asked as he followed her towards the hall.
Amber thought for a moment. “I think some of the second and third year students are putting on a few dances. That’s what Eunhyukkie said.” Then she groaned. “Damn, I’ll have to apologise to him too. And then I’ll need to reassure him that those audition videos were really of you dancing.”
“Audition videos?” Donghae asked curiously.
“Well, there’s no way I could dance as well as you do, so I lied that I sprained my ankle, dug out some recent videos of your solo dancing and gave them to him.” Amber explained concisely. “He said the coach approved and that I- or rather, you- could join them.”
Their conversation ceased as they approached the doors of the performance hall and quietly entered, slipping into two seats nearer the back. A uniformed student passed them a program of the day’s performances. It just happened to be the start of Kyuhyun’s singing, and Amber had to keep herself from squealing in delight at hearing him sing live.
His voice was mellow and smooth as it ran through the melody of the ballad, and Donghae thought he could understand why Amber was such a fan. To his amusement, he noticed Zhou Mi sitting in the audience as well, seemingly entranced by Kyuhyun’s singing. He sensed a new couple in the making.
There was a thunderous applause, as well as some girlish screams from Kyuhyun’s fans, before the next performance was on, and it was Donghae’s turn to be entranced by the contemporary dance group’s showcase. There was an undeniable energy among them as they popped and locked and proved that SM High didn’t just allow anyone to enter their school program.
One of them, a familiar thin boy dressed in a baggy shirt and pants began his solo part in the dance, and Donghae’s eyes were glued to his sharp movements and sheer look of concentration on his face. “That’s Eunhyuk.” Amber whispered to him, and he nodded, not taking his eyes off the dancer.
It was over too soon, and Amber suggested that they go backstage to check Donghae’s dance group membership status with the older members. They were nearing the door when Ryeowook’s sweet voice spoke over the microphone, and Amber turned to see that their band was performing. Donghae sensed his sister’s hesitation, and gently pushed her towards the seats, giving her a wink before leaving the hall.
Amber sat back down, watching as Henry’s fingers flitted over the black and white keys and the song started. Sungmin and Ryeowook had actually taken the news pretty well, but Henry hadn’t said a single word to her, not even when she’d looked at him pointedly and apologised again. Sighing in defeat, she leant back into her chair, closed her eyes and let Ryeowook’s lovely voice wash over her.
--
He wasn’t absolutely sure where the backstage entrance was, but spotted some of the dancers leaving through a door, and made his way towards them. Then he saw the one he was looking for, and increased his stride. “Eunhyuk-ssi?”
Eunhyuk turned around and saw Donghae waving at him, and stopped in his tracks so suddenly that Shindong bumped into him. “What did you do that for,” Shindong grumbled, rubbing his nose which had impacted with the back of Eunhyuk’s head.
“Hello.” Donghae smiled at them, and Eunhyuk felt strangely disconcerted looking at a face that was familiar and unfamiliar all at once. It was impossible not to note how the real Donghae’s face was more masculine than Amber’s. Actually, that was true of the rest of him as well.
“…Donghae-ssi.” It was weird calling him that, Eunhyuk thought uncomfortably.
“Ah, so you’re Lee Donghae? I’m Shindong.” The third year dancer inclined his head in greeting. “I heard one of our teachers say that your audition was impressive.”
“Thank you.” Donghae beamed. “I just wanted to check that it was okay for me to audition by sending a video rather than doing so in person.”
“If it really was you in the video clips.” Eunhyuk muttered under his breath. Donghae was a little thrown off by the bitter tone in his voice. Had he done something to offend this guy?
“Was that a problem?” Shindong looked surprised at Eunhyuk’s comment. “I’m sure Donghae-ssi could just dance for us now if you wanted proof.” His tone suggested that it was ridiculous of Eunhyuk to even suggest such a thing.
“Which dances did I submit? I don’t quite remember.” Donghae admitted, smiling sheepishly.
Eunhyuk knew which ones they were. He’d even memorised the dances and attempted to copy them in the privacy of his room. He’d fallen for a boy because of a freaking video clip, only to find out that it was actually a girl lying about her entire identity, and he had never felt stupider in his life. It didn’t help that the real Donghae was even handsomer than his twin, ripped, and smiled in a way that had Eunhyuk’s stomach doing flip-flops.
“It was like this.” He finally snapped, and danced his favourite segment of the first video clip on the spot. Donghae nodded slowly as he realised which video Amber had managed to find, while Shindong raised a brow at Eunhyuk’s little display.
“Oh, that dance. I like how you did it.” Eunhyuk was momentarily surprised by the compliment, before Donghae repeated the dance, almost exactly as Eunhyuk had seen in the video clip, only somehow even better than before.
Shindong nodded approvingly. “Nice style.” He shot Eunhyuk a dirty look, as if to scold him for doubting Donghae’s skills. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Donghae-ssi. I’ll see you around.” Donghae bowed his head back politely as the Shindong ran off to find his friends.
“Are you mad at Amber?” Donghae asked quietly.
“…no.” Eunhyuk bit his lip, but Donghae’s questioning gaze was unrelenting. “She wasn’t the one dancing in the video.”
--
The door opened, and Amber looked up in apprehension to see Henry standing there. “I’m just packing my stuff.”
“…I see.” He said awkwardly.
She resumed putting clothes into her bag, willing him to say something, anything. Anything to make the silence between them less awful.
“I met this girl the other day.”
She stiffened, and then slowly turned to face him, wondering what he was getting at.
“She was cute, and played the guitar, and had a cool voice. Plus, her English was spot-on.” His mouth quirked into a small smile. “I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Best of all, she reminded me of my roommate.”
Amber swallowed nervously, willing her heart to calm down.
“And then this morning I found out that my roommate had been lying to me all along.” Henry sighed. “I was really surprised and hurt, because I liked my roommate. He was an awesome guy.”
She found her throat closing up, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Why had she ever decided to carry out this pretence in the first place?
“Then I realized how lucky I was that that girl and my roommate turned out to be the same person.” He said, with a pensive expression on his face. “Because I don’t think I would have gotten to know her as well as I did if we hadn’t been roommates and friends to begin with.”
Damn it, she wasn’t crying. Amber sniffed and swiped at her eyes furiously. “I’m so sorry for lying to you.” She hiccupped, while Henry’s eyes widened in alarm.
“No, wait, you weren’t supposed to cry- shit, I was just trying to be romantic…” He babbled on as he lunged for the tissue box on the desk and thrust it into her hands.
Amber gasped out a laugh between sniffles. “So you forgive me? We’re friends again?”
“Yup.” Henry grinned and crouched down to meet her gaze. “And I’d like to be more than friends, if that’s okay with you.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes were shining and she looked so adorable at that moment that he couldn’t help but lean in to give her a light kiss.
“Hey!” Henry jerked back in shock and their gazes flitted to the person standing in the doorway. “What do you think you’re doing?” Donghae demanded, all aghast.
Amber could feel her hands clenching into fists in irritation. “We made up.” She informed him shortly. “You can leave us in peace now.”
“Excuse me, this is my room.” Donghae folded his arms with an air of superiority about him. “There will be no hanky-panky of any sort in here, especially not with my baby sister.”
Amber stared at him. “You’re older by three minutes.”
Henry sat back as he observed the twins squabble over the minutest details. Then he considered that it might be wise to request for a change in roommates very soon. Donghae looked like the kind of guy who would cheerfully murder Henry in his sleep if anything were to happen to his sister.
Henry wasn’t going to let that happen, though.
**
A/N: thanks to every single one of you who stuck with this fic, and especially if you commented - I really appreciate it! there will be a Hyukhae oneshot sequel to this story coming soon :D
Chapter: 13/13
Genre: romance, humour, AU
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Henber (main), minor QMi, LunBer, other ninja pairings
Summary: When Donghae decides to skip his first two weeks at SM High, his twin sister Amber impersonates him and joins the prestigious performing arts school to meet her idol, Cho Kyuhyun. Hijinks ensue as she tries to keep from being found out by her roommate Henry, dealing with romantic mix-ups along the way.
A/N: Based on the movie She’s the Man, a take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The title is a quote from the opening lines of the play.
Amber spent the next hour explaining her subterfuge to those whom she was closer to, dragging Donghae along with her as proof for those who found it hard to believe. It was tiring, and each person who stared at her in shock just made her feel worse about lying to them.
“You really made a lot of friends here in just two weeks.” Donghae commented.
“Well, you know, I didn’t want you to become a social pariah in school.” She joked. “If not for me, you wouldn’t have been able to join the dance group until next semester.”
“Thanks, I guess.” He grinned, ruffling his sister’s hair affectionately. He wasn’t exactly mad at her for what she did, considering that it had been his actions that had allowed her to do it in the first place. Besides, twins always stick together.
“I also found out that a surprising number of boys in this school are gay.” Amber quipped, earning an interested look from him. “If you’re very nice to me, I’ll even consider telling you which ones they are.”
Donghae snorted. “You’ll tell me anyway just so that I don’t rat you out to our parents.” While she considered this proposition, Donghae frowned as something occurred to him. “Please tell me that your roommate was one of the gay ones.”
“I’m afraid not.” Amber shook her head, going tell-tale red at the thought of Henry, which didn’t go unnoticed by her brother.
Donghae gasped in outrage. “You like him! You slept in the same room with the boy you like, and for two whole weeks! Scandalous!”
“Shut up.” She punched him in the arm. “Besides, he’s probably really mad at me right now for lying to him all this while.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” He pointed out reasonably. “Let’s go and find him. Didn’t those third-year students say they were in a band performance?”
Amber was really reluctant to approach Henry, but Donghae had already made up his mind to do so. In the worst case scenario, Henry would just refuse to speak to her, and she wouldn’t have to ever see him again. “They’re probably in the performance hall - that’s where the more serious performances are held for the parents and VIPs invited by the school.”
“Any good dance performances?” Donghae asked as he followed her towards the hall.
Amber thought for a moment. “I think some of the second and third year students are putting on a few dances. That’s what Eunhyukkie said.” Then she groaned. “Damn, I’ll have to apologise to him too. And then I’ll need to reassure him that those audition videos were really of you dancing.”
“Audition videos?” Donghae asked curiously.
“Well, there’s no way I could dance as well as you do, so I lied that I sprained my ankle, dug out some recent videos of your solo dancing and gave them to him.” Amber explained concisely. “He said the coach approved and that I- or rather, you- could join them.”
Their conversation ceased as they approached the doors of the performance hall and quietly entered, slipping into two seats nearer the back. A uniformed student passed them a program of the day’s performances. It just happened to be the start of Kyuhyun’s singing, and Amber had to keep herself from squealing in delight at hearing him sing live.
His voice was mellow and smooth as it ran through the melody of the ballad, and Donghae thought he could understand why Amber was such a fan. To his amusement, he noticed Zhou Mi sitting in the audience as well, seemingly entranced by Kyuhyun’s singing. He sensed a new couple in the making.
There was a thunderous applause, as well as some girlish screams from Kyuhyun’s fans, before the next performance was on, and it was Donghae’s turn to be entranced by the contemporary dance group’s showcase. There was an undeniable energy among them as they popped and locked and proved that SM High didn’t just allow anyone to enter their school program.
One of them, a familiar thin boy dressed in a baggy shirt and pants began his solo part in the dance, and Donghae’s eyes were glued to his sharp movements and sheer look of concentration on his face. “That’s Eunhyuk.” Amber whispered to him, and he nodded, not taking his eyes off the dancer.
It was over too soon, and Amber suggested that they go backstage to check Donghae’s dance group membership status with the older members. They were nearing the door when Ryeowook’s sweet voice spoke over the microphone, and Amber turned to see that their band was performing. Donghae sensed his sister’s hesitation, and gently pushed her towards the seats, giving her a wink before leaving the hall.
Amber sat back down, watching as Henry’s fingers flitted over the black and white keys and the song started. Sungmin and Ryeowook had actually taken the news pretty well, but Henry hadn’t said a single word to her, not even when she’d looked at him pointedly and apologised again. Sighing in defeat, she leant back into her chair, closed her eyes and let Ryeowook’s lovely voice wash over her.
--
He wasn’t absolutely sure where the backstage entrance was, but spotted some of the dancers leaving through a door, and made his way towards them. Then he saw the one he was looking for, and increased his stride. “Eunhyuk-ssi?”
Eunhyuk turned around and saw Donghae waving at him, and stopped in his tracks so suddenly that Shindong bumped into him. “What did you do that for,” Shindong grumbled, rubbing his nose which had impacted with the back of Eunhyuk’s head.
“Hello.” Donghae smiled at them, and Eunhyuk felt strangely disconcerted looking at a face that was familiar and unfamiliar all at once. It was impossible not to note how the real Donghae’s face was more masculine than Amber’s. Actually, that was true of the rest of him as well.
“…Donghae-ssi.” It was weird calling him that, Eunhyuk thought uncomfortably.
“Ah, so you’re Lee Donghae? I’m Shindong.” The third year dancer inclined his head in greeting. “I heard one of our teachers say that your audition was impressive.”
“Thank you.” Donghae beamed. “I just wanted to check that it was okay for me to audition by sending a video rather than doing so in person.”
“If it really was you in the video clips.” Eunhyuk muttered under his breath. Donghae was a little thrown off by the bitter tone in his voice. Had he done something to offend this guy?
“Was that a problem?” Shindong looked surprised at Eunhyuk’s comment. “I’m sure Donghae-ssi could just dance for us now if you wanted proof.” His tone suggested that it was ridiculous of Eunhyuk to even suggest such a thing.
“Which dances did I submit? I don’t quite remember.” Donghae admitted, smiling sheepishly.
Eunhyuk knew which ones they were. He’d even memorised the dances and attempted to copy them in the privacy of his room. He’d fallen for a boy because of a freaking video clip, only to find out that it was actually a girl lying about her entire identity, and he had never felt stupider in his life. It didn’t help that the real Donghae was even handsomer than his twin, ripped, and smiled in a way that had Eunhyuk’s stomach doing flip-flops.
“It was like this.” He finally snapped, and danced his favourite segment of the first video clip on the spot. Donghae nodded slowly as he realised which video Amber had managed to find, while Shindong raised a brow at Eunhyuk’s little display.
“Oh, that dance. I like how you did it.” Eunhyuk was momentarily surprised by the compliment, before Donghae repeated the dance, almost exactly as Eunhyuk had seen in the video clip, only somehow even better than before.
Shindong nodded approvingly. “Nice style.” He shot Eunhyuk a dirty look, as if to scold him for doubting Donghae’s skills. “Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Donghae-ssi. I’ll see you around.” Donghae bowed his head back politely as the Shindong ran off to find his friends.
“Are you mad at Amber?” Donghae asked quietly.
“…no.” Eunhyuk bit his lip, but Donghae’s questioning gaze was unrelenting. “She wasn’t the one dancing in the video.”
--
The door opened, and Amber looked up in apprehension to see Henry standing there. “I’m just packing my stuff.”
“…I see.” He said awkwardly.
She resumed putting clothes into her bag, willing him to say something, anything. Anything to make the silence between them less awful.
“I met this girl the other day.”
She stiffened, and then slowly turned to face him, wondering what he was getting at.
“She was cute, and played the guitar, and had a cool voice. Plus, her English was spot-on.” His mouth quirked into a small smile. “I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Best of all, she reminded me of my roommate.”
Amber swallowed nervously, willing her heart to calm down.
“And then this morning I found out that my roommate had been lying to me all along.” Henry sighed. “I was really surprised and hurt, because I liked my roommate. He was an awesome guy.”
She found her throat closing up, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Why had she ever decided to carry out this pretence in the first place?
“Then I realized how lucky I was that that girl and my roommate turned out to be the same person.” He said, with a pensive expression on his face. “Because I don’t think I would have gotten to know her as well as I did if we hadn’t been roommates and friends to begin with.”
Damn it, she wasn’t crying. Amber sniffed and swiped at her eyes furiously. “I’m so sorry for lying to you.” She hiccupped, while Henry’s eyes widened in alarm.
“No, wait, you weren’t supposed to cry- shit, I was just trying to be romantic…” He babbled on as he lunged for the tissue box on the desk and thrust it into her hands.
Amber gasped out a laugh between sniffles. “So you forgive me? We’re friends again?”
“Yup.” Henry grinned and crouched down to meet her gaze. “And I’d like to be more than friends, if that’s okay with you.”
“Yes.”
Her eyes were shining and she looked so adorable at that moment that he couldn’t help but lean in to give her a light kiss.
“Hey!” Henry jerked back in shock and their gazes flitted to the person standing in the doorway. “What do you think you’re doing?” Donghae demanded, all aghast.
Amber could feel her hands clenching into fists in irritation. “We made up.” She informed him shortly. “You can leave us in peace now.”
“Excuse me, this is my room.” Donghae folded his arms with an air of superiority about him. “There will be no hanky-panky of any sort in here, especially not with my baby sister.”
Amber stared at him. “You’re older by three minutes.”
Henry sat back as he observed the twins squabble over the minutest details. Then he considered that it might be wise to request for a change in roommates very soon. Donghae looked like the kind of guy who would cheerfully murder Henry in his sleep if anything were to happen to his sister.
Henry wasn’t going to let that happen, though.
**
A/N: thanks to every single one of you who stuck with this fic, and especially if you commented - I really appreciate it! there will be a Hyukhae oneshot sequel to this story coming soon :D