Unchained Melody (2/3)
Title: Unchained Melody (Hats II - 2/3)
Author: ygwildchild
Pairing: Seungyoon/Taehyun
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, Romance, Fluff
Length: Three-shots
Word Count: 2,751
Disclaimer: I do not own any of them, only the story.
Summary: And when they separated, time goes by so slowly, and time can do so much.
Author's Note: Unbeta'd. I hope you like it! And feel free to leave a comment and constructive criticism :D
It’s about time. Time can do so much.
Taehyun sang the last note of his song and got applause from his mother, grand mother, and Donghyun. It was the last day of practice for his showcase. Four months of preparation was more than enough to make this final project perfect. His showcase would be held tomorrow night in a small concert hall, together with the other five students from music faculty. And it would be the last performance before he graduated.
Donghyun and their grand mother left to their room after that. It was already late at night. “You can do it, Taehyun-ah.” Taehyun’s mother said as she softly stroked her son’s hair, “Take a good rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.”
Taehyun smiled. “Thanks, Mom. I will.” He said as he watched his mother smiled and left him to her room. He would make his family proud, no matter what. They had always been his source of happiness, and the reason of why he was still smiling even in the darkest time. He sighed and sat down on the sofa. He was happy that he was getting near to his dream. One more step, and he could face the real music industry. Probably, though. He knew there would be a lot of challenges ahead, but he did not care. As long as he had his dream, his family, and his best friends, he would be okay. At least, that was what he believed.
He smiled at the thoughts of him reaching his dream as an unbeatable composer and song writer, making his family proud of him, and his best friends happy. He closed his eyes and he could see their smiles in his mind. And in the midst of him closing his eyes, imagining his family and friends smiling at him, Seungyoon appeared in his mind, also smiling at him. He quickly opened his eyes, and suddenly there was a heavy feeling filled his heart.
It had been three months since they broke up. And there was not a single text, or call, or even meeting each other since then. They had been completely separated. Taehyun intended to just focus on his showcase preparation, and he knew, Seungyoon also did the same. He remembered Seunghoon told him that Seungyoon’s art exhibition also would start tomorrow. He said that he would probably come, but he did not have enough courage to meet Seungyoon again after they broke up.
“I need time for myself!”
“Fine! If that’s what you want!”
The last thing they said to each other kept ghosting his mind every time he remembered about Seungyoon. Taehyun still felt like he and Seungyoon did not actually break up. There was no such words like “I’m breaking up with you” or something back then. It was completely out of control. They both were just stressed out and emotional. It was too easy to say that they had broken up. But it was mostly his fault, for being cocky and careless.
Taehyun ruffled his hair and groaned quietly. He must stop thinking about Seungyoon. The other boy probably did not even think about him. He stood up and left the living room to his room. There were a lot of more important things he could think of instead of Seungyoon.
***
“Hey! Congratulation, Seungyoon! I enjoy your exhibition. Nice artworks!” Seunghoon said. A wide smile painted on his face as he patted Seungyoon’s shoulder.
Seungyoon smiled. “Thanks for coming, Seunghoon. Glad to see you.” He was still keeping in touch with Seunghoon and Mino, of course. His break up with Taehyun did not make his friendship with Seunghoon and Mino end. He went out with them a few times after they broke up. And Seungyoon noticed that Seunghoon and Mino tried to not bring up anything about Taehyun except if he asked.
“I went to Mino’s exhibition last week,” Seungyoon said, “it should be ended by yesterday right?”
Seunghoon nodded. “Yes, his exhibition has ended. He said that he would come here today with a girl who is currently close to him,” He leaned closer to Seungyoon and whispered, “soon to be his girlfriend.” He chuckled.
Seungyoon laughed. “Someone like Mino can get a girlfriend! I’m glad.” And that made both of them laugh. “Let me guess, the girl is older than him?”
“Right! How did you know?” Seunghoon held his laughter, replaced by a gape instead.
Seungyoon laughed at Seunghoon’s expression. “Mino introduced her to me last week, when I came to his exhibition.” He explained.
“Oh! I thought he had not told you yet,” Seunghoon chuckled, “well, that’s great, right.”
“Yeah.” Seungyoon nodded.
There were a few other visitors greeted Seungyoon after that. He smiled, kept bowing and saying “thank you”s to everyone who came. Seunghoon who was still standing there also bowed and smiled to the visitors.
“How’s your dance showcase preparation?” Seungyoon asked when there was any visitor greeted him.
“It went well, very well. I can’t wait to perform.” Seunghoon smiled and made some small dance gestures using his arms, and that made Seungyoon smiled too.
“I also can’t wait to see you perform! Your choreography is always breathtaking.” Seungyoon showed his excitement through his smile and gentle pat on Seunghoon’s shoulder.
“Thanks!” Seunghoon did not say anything to follow that. He had something else in mind to say to Seungyoon, but he was not sure if it was a right time to say it. He looked around and then he looked at Seungyoon, who seems not really paying attention to him, because he had to keep checking on the visitors. After a few minutes, he decided to just say it. “Seungyoon?”
Seungyoon turned to him. “Yes?”
“You know, uhm…” Seunghoon paused, “it has been three months since-“
“Since I broke up with Taehyun, yes.” Seungyoon cut off Seunghoon’s words. He knew this topic would be coming up.
Seunghoon rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… sorry, I just… I told him that your exhibition started opening today and…”
“And?” It could not be denied that Seungyoon was still care of Taehyun. He stiffened, waiting for Seunghoon to continue.
“And he said we would probably come tomorrow.” Seunghoon grinned.
Seungyoon sighed. “Probably.”
“Hey, it’s good right? It means there is a probability that he would come.” Seunghoon encouraged him. “Also, you. Tonight is his showcase, will you come?”
Seungyoon reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket. He showed it to Seunghoon. “Of course.” Seunghoon smiled widely and Seungyoon knew that the dancer was about to say ‘I will tell Taehyun’ but he spoke up first, “Don’t tell Taehyun!”
Seunghoon frowned. “Why?!”
Seungyoon shook his head. “Don’t tell him. I don’t want to ruin the good vibe around him by bringing up myself to him.” He said softly. “I’ll still come… I’ll support him by the distance, don’t worry.”
Seunghoon sighed. “Seungyoon, I’m not worrying about that. I’m worried about you, both of you. I’m sorry to say this but, really, you two are ridiculously pathetic.” He paused as he saw Seungyoon gave him a glare. “Listen, you two are obviously suffering here. But I haven’t seen any of you trying to fix it. I’m sure it wouldn’t be this bad if only you guys talked about it three months ago.”
“I know…” Seungyoon muttered.
“Seungyoon, I’m not the right person to give you a pep talk here, ok. But what I want to say is that you two just need to sit together and talk with presence of mind, not with emotion.” Seunghoon patted Seungyoon’s back and continued, “Sometimes, in a relationship, love and understanding are not enough, you also need patience.” He added, “Let him talk and you listen, and vice versa. That way, you both can find out the solution.”
***
At a time like this he wished Seungyoon was there beside him, encouraging him by massaging the back of his hands gently and whispering wise words to his ear. Taehyun was never good at dealing with his nervousness. When he was a kid, his mother would always be by his side, stroking his hair and saying things like ‘everything would be okay’. But now, he could not always rely on that. His mother could not be beside him all the time.
When he had Seungyoon, he found someone that he could rely on, that would always be by his side. But then again, he realized that it was just him putting too much hope on one person.
“Nam Taehyun?” He heard someone calling him from behind, and he turned around.
“Nam Taehyun-ssi, there is something for you.” The person handed him a bucket of roses. “I suggested him to get in, but he refused and said that he would meet you later after the showcase.”
Taehyun startled. “Uh, thank you.”
“No problem,” said the person who was the showcase crew. She left the backstage after that.
There was a small greeting card attached to the flower bucket and he took it. He knew who it was just by looking at the handwriting. His heart was pounding when he read what it said.
Don’t be too nervous! Haha, good luck! - Kang Seungyoon.
No, not the message, not the “good luck” that made his heart pounded, but the fact that it was sent by Seungyoon, written by Seungyoon’s hand, and that Seungyoon was there. He looked up and saw his reflection in the mirror. After three months without any kind of interaction, Seungyoon said ‘good luck’ to him, even sending him flowers. And “Don’t be too nervous!” Taehyun smiled, Seungyoon knew that he was so nervous. But because of that, his nervousness suddenly disappeared, replaced by a warm feeling in his heart.
One thing he realized. Seungyoon still cared about him.
***
Seunghoon was right. There was no need to keep the distance between him and Taehyun. He had to move on. He came to the showcase venue and asked a crew to deliver his flower to Taehyun. He entered the venue and was looking for his seat when a similar voice calling him. He turned around.
“Seungyoon-hyung!” Donghyun, the person who was calling him, waved and approached him, “long time no see, hyung!”
Seungyoon smiled at Donghyun’s friendly greetings. “Donghyun, how are you?”
“I’m good! I play guitar very well now.” Donghyun grinned. “Have you checked out my channel on Youtube?”
“Oh, yes! I watched your cover of ‘Land of Opportunity’! You did very, very well!” Seungyoon said, and he was kinda proud of it, because Donghyun used some guitar techniques he taught him before.
Donghyun scratched his chin softly, still grinning. “Thanks, hyung! Ah, also I’m glad you come to see Taehyun-hyung. He will do great tonight!” He said, showing his full support of his older brother.
Seungyoon chuckled. “Yeah, he will!” he gestured his hand to a ‘fighting!’ sign, and they both laughed. “Where are your mom and grandma?” He asked, since it would be nice to meet them as well.
“Oh, they are at the backstage, saying good luck to Taehyun-hyung.”
“And you’re not with them, saying good luck to your hyung?” teased Seungyoon.
Donghyun waved the words off. “No worries, he will be okay without my ‘good luck’, I said it earlier this morning though.” And they both laughed again.
“Bad dongsaeng.” Seungyoon said but he did not really mean it. He patted Donghyun’s head gently.
“Hyung,” Donghyun mumbled after they laughed, “You know, our family really like you, so… please get back together with Taehyun-hyung… Grandma said that you and Taehyun-hyung are meant to be together.” He smiled softly, “ah, I don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s all up to you two though. Well, enjoy the show! I have to bring mom and grandma to their seat. See you later, hyung!” And he left, waving his hand.
Seungyoon sighed. He heard from Jinwoo, Seunghoon, and Mino so many times that they should get back together, but it was Donghyun who said this now. Donghyun even said that their grandmother said he and Taehyun were meant to be. Was that… too much? He only thought of trying to fix his relationship, not even hoping to get back together, because it would not be easy. But, should he hope for it now?
***
The showcase had finished and it went very well. Taehyun and his friends did well on their performances, even getting standing applause. Taehyun was relieved that he could do well and finished his final project nicely. He glanced at his family who were proudly clapping their hands when he sang the last note. And he spotted his professor nodding in a kind of expression, Taehyun could say, a positive remarks that he would get an A+. But he did not see Seungyoon. Or more specifically, he did not try to find Seungyoon. He was afraid that if he saw him in the middle of his performance, he would be stiffened.
He joined his friends who performed with him tonight and congratulated each other for doing so well and for their team work these past four months. “It was great working with you guys!” Taehyun said, “Hope to meet you all again in real music industry!” and they cheered up for that.
Taehyun met his family outside the venue to say thank you and that he would go with his friends to a celebration, more like an after party, but in a small scale of a kind. “Thank you, Mom. Thank you, grandma. And Donghyun, thanks, brother.” He said. He also met Seunghoon, Mino, and Jinwoo after that, invited them to join the party. And of course they agreed.
Taehyun entered the venue again before leaving to get his jacket that was left in the backstage and spotted the flower bucket he received from Seungyoon. And he suddenly remembered that the crew said the person who gave him the flower would meet him after the showcase. He took the flower bucket with the greeting card attached to it and brought it outside.
But before he could make it to go outside, once he turned around, he almost jumped in surprise that Seungyoon was already there, standing in front of the backstage door.
“Gosh, I thought you were a ghost!” Taehyun said, surprisingly not that awkwardly. He had his hand placed on his chest.
Seungyoon laughed bitterly. “Did I scare you? Gosh, I’m sorry!” He stepped closer.
Taehyun sighed. “Nah, it’s okay. I was exaggerating.”
The awkward moment came after that. They smiled to each other but could not stay looking to each other more than a second.
“That was… that was an awesome showcase. You and your friends performed amazingly great.” Seungyoon break the silence, trying to break the awkwardness too.
Taehyun grinned. “Thank you… Thank you for coming,” he lifted the flower bucket, “and for the flower bucket.”
Seungyoon rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re welcome…”
“We had an after party, and it would be… it would be nice if you want to join us.” Taehyun asked. He was about to say that it would be ‘great’ if Seungyoon join the party but he was afraid he sounded too eager, so he chose ‘nice’ instead.
“Oh? Yeah, okay. It would be nice, yes.” Seungyoon replied. “So, uhm, we should go outside, I think. The others are waiting.”
“Ah, yeah they are waiting! Let’s go.” Taehyun said.
The walk to go outside was quiet. It was interesting how they did not fall into too much awkwardness or grew a distance. They walked just like how they used to walk together, but of course without touching each other like holding hands or so. Seungyoon even let Taehyun walked a step faster in front of him. He usually did that when they walk together, just to watch Taehyun’s back while they were walking.
But before they reach the exit door, just when Seungyoon was lovingly watching Taehyun’s back, Taehyun stopped and turned around all of a sudden. And the next thing Seungyoon knew, Taehyun’s arms had already wrapped around him. He felt Taehyun’s weight leaned against him and his face buried against Seungyoon’s shoulder blade.
Seungyoon moved his hand and stroked Taehyun’s back gently. He could heard the other boy was inhaling his scent as their body heat seeped through their thick clothes and mixed with each other’s.
“I was having a hard time without you.” Taehyun mumbled against Seungyoon’s coat. “Please, just let me stay like this for a while.”
And Seungyoon let him.
(tbc)
a/n: For those who hasn't checked out Nam Donghyun's cover of 'Land of Opportunity', check it out here! He did so well~ ^^