Dangerous Liaisons || HyunHo

Chapter 11

Shelter

***

The two months that followed the break up were hard to say the least. Minho had promised Hyunjin to be happy, but every time he saw him, his heart crushed. It was continuously aching, and he couldn't seem to find a way to feel better. He had tried to, though : after the break up, Minho had tried to talk to Jeongin, but had been surprised and heartbroken when the latter had pushed him away. Minho found himself all alone : he had ended his friendship with Changbin and Jeongin didn't want to speak to him. Hwa-Young was there too, and would hang out with Minho from time to time, but she spent more time with her boyfriend and other friends. The only one left was Chan.

Chan and Minho started spending a lot of time together, and often met at Chan's studio. Minho liked seeing Chan produce songs, and get the artists the songs were for, in the studio to record them. Minho would sit on the couch, quietly, looking at Chan working hard, the artists coming and going, singing, Chan giving tips and explanations. When Chan was just producing, Minho was reading, or would help Chan out, or take a nap. Until one day.

Chan was working on a new song, Minho sitting next to him like always, sometimes glancing up from his book. Chan suddenly had an idea. He stopped what he was doing and turned to Minho.

"Minho, do you sing?" He asked. Minho raised his eyebrows, and looked at Chan.

"No..."

"I'm working on this song, but I'm not sure about it. Would you mind stepping into the recording room, and singing the lyrics?" Chan asked.

"But Chan," Minho protested, "I told you I don't sing..."

"I know. But can you please help me out? It's just so I can have a demo, you know?" Chan insisted.

Minho sighed, and put his book down. "Fine. But you keep this to yourself. And no spreading it."

"Deal!" Chan smiled. He led Minho to the recording room, and gave him headphones, explaining to him how it would work. Once Minho understood, Chan stepped out of the room, and went to his computer. Minho read the paper where the notes and lyrics were, and listened to how it was supposed to sound. Once he thought he was ready, he nodded at Chan who started the music. Minho started, but failed. He was nervous. "Relax, Minho," Chan said softly through the intercom. "I know you can do this." However, Minho was not confident. He had never been recorded, and had never sung before his friends, or anything like that. He did have singing lessons when he was younger, with a private teacher, but he had dropped the class before entering college. Minho took a deep breath and tried again, but once again failed.

"It's useless, Chan, I can't do this." Minho said, anger slowly rising.

"Alright, alright," Chan replied. "How about this : try and sing it outloud, but just for you. You're not being recorded, and if it makes you feel better, I won't listen."

Minho eyed Chan through the glass window, the paper he was holding slightly shaking, following the movement of his hand. "Okay," Minho said. Chan smiled at him and nodded.

Minho looked back at his paper, and waited for Chan to play the music. When it started, Minho started singing along, following the notes and lyrics. But his voice was slightly unstable, and he made a few flat notes. Minho was frustrated, but he didn't want to admit defeat. He tried again and again, and again. At one point, Chan entered the recording room, and gave Minho some water. Once Minho felt ready, he told Chan he could start recording. The boy took a deep breath, forgetting his surroundings as much as possible, and finally sang the song. Chan was breath taken. Minho's voice was absolutely stunning, and fitted the song so well... After this, Chan and Minho spent even more time together, Chan finding this new discovery to be a new excuse to get closer to Minho. For Minho, it was an opportunity to not be alone and to think of something else, other than Hyunjin and his broken heart.