Two hours. Two hours three minutes and forty-nine seconds to be exact. He was counting down to the second, counting down the time left before their big comeback stage, describing it as nervousness would be downright an understatement for what Jungwon was feeling. It would be wrong to say that the other six were not as scared as him but today felt different. He was never a firm believer in superstitions. never was, never will be. But the last few weeks had drained the living soul out of Jungwon. 7-8 hours practice per day making sure every single move was fluid, smooth, absolutely flawless, all whilst limiting his food intake to keep his figure slim, his face just containing fat to maintain his cute, innocent image, just enough to conceal the fatigue that came with everyday. Jungwon was not complaining. This is something that is inevitable in the industry, to do well, to succeed, to be loved.
He closed his eyes and mouthed his lines, envisioning his placement on stage, recalling the steps in fear that he might make a mistake despite the fact that every one of them had embedded the routine into their muscle memory. I mean they were so prepared, that Jungwon had woken up to see Ni-ki recreating a dance move in his sleep! His subconsciousness was just making a mess of him, he had no reason to be worried, they were going to be fine.
He looked around the backstage dressing room they were in. The snickers that erupted in the corner and the cocktail of perfumes that brewed in the air. Jake and Sunoo were sat in a couch in the corner giggling, watching video after video of their avid fans attempting to dance to the choreography of their new song. Both of them were finished with their makeup and the two boys were cooling their nerves by doing what they loved best; scrolling the internet and judging strangers on the web.
The remaining boys were in their designated spaces, Heeseung stretching, Ni-ki practicing his rap, Sunghoon slurping an ice cold Americano while silently judging the two that were now sprawled on the couch dying from laughter aftter reading comments from their Tiktok videos.
A smile had crept onto Jungwon's face realising that his bandmates were doing better than him, they were enjoying themselves, managing their nerves head on, instead of running away from them like someone had been.
Frankly, the comeback stage wasn't the only thing on his mind.
There, beside him, one chair away sat the boy that had been avoiding him all week. He was the last one to get his makeup done, and his artist was taking special care to make sure his lip makeup accentuated the same beauty the rest of his face did. His lips were pretty and Jungwon was one of the few people in the world who really knew just how pretty they were.
Jungwon and Jay were close, very close. Called each other's lifelines by the Jaywon shippers on the web. No matter what show, vlog or event, the pair was always spotted together. Either Jungwon perched onto the other's lap, or Jay ending up seating next to Jungwon no matter how far apart their original seating arrangements were.
Until recently, most of their interactions could be outlined as strictly platonic, I mean they had always been close and like Jake would vouch for, the two shared a special bond. However, a couple weeks ago, leading up to their comeback, Jay and Jungwon had shared a private moment that the rest of the members were completely unbeknownst of.
They had kissed. Not on the cheek, not a friendly exchanged forehead kiss, but lip to lip. Completely breaking bro code. Jay had initiated it, calling him cute before leaning in, to press his pretty lips onto Jungwon's. It happened so quick that the Jungwon had no time to possess whatever had just happened. So quick in fact that Jay muttered a series of sorry's looking down the whole time, getting up and leaving the younger alone with his kerfuffle of emotions.
And that was the last time Jay had spoken to him, or looked at him and frankly acknowledged his existence. Jungwon wasn't disgusted like he thought Jay was thinking, nor did he wish for it to be a mistake that Jay had not really meant.
