Subtle Differences | Junhao oneshots

Perfect flaws pt.3

Junhui was starting to get very, very impatient. Don't get him wrong, this wasn't in his nature. No, not really. But who can blame him when for a week, the only progress he had made with his "partner" was 10 bars of the music. Not to mention, Minghao had been nitpicking almost every note of his playing. 

"You need to match my tempo!"

"This needs more emotion"

"Now you're playing too slow, can you do anything right?" 

Oh, the last one had Junhui seething just thinking about it. "I'm trying, gosh..." Junhui murmured under his breath. He was sweating in his piano stool, having repeated the same few bars no less than 5 times. Each time, there seemed to be a new problem that Minghao magically conjured up, and ordered for him to fix. 

"What?" Minghao asked curtly. In a flash, Minghao had teleported from the other end of the practice room all the way to the side of the grand piano, startling Junhui half to death in the process. "Nothing." Junhui answered, a hint of quakiness in this voice. He was ashamed to admit, Minghao's uptight and "perfect" demeanour scared him, quite a lot actually. Minghao sighed, yet another disappointed look on that damned gorgeous face of his. 

"You know what, we'll pick this up again tomorrow. Also, I think we should extend each of our sessions to 2 hours. An hour isn't doing us any favours. I'll meet you tomorrow at 8.30?" Minghao asked. His voice had a sort of demanding tone to it. Junhui nodded. He didn't even feel like saying anything. All he wanted to do was pack his things and run back to his dorm, where Cynthia was probably waiting for any tea he had to spill. Oh, the amount of tea Junhui had was just bubbling over inside of him. It was piping hot too. Minghao gave no other reaction, which allowed Junhui to make his quick escape.

Time skip

As soon as Junhui trudges into his room and flops down onto his bed, Cynthia was already there, smirking up at him like an excited 5-year old kid. Her smile faded when she spotted the look of defeat on Junhui's face. "I'm guessing today didn't go too well huh." Junhui looks up in confusion. 

"I'm talking about Minghao sweetheart." She attempts to lean over from where she was sitting cross-legged on his chair, but only manages to almost fall smack onto the floor. She settles for patting his shoulder softly. Junhui nods ever so slightly and says, "The whole week's just been awful." He proceeds to tell her all about how much of a perfectionist Minghao is, and how he even comments on Junhui's playing. "He knows close to nothing about piano, and he thinks it's his fucking job to correct my playing." Junhui's voice is drowned out by the fact that his face was stuffed into a pillow.

"You tell him girl!" Cynthia whoops a little too animatedly. Junhui shakes his head, heaving another deep sigh. "Who knew such a pretty face could speak such hurtful words." Junhui whispers. 

Cynthia turns serious in a split second. "Look honey, you're too soft for this world. You can't let him push you around any longer if you want to pass this stupid teamwork project. So tomorrow when you meet him again, I want you to be confident when you play, and take charge of that project. Deal?" Cynthia held her pinky out, winking at Junhui like they were plotting some crime of the century. Junhui hooks his pinky onto hers, nodding with some relief. He knew he could always count on her for advice, even harsh ones that he might not have wanted to hear, but needed to.

"Oh and, no matter how in love you are with him, you have to stand up for yourself. Your playing is phenomenal, and you know that too, so never let anyone dim your shine, understood? Not even him." Cynthia said as she pulled him into a little hug. 

"I'm not in love-" Junhui started.

"Nah-uh. You know in your heart you are. I don't want to hear a word about it. Now go to sleep baby boo." Cynthia pat him once on the head before going back to her own dorm. 

"Ew!" Junhui calls after her. He knows she's right, though. Her little late-night pep talk motivated him, and he went to sleep feeling ready to seize the next day. What's the worse that could happen, right?

The Next Day

As it turns out, so many other things could be worse. 

It was only a half hour into their daily practice when Minghao's rampage started.

"No no no! Stop! You're not getting it." He interrupted. He landed light on his feet from the leap and whipped around, giving Junhui an accusatory glare. 'For christ sake, what does he want now?' Junhui thought. He stopped playing immediately. 

"That phrase as I do the grand jete sounds off." Minghao commented almost harshly. This took Junhui by surprise. 

"What do you mean it sounds off? I've changed and corrected everything to suit what you want." Junhui shot back. He was sick and tired of being Minghao's punching bag. Sure, he was exhausted from all the dancing, but that doesn't mean he could take it out on Junhui. So much for liking Minghao when he couldn't even get Minghao's validation. Junhui pressed on, not even letting Minghao have a second to answer.

"We've been at this for a week, and we're getting nowhere. Can you please just stop nitpicking every tiny detail and let us move on?" 

Minghao's eyes sharpened. "We can if you'd play better," He snapped.

Those words were like a slap sent across Junhui's face, leaving a stinging and hateful sensation. He stood abruptly, sending the piano stool sliding across the floor. Marching closer, Junhui shoves at Minghao. "What's your problem?"

"My problem is that I'm trying to make this teamwork thing perfect, but you are nowhere as near to it as I am!" Minghao shouts back. Junhui stumbles back, as though this time he was physically hit. 

"What did you just say?" There's a murderous gaze in his pupils, but under all of that, only defeat and insecurity remained. 

Minghao sighs. He knows this time he's really fucked up, but his ego wouldn't let him admit it. "Forget it, let's cont-" 

"No, I'm done. If you're so perfect at this, then make it work yourself!" Junhui snatched his crumpled music score and stuffed it into his bag before walking out, not flinching once. "Wait I didn't mean it the way it came out!" Minghao calls after Junhui. He stares helplessly as Junhui slips through the door, and the bang following shortly after echoes through the room. Minghao curses internally.

How is he going to fix things this time?

i'm back!

~lilyl<3vely