Affection | Yoonmin

1

Quiet chattering sounding from the audience dragged him out of his thoughts. He sat slouched in the shadow casting over him, light only reaching the piano before him.

The crowd grew quiet as the announcement speakers pierced through everyone’s ear, and a man announced the next performance. Everyone was staring anticipatedly up on the stage, waiting for the singer to come on.

Yoongi didn’t know what the singer looked like – all he knew was his name, Park Jimin, and his song that he would be performing.

Yoongi was curious to know how the singer looked – he hadn’t seen any pictures of him. He had only listened to his song one or two times and never thought about what the person behind the soft, feminine voice looked like.

Yoongi heard light footsteps behind him, light footsteps that suddenly seemed loud as the entire crowd fell silent. Yoongi’s hands lingered over the piano, right on the spot of the first chord.

Yoongi glared at the center of the scene, eyes widening when he saw the shadow of a person casting on the wooden flooring. He lifted his head and was immediately met with what he first processed as an ethereal being – dressed in a wavy white outfit that so gracefully adorned the almost angel-like appearance of a young man, probably not much younger than him – maybe around his early twenties.

The young man carefully walked to the center of the stage, hands wrapping around the microphone before him. Yoongi took a brief moment to examine the beautiful man’s appearance.

Yoongi’s immediate thoughts were that the man was undeniably pretty and almost feminine looking, with black hair reaching his nose tucked behind his ears, however lacking a healthy shine, matching the dry skin covered by a thin layer of foundation.

The white shirt the man was wearing was tight around a small, slender waist, as well as translucent by the sleeves, engulfing a pair of thin arms that looked ghostly pale under the thin fabric.

Yoongi was captivated by the man’s attractive face – seductive eyes and plump lips slightly parted. The singer’s gaze was planted on the crowd in front of them, while Yoongi’s was locked on the beautiful young man.

Yoongi snapped himself out of his daze and focused solely on the piano, gently pressing down on the first notes. The sweet melody of the song rang loudly throughout the venue as Yoongi’s eyes skimmed the notes at a rapid pace, his fingers dancing across the wide range of keys.

What surprised Yoongi was the singer’s voice, compared to how it had sounded when he listened to the song on SoundCloud. If Yoongi had to describe it with words, then he’d say the singer sounded angelic, especially compared to how he remembered the studio version.

There was something about those high, sweet vocals that caused him to melt into the performance. But Yoongi also felt the singer’s voice was missing something – perhaps, a soul. Just like the piano he was playing on. There was no soul emanating from the sound both the singer and the piano were creating.

Something about the young man felt sad – the dull emotion in his voice and his unreadable gaze. Yoongi felt nothing as he pressed down on the heavy keys – playing the piano made him feel empty. There was no joy anymore – nothing had changed since his mother died.

Yoongi felt he could relate to the singer and the way he sounded so hollow inside. It reminded him of how he constantly felt, just at the sight of a piano.

Yoongi couldn’t help but glance up at the young man once every few seconds. Something about his appearance kept him from looking away for too long – it felt like an addiction.

As Yoongi played the final notes, the singer’s voice faded into complete silence. Yoongi couldn’t help but gaze up at him, finding the singer in a state of exhaustion. His hands were tightly clasping onto the microphone as he turned his head, facing the floor as he breathed heavily. He looked completely out of breath; a gloomy look swept across his gaze, strands of hair limply covering his dark eyes.