arriving at the bbq place, you spotted hoshi sitting at the far end of the restaurant. this spot is your favourite hangout—a quiet retreat away from the bustling city.
even the owner of this bbq place knows the two of you very well. they'd place your orders in advance whenever either one of you called them asking for an empty table. there are even pictures of hoshi and you plastered on the walls of this place.
"hey, soonyoung," you greeted with a smile as you settled across from him. hoshi beamed widely upon seeing you. "aaa, you came! eat, eat, i've ordered a feast," he exclaimed excitedly.
it had been ages since you both had time to meet. given hoshi's recent tour and your intense training schedule, there was hardly any room left for socialising.
"what's the occasion?" you asked, grabbing the tongs and placing more meat on the grill. the sizzling sound made your mouth water.
"a congratulatory feast for you! i saw the news about you winning first place," hoshi replied, his eyes lighting up. you thought hoshi wouldn't know about it since he was busy with the tour when you had the tournament.
you couldn't contain your excitement, covering your mouth as you pulled out your latest prize from your bag.
"ah, you mean this?" you said proudly, displaying your gold medal.
hoshi's eyes widened as he eagerly took the medal from you, requesting multiple photos with it. "uwahhh, give, give, give!" he exclaimed, posing enthusiastically as you snapped away.
"i'm so, so proud of you. i knew you'd nail it," hoshi said warmly.
"it was tough, with bruises and pains all over, but it was all worth it... ah," you sighed softly. hoshi nodded in understanding while patting your head. "that's why you need to eat more meat," he added, piling your plate with more delicious cuts.
"anyway, your semester break starts in two days, right?" hoshi asked, to which you nodded.
sunday marked the start of your semester break, also your cherished rest and cheat day, which to you is like the greatest combo ever.
"what are your plans for the semester break?" hoshi asked. he knows that whenever you're on a semester break, there will be no practices.
"hmmm, my manager has sent me the schedule for next week. so far, i'm only booked for two weeks. but thankfully, i'm free after that and i get to have all of the remaining weeks all for myself," you heaved a sigh of relief and smiled warmly.
"aih, good for you," hoshi said, but you noticed that he was playing with his ring, turning it clockwise then anticlockwise. immediately, you could tell that something was up.
"what now?" you asked in curiosity. hoshi's eyes sparkled when you asked, as if you had read his mind.
"you see... i was just wondering if you wanted to do a challenge with me," hoshi asked rather shyly.
your eyebrows raised, causing your eyes to become a little bit larger. confusion was written on your face.
"a challenge?"
"yep, the maestro challenge, hehe."
you smacked your lips and gestured a "no, no, no" hand sign.
"it's been so long since i've danced. i don't think i have it in me," you groaned while attempting a hand wave, proving to hoshi that you're as stiff as a rock now.
hoshi couldn't help but laugh a bit at your attempt. "wah, this can't be helped... sounds like you'll be doing a dance class with me."
"what!" you exclaimed, not loudly though. "hosh, my sweetest friend and kindest soul, i'm already packed with endless things to do. i can't do any more dance classes," you said while setting down your chopsticks.
"just do one dance class with me," he begged.
"fine, but if i'm still stiff, i'm not doing it the next week or the following week," you said sternly, earning a nod from hoshi as an agreement.
you tsked and playfully smacked his shoulder.
"the fans wanted this! apparently, they knew about us at the dance academy and wanted to see you dance," said hoshi while showing you some of his fans' requests flooding his weverse and tiktok.
hoshi, i heard sunmi used to dance with you.
do the maestro dance with sunmi, please!
it'd be cool to see sunmi dance.
you mentally sighed and shook your head in disbelief while hoshi look at you with a huge smile on his face, he misses dancing with you, and he knew using the fan as a way to persuade you to dance will definitely work.
on your side, you thought that it's cute whenever you saw carats commenting about you. hoshi's fans know about your friendship with him. some of them even attended your tournament and supported you, becoming your fans in the process. it's heartwarming to see carats accepting you as their little sister just like how hoshi sees you.
carats would call you "ippeun dongsaeng" (pretty dongsaeng) or "sunmi dongsaeng" or even "aegi."
"that was so long ago," you whispered, remarking about the time when you used to attend the dance academy with hoshi.
"yep, so long. i kinda miss those times, ya know. we were so young and rebellious, always making a scene whenever it was our turn to dance," hoshi laughed, and you couldn't help but laugh as well as you reminisced about the old times.
"wonder what would happen if i didn't quit dancing," you said while having both of your hands behind your neck, thinking deeply about the could've and would've.
"yeah, maybe you'd be an idol by now..."
you looked at hoshi, grimacing, earning laughter from him. "why are you so opposed to being an idol?" he asked.
"hmm, it's not like i hate this job or anything but you know how much of an introvert i am, right?" he nodded.
"hoshi, you're an introvert only when you're surrounded by people you're not close with but can tolerate your surroundings after you're all warmed up," you stopped for a while.
"i can't do that. i mean, i can, but it's just so terrifying. becoming known as someone who swept all the gold medals is already overbearing, and now here i am making my name in this industry by going here and there. it's nerve-wracking. the weight on my shoulders gets heavier and heavier. it's not like i'm not grateful for all of these wonderful opportunities. it's just that i'm still not yet—"
"used to it," hoshi said, completing your words, and you nodded in agreement.
"you'll be fine, sunmi. i've seen you. taekwondo is all about being confident, and yes, it's a whole lot different from your career as an artist. you just have to put on a facade that you're capable of going through this and that. for instance, you're right about me being an introvert, but you're not wrong about me being able to settle down quickly. it's just if i were to engulf myself with my fear of the public, i'd be swallowed entirely by it and internally dragged into the void.
being scared of the public is good. it means you have a conscience. but take a deep breath and just live up to every moment. let's say whenever you're competing, you put on a fierce face to intimidate your opponent. do that when you're working as an artist. smile at the camera like you've been doing it for millions of times, even though it's your first time doing it. be friendly and make big gestures at a show even if it's not really funny. just put on a mask for a while, and slowly, you'll be able to settle in, sunmi-yaaa~"
you couldn't help but sigh in relief. what hoshi said made enough sense for you to allow yourself to soak in the idea of being whatever it is you are right now.
"it's terrifying to see you talking about stuff like this with that serious tone. it's definitely a contrast with your loud side," you teased.
"but thank you, hoshi-ya, wouldn't know what to do without you," you sighed. he ruffled your hair and heaved out a sigh while saying, "aigooooooo," destroying your decently brushed hair and bangs that were now slightly ruined. you couldn't care less 'cause you hadn't even had any shower to begin with.
"you're still a baby, sunmi-ya~" cooed hoshi
"a pretty aegi" you said in a slight baby tone but quickly turn into a crack, earning laughter from hoshi.
