weightless | idol producer

Chapter 8

"I assume you're expecting me," Yanjun said, peeking into the room before walking in and shutting the door quietly behind him.

"Yeah, Zhangjing told me when he stopped by to drag Ziyi out of here," came the reply. Yanjun stood at the door awkwardly, hands clasped in front of him. He smiled apologetically as he made eye contact with Linong, who was sitting at the desk and holding an ice pack to the left side of his face.

"Yeah, he was worried about the performance. I guess all Ziyi's voice is good for is saying BOOGIE all the time," he joked. Linong let out a small laugh but flinched at the movement, pressing the ice a little closer to his jaw.

"I heard him yesterday. He's honestly not that bad, but you know how high Zhangjing's expectations can be." Linong smiled at Yanjun with a smile he didn't deserve. Yanjun felt his heart constrict with guilt. He seemed to have a running streak for hurting people that were much, much better than him.

"I'm sorry." The suddenness of the apology shocked even Yanjun. He had never been one to lay down his pride so quickly, but all of his doubt - and, of course, his promise to Zhangjing - had accumulated to a point of no return.

Linong stared at him for a moment, a mixture of emotions in his eyes, and finally sighed, setting aside the ice pack on the table. Yanjun cringed at the red and purple that was already evidently bruising his skin.

"Have a seat." He sat down on the lower bunk bed obediently. "Can you just explain what happened?" Yanjun felt an abundance of thoughts rise up. He had so much and so little to say at the same time, unsure about just how much he should disclose to a boy he barely knew and had offhandedly punched not too long ago. For some reason, though, there was only one admission that came to mind.

"I-uh." He took a deep breath. "Okay, you were right. I was jealous." Linong nodded understandingly.

"I got that much. You haven't been the most welcoming person." Yanjun grinned sheepishly and opened his mouth to apologize again. "No, it's okay. I should have known not to intrude so much." He paused, as if contemplating whether or not to continue. "You have feelings for him, right?"

Yanjun choked, pounding his chest with a fist to regain a clean air flow into his lungs. "What did you just say?" Linong blinked innocently, as if he hadn't just exposed Yanjun for something he had been having a crisis over for an entire week.

"You have feelings for Zhangjing, don't you?"

"How did you know?" Linong suddenly grinned with a smile that stretched across his face and brought wrinkles that caused his eyes to disappear. The left side of his face grimaced slightly from the pain but he maintained the smile anyway.

"Yes! I knew it!" he exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands. He quieted and leaned in, like a curious little boy on the playground. Yanjun stared at him and felt a pang to his heart with how much Linong reminded him of himself from an earlier time. He was a 17-year-old in another country, chasing his dreams blindly and hoping that optimism could bring him at least a small amount of distance in the race track that was the entertainment industry. He hoped suddenly that sunshine was as forgiving as it was mercilessly bright. "I'm usually a pretty oblivious person, but you'd have to be blind not to see that. You're just always around him or looking at him when you're not right next to him. I know you two are best friends or whatever but you managed to surpass even those limits," he explained, slightly tripping over his words with his enthusiasm.

"I honestly figured that out today." Yanjun chuckled shyly. "Specifically, right before I punched you. Or... right when I punched you, I think." Linong's responding smile brought him so much affection he scolded himself for ever letting his own blind jealousy hinder their friendship.