METRONOME. － k.hs + s.hs

f̶o̶u̶r̶

Two months went by in a flurry of early mornings and tardy returns home, for Hyoseob had been hired as a receptionist at a local marketing company, forced to wear itchy, cheap suits and strangling neckties for the entirety of his workdays.

His parents were merely proud to see him earn his own money and walking out the door in fancy dress, but such a lifestyle didn't fit Hyoseob at all, and while he maintained sweet smiles and showed his first pay-check to his father with a lingering sense of accomplishment, the longing for pursuing his musical career was unchanging.

He had unfortunately not heard news about another Zion.T performance he could go to, but had discovered where the man's apartment was － seeing as how it had been listed as the location of his first studio initially and Hyoseob presumed he still resided there － and decided on waiting in the street below to possibly cross their paths.

Hyoseob was well aware that the chances were slim to none, and yet whenever he could, either on his free days or after work, he'd go to said street and wait at the corner, eyes flitting in search of the singer.

He didn't care if he came off as strange or suspicious to passers-by who eyed him with caution, nor did he pay mind to the chilly wind that nipped at his exposed skin and ruffled his once styled hair.

However, that night it seemed such conditions were not all he had to bear, for while he stood, back to the brick wall and arms folded across his chest in attempt of keeping himself warm, a gentle drizzle began to fall from the sky. Hyoseob tilted his head up only to feel a soft splash upon his cheek, and if one didn't know better, they would have assumed it to be a tear.

He sighed in dejection, wiping the drop off on his shoulder and pressing his lips into a straight line.

The few strangers around him scurried to find shelter as the rain gradually grew stronger, utterly ignoring him who stayed immobile beneath a barber shop's glowing sign, with his sight strained on the glistening tarmac of the paved road.

He wasn't sure about how much time had gone by, but it was certainly enough for him to become almost drenched, and yet perhaps it was worth it. There was a click and the sound of a drag, then the tap of the soles of shoes stepping onto the pavement, followed by the shutting of a door and the flapping of an umbrella being opened.

His head snapped to the right and there he spotted a lanky figure, clad in a beige coat that brushed at thin calves and a black scarf neatly knotted around a pale neck.

He blinked once, twice, and then the man finished tucking his umbrella's cover into one of the deep pockets on his side and began to walk his way, eyes hidden behind large sunglasses and shoulders slumped low.

It was an opportunity handed to him on a silver platter, a chance that Hyoseob had been waiting for but now felt too scared to take.

That man was surely Zion.T, the same person he had waited countless nights for, but could he simply approach him this way?

One of his hands dug into his jacket's pockets and grabbed hold of the plastic case, cold beneath his touch but heavy with his dreams.

"Kim Haesol!"

This time, the addressed man stopped mid-step, chin lifting and back straightening as Hyoseob assumed the eyes behind those lenses were meeting his. Snapping himself out of his own shock at the fact that he had just shouted out his idol's name, he jogged over to said man and gave a deep, sharp bow, both arms pressed to his side prior to him snapping back up and attempting a wavering smile.

"Kim Haesol, I'm a huge fan of yours," he began, and the man replied with nothing other than a meagre nod of the head and a minor curve in his lips. Guiding his attention away from the latter's mouth, which honestly was the only facial feature that could give the younger any indication of the artist's reaction, he strained his irises on the tinted lenses, his own eyes glittering with excitement and nerves.

"I like to sing, too. No, actually i-it's my dream to become a singer like you, and － and I'm good, really! So, uh. . ."

At that point, Hyoseob patted at his sides to remember on which he had stored the CD he had touched only moments ago, letting out a quiet exclamation upon feeling its shape through the material and fishing it out.

"This has some of the songs I've made on it," he explained, words cascading from his mouth in a mess of practiced syllables, "Please listen to it and tell me if y-you like them. Just a song or two. Please? Having your input would mean a lot and you could tell me whether I should let go of my dream or － or not."

There was a couple beats of silence, during which only the soft pattering of rain on Zion.T's umbrella could be heard, coupled with the erratic heartbeat of the tense but eager fan who stared at him earnestly.

Haesol's head slightly dipped, as if glancing at the disk case being handed to him, and then lifted once more to look at the shorter.

"You're soaking wet, you know that?"

It took Hyoseob some seconds to process the fact that he had been spoken to, and once he did, he took a peek down at himself to realise that the other was right. He shrugged and offered a quick smile, slowly urging his CD towards the singer.

"I'm hoping it's worth it."

Haesol reciprocated the smile and gave a proper nod, his free hand reaching out to take hold of the case and tuck it into his coat's pocket, the one without the umbrella case inside.

"I hope the same."

His speaking voice was as alluring as when he sang, Hyoseob realised, for his knees felt like jelly and his ears pricked hot. The effect this man had on others was astounding, uncommon and something that seemed purely natural for him.

"What's your name?"

Startled, Hyoseob fluttered his lashes and rid them of the water gathered on their tips.

"I'm Shin Hyoseob. I go by Crush," he replied, giving another small bow.

"Crush?" Haesol parroted, apparently amused by the stage name.

Hyoseob fervently nodded, hands clasped behind his back where his fingers were strung together.

"Yes, because I'll crush the competition and once you hear me sing, you'll have a crush on me."

▰❈▰

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