"I wanna restart the song.." A voice rings out across the nearly empty stadium, ready to seat thousands of people. They're all here for him, ready to listen to his music, old and new. Taiji walks across the stage, microphone in hand, brows furrowed and glasses pushed high up on his nose. "Sure, we can do that." Hyunsuk, ever the loyal companion, looks to the mixing desk, nodding for the two men to do as the artist asks. Taiji had asked him for help, his first ever solo tour -- of course Hyunsuk was there. He'd do anything for Taiji, so long as they stayed friends. The fact that he had been asked to help with stage management meant more to him than he'd actually admit, though. Maybe the reason he agreed to this was because.. well, he missed his best friend. It was big news. Where had Seo Taiji gone? Hyunsuk was one of the only people that knew about his exodus to the United States. There was heaviness in his heart, waiting every single day for a phone call and getting nothing. He closes his eyes, Taiji's voice ringing in his ears -- the song was familiar. From their first album. They'd been so young, so eager to produce music. The screaming fans, the rush of adrenaline after every performance. He missed those days, but now he was a CEO. He was different. Taiji was different. Their paths had gone in completely opposite directions. Hyunsuk wasn't even sure he enjoyed what Taiji referred to as "Nu-Metal." Yet, he supported him regardless. In Hyunsuk's heart, what they had was deeper than friendship. Shared nights under the covers together, cuddling and giving each other small, innocent kisses. Those days seemed so far away from now. He never seemed to let go. In the hours after the rehearsal, they had all gone to dinner, to the bar, and back to the hotel. Some of the roadies and band members elected to have a small party in one of the rooms, and Hyunsuk decided not to join them, instead choosing to walk his way down the hall to his own room. His heart ached as his eyes scanned the bed, already made and ready to be torn apart once again. He wasn't sure why he expected anyone to be there in the first place. Within seconds his clothes were off and he was under the white sheet, body curled and legs almost up against his chest. The A/C hummed loudly, preventing him from getting completely lost in thought as he stared out of the window, up at the sky with a sea of never-ending stars.
The knock at the door brings Hyunsuk out of his light sleep, forcing him out of bed and into a robe, and thus walking to the deadbolt-locked door. The first thing he notices is the hair. Red-dyed braids, long and unruly, sitting on top of the head of his former bandmate. "What are you doing up?" He hadn't bothered to check the time, but by the emptiness of the hallway, he could only imagine that it was past 2. Taiji leans against the door frame, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "I wanted to talk to you about something." The same phrasing he used when he admitted his crush to Hyunsuk just years prior. He wondered if the same revelation would come out of his friend's mouth once again, though this time -- he would do something about it instead of brushing it off. "Fine." Hyunsuk turns away from the door, shuffling back to bed before sitting down, now tying the rope around his hips and setting his hands in his lap. Taiji stares, if only for a moment, before stepping inside and shutting the door, following close behind before taking the spot beside his former band mate. "How are you?" This was the first time they had been together, alone, and Hyunsuk decides to answer his questions shortly. "I'm fine." Taiji eyes him for a second, then elbows him, head tilting as a hand removes his glasses. "You looked sad during rehearsal." And the trap closes around him. Hyunsuk frowns, then sighs, looking away and letting his head fall forward. So he DID notice. "Ah, don't think too much about it." Which usually would've worked, were they in a crowd of people, but no. They were completely alone. "I know you don't mean that.." Taiji's hand moves to rest on Hyunsuk's thigh, a gesture that had once confused him, but soon he learned that it was a sign of comfort, of affection, and he couldn't help but rest his hand on the former's. "I just... miss us. I miss what.. we used to have, you know?" He starts speaking before he can stop himself, raising his head once again to look at his friend. Taiji's expression remains unchanging, the same blank face that he was used to, and Hyunsuk decides to keep going. "We used to spend all this time together and suddenly you just disappeared. Never called, never wrote any letters. I missed you, you know? More than I've ever missed anyone in my entire life, and you just forgot about me." The emotion behind his words is unreadable. Taiji was the one who left. His Hyun-chul. He's not angry, or upset -- it's just something that needed to be said. Taiji doesn't reply, and instead leans in, his lips pressing to Hyunsuk's and creating sparks between them. It had been days, months, years since they did something like this, but to Hyunsuk, it felt all too familiar. He leans into Taiji, head tilting and brows furrowing in focus, not wanting this moment to be lost to his memory, and when they pull away from each other, he takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry." Taiji means it, and for a moment, the personas melt away, and Hyunsuk is taken back to a day just 8 years prior. One of their first dance practices, where Hyunsuk and Hyun-chul had spent hours figuring out choreography. It was just the two of them, and every time Hyun-chul would mess up, he would apologize. Hyunsuk had touched his shoulder and assured him that no apologies were needed -- if only that were the same now. This time, he wasn't just Hyun-chul. He was Seo Taiji, THE Seo Taiji, and Hyunsuk was still the same Hyunsuk as before. No changes, no life-altering choices. They were so opposite, yet completely the same.
