The Deal * Seokmin x Joshua

Fourteen

Seokmin stood in front of the full-length mirror and stared at himself critically. The dye in his hair was just starting to fade but he'd styled it the way Joshua had taught him. It curled up nicely away from his forehead and he gave it a last minute spray with hairspray so it didn't flop on the way over to the auditorium. He was wearing a thin white t-shirt with a deep v-neck and a pair of blue ripped jeans. It wasn't at all what he would have chosen for an audition but Joshua had convinced him that it was the right look for Grease and he trusted him implicitly.

His fingers wandered to the beautiful gems hanging from his neck. The soft blue and purple birthstones glittered in the poorly lit dorm room and he smiled a little. At least when the next few weeks were over he would have this. He would have his memories, his first boyfriend, his first kiss. His first gift of jewellery and his first party and his first audition. Joshua had been responsible for bringing so many firsts into his life. He wasn't quite confident yet but Joshua had certainly imparted within him a much kinder way of thinking about himself. And as he stood in front of the mirror and inspected himself critically he smiled. He looked good and he was able to admit it.

"Hey," a voice from behind him startled him from his musings and he turned to see his elusive dorm mate eyeing him from the doorway. "Good luck today,' Jihoon said and Seokmin smiled. "How did you know? He asked and Jihoon rolled his eyes. "I'm the director. Of the musical. It's my second year in charge." Seokmin was surprised but he and Jihoon moved in different worlds and didn't really know each other at all. They'd only been dorm roommates this year and he'd barely spoken to the guy who was never home anyway. To his surprise Jihoon walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. "I've heard you singing in the shower. You'll be great." He was gone before Seokmin even had a chance to thank him.

He gathered his things and walked out into the corridor before being met by Hansol and Seungkwan. "Support team is here!" Seungkwan announced loudly as he handed Seokmin a hot honey and lemon tea and almost ruffled his hair. "You look great," Hansol said as they began to walk. "So where is Joshua anyway? I was sure he was the one coming to watch you." "Something came up," Seokmin said quickly, "something he couldn't get out of."

He sipped the soothing hot tea as they walked towards the auditorium. Seokmin went cold when they walked in and he saw how many people were lined up but he was distracted when Soonyoung pushed his way through the crowd. "Hey Seungjin!" he said loudly as he dragged Seokmin into the line. "You can wait with me if you like." "It's Seokmin," Seokmin said but he took the place next to Soonyoung and let the infectious loudness of the smiling man distract him from his nerves.

Hansol and Seungkwan stayed silent until they slipped into their seats at the back of the theatre. "So," Hansol said sternly, "are we going to tell him his perfect boyfriend just stood him up to go meet Jeonghan at the café?" "No," Seungkwan said, "not today. We are going to have to tell him but now is not the time."

Seungkwan hated this. He wished he'd never even had the idea of calling in to get Seokmin a throat soothing tea, he wished they'd turned up ten minutes earlier or later, he wished his best friend wasn't dating a cheating jerk. When they'd walked towards the café they saw Joshua standing outside waiting, his hair styled and his clothes fresh, and they'd hung back waiting to see what happened. When Jeonghan walked out and wrapped an arm around Joshua's they'd both felt sick.

But Seungkwan knew he was right – today wasn't the day. They would support him in his audition and then maybe all go out later and have dinner and pretend that they didn't know his boyfriend was out on a date with someone else.

Joshua's eyes glazed over a little as they wandered along the path by the river running alongside the University campus. Jeonghan looked so pretty in the soft afternoon light but he had been talking about Surrealism for twenty minutes and Joshua was getting bored. He'd tried to sway the conversation back to something more interesting but Jeonghan only wanted to talk about Renè Margritte and late 90s Hip Hop.

He looked at his watch and wondered if Seokmin had worn the outfit he'd chosen for him. He wondered if he was nervous, if he was excited, if he was confident or terrified. He knew him well enough to know he was a combination of all of those emotions and more.

He looked at his watch for the hundredth time and his heart sank when he saw the time. Seokmin would be on stage in ten minutes. He was filled with a cold rush of regret as he looked over at the blond man still chattering away despite Joshua's barely veiled disinterest. He was a terrible person. Even if their romantic relationship was false Seokmin was still his friend. He still cared for him, wanted the best for him, and most of all he wanted to be proud of him. Joshua's mind wandered to the boy, nervous and excited, shifting from foot to foot waiting backstage for his time to shine. He could picture it so clearly.

He'd helped him with the song. It was one of Joshua's favourites. He had an obsession with 90s soft rock and had introduced Seokmin to so many of his favourites the boy hadn't even heard of. But this one was special to Joshua and Seokmin's instant love of it had cemented their bond as friends in his eyes. They had so much in common despite their differences on the surface. He'd had so much fun helping Seokmin with his pronunciation of the foreign words and he'd explained the meaning of them to him over and over again. And now he was going to miss out. He really wanted to see Seokmin, standing solitary in the spotlight he deserved, letting his voice soar high and clear and strong.

He turned to Jeonghan, still chattering about whatever, and interrupted him. "Sorry, this has been fun, but I really have to go. I just remembered I'm missing something important." He didn't wait to hear the response as he took off at a jog, dumping his coffee cup in the first bin he saw, speeding up to a sprint as he crossed the park.

He hoped if he ran fast enough he could still make it.