UNREQUITED [hunhan]

A NIGHT AND A DAY

Blinding spotlights added to the fizzing arena where the chanting of thousands of fans had out heard the bass added and highly amplified voices on the stage while the front row luxurious seats were filled with the top actors ready to receive appreciation for their year-long works. But ignoring the competitive spirit that was surrounding, most of them chose to Smile for the celebration. With all the beautiful lights and grand performances, it was indeed an incredible night.

Sitting in the first row dressed as royal blood; Sehun, whose drama was nominated for many categories that night, wasn't eager for results at all. He was taking in every single moment of that blissful celebration. Cheering for everyone's win and hyping on every performance, the time for him to step on the stage has come quicker than he expected and the anxiety hit him hard because that very stage is not like any other stage where he confidently claimed his praises, that stage is special of all the other bright platforms he stood on.

A nostalgic memory hit him and took him back to the day that was almost fourteen years past. It would be hard for many to recall but Sehun remembers that day as if he could see that very evening happen one more time in front of him. He was eight years then, and got dragged to an award ceremony in China by his mother who happened to be a fan of a particular actor and wanted to fulfill her wish to see her teenage celebrity crush receive his award. That night, when her mother was busy fangirling, he was taken aback by the grandness of the stage and the people on it. It felt like a wondrous celebration that his heart loved at first sight. He wished to be a part of such a huge celebration one day, and looking at the people shout out a single name like holy verse, he wanted to hear his name just the same.

Oh Sehun, Oh Sehun, Oh Sehun, Oh Sehun...

The loudness of the chant was heard up to many miles away from the stadium, the crowd was losing their minds looking at the handsome artist standing on the cue to his performance of the night. There it goes, the music started and the crowd went nuts.

Oh Sehun, Oh Sehun, Oh Sehun, Oh Sehun...

As the choreography ended, the fireworks went off as if the stars in the sky were collected and made to pop out. His heart was beating out of his chest, sweat dripping down his face, and he struggled to catch his breath, but his parted lips showed the brightest smile for completing his part of the show with no mistakes. Looking at the ocean of people carrying the neon lights that read his name, it appeared as if his own name was written by stars itself. At such a precious moment he couldn't help but remember his start.

His first audition was a failure and it remained the same for a couple more auditions. Though they were just a regular family living in a small town in South Korea, he never let any of his circumstances force him to give up on a little spark that hit him during the award celebration in China, he was determined to make that spark as his fuel to create the wildfire. Young minds and hearts are wild indeed.

Finally, after many attempts, he got selected into one of the biggest entertainment establishments in Seoul. Even at that little age, he didn't mind moving away from home and his parents, he knew it would be hard but he was ready to give his all. Days didn't go soft on him in Seoul. Being trained for six hours a day and parallelly having to keep up with his study was exhausting. Above all, to his brittle heart taking in the criticism had become a hard task to get habituated to. Practicing for hours and hours didn't make him exhausted, but when he received many corrections and zero appreciation, it was then he felt exhausted; both physically and mentally.

"Maybe I should go back home."

"As they said, this isn't something I'm born to do."

"Will I ever succeed in this fight?"

"Did I make a mistake in choosing the path?"