~~~~~”Hyung, I don’t think this is a good idea. Maybe we should just go back to your house.”

“Aish, will you relax. It will be fine. It doesn’t hurt right now.” Unlike his friend, teenage Hakyeon seemingly felt no anxiousness about the events that were about to take place. This would be the first time, and Hakyeon was more excited than anything else. This would be the first time Hakyeon had danced since his pains started.

“It doesn’t hurt right now, but what if it starts hyung? I don’t want to see you in pain again.”

“I’ll be fine. Will you just play the music?”

“Hyung! Can we at least make sure it’s okay first?” Hakyeon sighed as he was beginning to grow impatient with his friend.

“No. My mother will say no unless I show her I can do this. Do you not believe I can do it either?”

“That’s not what I mean hyung.”

“Then instead of second thinking just play the music for me.” Hakyeon’s friend sighed, admitting defeat and moving to the side.

“Are you ready?” Hakyeon took a deep breath, an excited smile spreading across his face.

“Yes.” With a moment of hesitation the young boy pressed play and music began to spread through the open air. Hakyeon closed his eyes, feeling a familiar feeling come back to him. The feeling of the music controlled Hakyeon as his body began to move in beat to the song.

Hakyeon’s body moved as if the last time he danced had been yesterday, not four months ago. Hakyeon felt no pain while he danced, but only joy in participating in something he had missed so much. He wished time could freeze in this moment of pure bliss, letting Hakyeon live life out like this for eternity.

“Wow, you haven’t changed a bit hyung! You’re just as amazing as you were a few months ago!” As the song went on his friend’s compliments got stronger. Hakyeon’s dance sucked his eyes in, making his friend forget about the worry that he had for Hakyeon before he began.

The song went on and on, Hakyeon not stopping until the last chord was completed. The longer the song went on the stronger Hakyeon could feel his pain resurface however he pushed through, only wanting to finish the dance. Hakyeon held his perfect, tight posture till the very end, joy filling his heart.

After the last note had sounded and silence returned to the open area, Hakyeon fell to the floor breathing sharply. He was out of breath, however that was normal. Now that the music had stopped, Hakyeon could feel the after effects that the dance had brought him. He could feel the pain surge through his back and neck now that his graceful movements had ceased.

“Hyung! Hyung are you okay!” Hakyeon’s friend sprinted up to him, frantic from Hakyeon’s sudden collapse.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you in pain?”

“Yes.”

“Aish, hyung I told you! Let me lift you up. I’ll take you home.” Hakyeon did not protest, knowing that he could not walk when his back and neck was hurting this badly. Despite this however, Hakyeon was not upset. In fact this was the happiest Hakyeon had felt in months.

“I did it.” Hakyeon spoke excitedly to his friend as he carried Hakyeon back towards his house. “I danced again.”~~~~~~~

Hakyeon ambled back towards the festival entrance, deciding to take a slight break on a stool that had been tucked to the side of the open space. He had just been on his way from turning in his audition, however they had set up the stage a little ways down from the main portion of the festival events. It was easy for Hakyeon at first, however on the way back he could feel pain start to resurface, mostly in his neck.

Hakyeon had been unsure of what to do anyway, so he saw no reason he couldn’t sit and wait for the pain to dull as he decided how to spend his time. He sat on the small seat, unknowingly massaging his neck as he considered what he should be doing now.

The morning had gone well for him and he had turned in the audition well also. He hadn’t been through any excruciating pain he couldn’t handle. The day had so far been uneventful however his audition results wouldn’t be available to him until four o’clock this afternoon. Hakyeon didn’t know how he should spend his time until then, not having anywhere else he had thought to go.

The thought came to his mind that he could just spend the day here, however it might be quite boring to spend the day here by himself. Hakyeon felt pretty good today, making him want someone to share his time with rather than sit alone at his house. Playing games could be enjoyable, but once again that brought up the problem of company.

Hakyeon wished there was someone he could call, however he had grown apart from many of the friends that he had whilst he was still in school. Over the years his friend’s lives progressed, while Hakyeon’s condition left him stuck in the same place.

Hakyeon hadn’t wanted to drag those around him down, so he made the decision to let them go. Hakyeon moved from his parents and let his friends move on so they could progress with their own lives.

He hadn’t spoken too many of his old friends since he had left. In the beginning they had still tried to speak to him, however Hakyeon ignored their messages. Hakyeon knew he still wasn’t better, and that he would most likely never would be. Speaking to them again would defeat the purpose of him leaving to begin with. His family had been the only people Hakyeon remained in touch with, however he couldn’t exactly call them over to keep him company.

Hakyeon thought so intensely on what his plan was for the rest of this day, he had barely noticed the stranger that had begun to step towards him. Hakyeon would have never noticed him had he not heard a crunching sound, alerting his attention to the man.

Hakyeon’s thoughts were immediately moved towards the stranger the moment he laid eyes on him. The man was tall, as well as well proportioned. Hakyeon could see no more than the man’s backside, but he could already tell he was attractive. It looked like he had been turning around to go back, stepping on stray leaves and twigs as he did so. That action had created the sound that brought Hakyeon’s attention to him.

Hakyeon did not know why he decided to speak up to the man, having no real reason for it. He could have just let him walk back and moved on, however Hakyeon had felt a strange urge to not let him walk away. As if he would regret it if he just let him leave.

“Oh, Hi. Who are you?” The man turned around, seeming to be shocked by how suddenly Hakyeon had spoken. His facial expression was primarily blank, however Hakyeon could see through his eyes that he had been startled.

“Oh, I’m….I’m sorry to bother you but I was….I….I was wondering if you knew where the stage was?” Rather than a strong, confident voice like Hakyeon had been expecting, the man’s voice was timid and gentle. Hakyeon found himself having to listen very closely to hear him speak, however he mentioned nothing about it to him.

“Oh sure! I was just there like ten minutes ago. It’s hard to find right?!” Hakyeon stood from the stool he sat on a little too hastily, causing him to wince slightly. He quickly recovered from this, praying the man didn’t notice what had happened, and began to walk alongside his new acquaintance.

“Yeah.”

“They have this place set up so strangely! Oh, I’m being rude aren’t I? My name is Cha Hakyeon. What’s yours?”

“Jung Taekwoon.”

“It’s nice to meet you Taekwoon. Are you heading to the stage to turn in an audition form?” Hakyeon patiently waited for Taekwoon’s reply, watching him nod slowly in response. He seemed quite uncomfortable with this conversation topic, however Hakyeon wasn’t sure what else to speak about.

“That’s nice. I turned one in as well, but now I have to wait. I’m sure you will have to do the same.” Once again Taekwoon only nodded in response to Hakyeon’s words. His responses made Hakyeon question if he was being too foreword with the man, as he seemed quite troubled at the moment. He wondered if he should speak about something different, yet another piece of his brain told him that wouldn’t matter. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a suspicion that Taekwoon would be uncomfortable with any topic he tried to speak of.

As the two continued to speak, Hakyeon tried his best to relax the man. He had moved the conversation to nearly everything he could think of when they had reached the stage, however Taekwoon had not improved. In fact the more they spoke the worse his reactions seemed to be. By the time they had reached the stage, Hakyeon felt as if he was speaking to himself more than another human being.

“I hope you have good fortunes with your audition. We may see each other soon. Goodbye Taekwoon!” Despite Hakyeon’s troublesome feelings towards the man, he was sure to send Taekwoon off with his usual bright and cheerful tone. He obviously was not a social person, yet Hakyeon thought that if he continued to be kind to him Taekwoon could at least silently find some sort of benefit from their conversation.

Hakyeon did not receive any vocalized response, however Taekwoon did bow and wave to the man before he walked towards the entrance table. Hakyeon found that to be a sufficient reply and was able to walk away from the exchange with a content smile inching up his lips.

However, that content expression was short lived as Hakyeon found his pain increasing with each step. He had been able to control the outbreaks while Taekwoon was in his presence, however they were now resurfacing. He hadn’t rested a sufficient amount of time and therefore they were becoming more painful by the second.

Finding himself unable to return back to the entrance, Hakyeon hastily leaned against the stage foundation. He sunk towards the ground, his hands approaching his neck once again.

Hakyeon could not help the grimaces that escaped, ache coming through sharp waves. He criticized himself, knowing he should have remained seated for a longer amount of time. He was a fool to think he could get back to his previous movements so quickly.

Trying to think of anything he could do, Hakyeon’s mind rapidly moved towards his medication. He had a small amount of it with him, aware there was a possibility of this exact situation occurring. He had brought it, however left the container in his car.

‘Aish! Seriously! What’s the point of bringing them if I don’t carry them with me?’

The harsh ground seemed to only greaten his agony as the pain spread to the man’s back. Moving closer towards the ground, Hakyeon lied himself onto the rough soil. His expressions twisted with pain yet he knew there was no way to get help without his medication.

Hakyeon had given up the hope for any assistance the moment he realized where his capsules were. There was nothing else that could numb him but those. He was under the impression he would need to simply lie there, lie there until the pain started to dull down. That could be hours, however what choice did he have?

Not in a thousand years, would Hakyeon have thought of Taekwoon returning. With how antisocial he appeared, Hakyeon thought Taekwoon would surely never speak to him again. Therefore Hakyeon could not suppress his shock when he felt the large, soft hand of the reserved man contact his shoulder.

Notes

Is anyone actually reading this story? If so, please comment and tell me what you think!