Light A Flame || Hoshi

Chapter 13

"Soonyoung!" Heejin called from the living room, her bags laying around her as she threw clothes into each of them haphazardly.

"Yes, honey?" Hoshi walked into the room, leaning on the doorframe.

She held up two shirts, one a black tank top and the other a oversized print t-shirt. "Which one should I bring?" she asked.

He scrunched his nose, eyeing the options. "You look beautiful in anything," he responded quietly, pulling her into a tight hug and gently kissing the top of her head. The two blissfully stayed in that position for what felt like forever until Hoshi's ringtone suddenly turned on.

"Sorry dear, let me take this," he sighed, pulling away and walking into the bedroom to answer the call.

"What is it, Chan? I'm busy packing," he snapped at the maknae that disturbed his serenity, an audible sigh heard from Dino's end of the call.

"The choreographer just informed us that we'll be doing a special performance of Fast Pace in Saitama,"

"And?"

"You're partnered with Jang-mi," the younger said. It was clear he was trying to hold in a laugh.

Hoshi stared blankly at the white wall for a few seconds, in disbelief of what he was just told. "Absolutely not, you know that this is not happening. Tell that to the choreographer, or else I refuse to do it,"

"Hyung, why are you so petty? Can't you just set aside your stupid little argument for once and be professional?"

"This isn't about the argument! I don't want to do it with her, so I won't."

"Sure, that's definitely not what it's about. Please try and figure out what the hell is going on between you two, it's been driving everyone insane and the members would really appreciate it if you could stop taking it out on us," Dino said, his tone cold.

"Right, thanks for the debrief. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a tour to get ready for," Hoshi growled into the phone, angrily ending the call and throwing the device on the bed.

"Dear, who was that?" Heejin asked, walking into the room.

"Nothing, jagi, just Dino calling about a small change in the setlist," he flashed her a charismatic smile.

The two had begun dating a few weeks after Hoshi began frequenting the hospital. He had decided to finally take her advice and open up to her, relaying his innermost thoughts and feelings to this person that had been a mere stranger in his life. One thing led to another, and Hoshi knew that she was special. He loved her truly, and it felt like she completed him in a way none of his previous girlfriends had ever managed to do, so the pair moved quickly and decided to begin a relationship.

"The van will be there at 7, yes?" she confirmed, zipping up a duffel filled with clothing.

"Yeah, 7. They said to be out by 6:55 just in case, though," he responded.

"Honey, does everyone know that we're together? I don't want it to be a shock when I suddenly turn up with the rest of the crew,"

"Uhm. Well, about that..."

**

The air outside the hotel was crisp. Red and orange blots on the trees, as if they were painted with watercolor, broke up the grayness of the landscape. The scenery was picturesque, the final remnants of autumn beginning to slowly wane and give way to the barrenness of winter. A certain stillness exhibited itself in the quiet, almost silent, rustling of the leaves. This was very much the calm in Hoshi's life - even if it lasted only a few minutes - that he'd been craving for very long.

Revealing his new girlfriend to the perplexed staff was quite the ordeal for Hoshi. Of course, they'd have known about his previous ventures into romance, but turning up to the airport with an unknown woman calling him "jagi" was a real surprise for anyone yet uninformed of the news. Luckily, it all went smoothly and all continued without a hitch. He took a deep breath, taking a look around the park.

A gentle hand slowly caressed his. Startled, he turned around to find Heejin enveloped in a thick coat and equally heavy scarf standing beside him, curiously reading his expression. Hoshi quickly relaxed.

"How are you finding Japan so far?" he asked, leading her down onto a bench.

"The food is so delicious, and the scenery is amazing too. I've always wanted to go, but I've never had the chance before," she muttered, her eyes wide, drinking in the landscape.

Hoshi's heart fluttered seeing her like this. His face broke out in a warm grin, watching her behaving like a young child, discovering something new and being left in total awe. He couldn't help but remember his first time abroad: their first tour. The mixture of emotions he had felt practically threatened to burst him open - the newly-debuted rookies with nearly naught to the group's name, with dreams of grand tours and tens of thousands of adoring fans and daesangs and becoming million sellers - he'd felt just as amazed as Heejin, if not even more, when embarking upon their first concert overseas.

"Well, I guess now I know where to take you on vacation," he grinned.

"Soonyoung, you know I can't be here long, right? The hospital only allows me 2 weeks off extra, then it's back to the usual," she sighed.

He quickly slotted his hand into hers. "Well, nothing good lasts forever,"

**

"Five, six, switch. There you go, now you're getting it," the choreographer mumbled. Rehearsals for their special performance were well underway, and no matter how begrudged Hoshi tried to act, the team were adamant about the pairing.

Jang-mi sighed in frustration as she backed down into his lap. "To be clear, I hate this just as much as you do," she hissed, her voice like a gust of wind in his ear.

"Right," he responded dryly.

The sensation of Jang-mi caressing his leg and his continuous touching of her neck was not pleasant. Hoshi felt weird, as if this was something they should not have be doing. It felt forbidden and wrong. However much he wanted to, this was not something he could back out of as easily as he could fake in their collaboration with Twice. No, this was a new challenge.

Their break had finally rolled around and gone just as quickly. He dreaded returning to the middle of the room, bringing with it an inevitable touch by Jang-mi. It wasn't inherently sexual, but the discomfort was present all the same.

The two were halfway through the routine until she suddenly stopped it partway through her move, her head placed near his. Surprised, Hoshi froze in place, not anticipating the pause.

"I'm sorry, I just had to get this off my mind," she whispered. "I'm sorry for bursting out at you, all that time ago, about what you posted-"

"Oh, can you not? It's been two months now, both of us have bigger fish to fry,"

"So are you accepting my apology?" she asked, hope laced through her tone.

He scoffed. "What do you think?"

She paused for a moment. "I'll take that as a no," she smiled, continuing the move as if nothing had happened. She was truly an enigma to him.

Another 5 minutes. Another 2 runthroughs. Another caress. Hoshi was getting very tired of this.

"You know what? Let's take a breather. I have to give Heejin her coat back too. Be back here in 5," he ordered, grabbing his things from beside their spot and running out of the room, failing to notice the small slip of paper that had fallen out of the pocket as he frivolously picked the winter coat up.

a/n hi guys! i'm sorry for the infrequent updates, i was away and had a lot of things to do but now i'm back and ready to update properly. the new schedule will be once a week every monday so be sure to check the story out then. see you in the next one!