4 X 7 Dreams

Act 1, Scene 2

1 Year, 7 Months Ago

"You froze up," Krist says to his senior after the interview.

"No, I didn't," Singto argues, throwing down his bag and pulling out his phone.

Krist plucks it from his fingers, glancing down at the screen (Twitter, huh?) and locking it. "You did," he insists. "Why?"

"I thought she said something else," Singto replies, moving to get his phone back.

Krist hides it behind his back, making the elder give him a disappointed look. "You're lying," he says. "Why didn't you answer right away?"

"I misheard," Singto responds. His eyes are dark. His brows are furrowed. He makes another attempt at snatching back his phone. Krist shoves it in his pants. "Are you kidding me, Krist?" He's raising his voice. He never does that.

Good. Krist wants answers. "Just tell me the truth!" he demands. "Why didn't you answer?"

"Because!" Singto shouts. "I couldn't hear her!" He gives up on his phone to instead just glare at his junior. "Why do you keep saying I'm lying?" He lets out a frustrated huff. "You're starting to sound like those Y-girls. It's not right."

"Shut up," Krist says.

Singto sends him a sharp look.

"P'," Krist tacks on respectfully.

Singto lets out another breath, intense gaze locked with Krist's, before he shakes his head. "Forget it," he says. "No matter what I say, no matter how I respond, you're not going to believe me until I say what you want to hear."

"I just want to hear the truth," Krist replies, voice even despite his racing heart.

"Do you?" Singto asks. He sounds tired.

Krist is pushing too much.

"No," he finally relents. He pulls the elder's phone out of his pants. "Here," he says.

Singto stares at the device before taking it gingerly and quickly shoving it in his pocket. "Thanks."

Krist nods and goes to leave the room. Before he does, however, he stops himself. "P'," he begins, soft.

"What is it now, Krist?" Singto asks, sounding way more exhausted than he should.

Great. Just to add onto the guilt. "I'm sorry," Krist apologizes.

Singto studies him for a second before shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. I don't blame you for thinking that."

Krist nods before exiting the elder's hotel room, shutting the door behind him.

Once he's back in his room, he goes over the interview in his head.

"Ever since you've started acting in a BL series, have you found yourself having different kinds of thoughts towards the same gender?" the interviewer had asked, sly smile on their face.

The crowd had oohed. Krist had said no. Singto... he hesitated.

Krist lets out a loud groan, slamming down a pillow over his face. He rolls over on the bed, lifting his face from the pillow once he's on his stomach. He looks out the window. The sun is setting.

"No," Krist had answered, just like that, without any thought, without any worry. When there was silence, he had looked to Singto, wondering if the other had answered at the same time as him.

"No," Singto had echoed eventually, perhaps not late enough for the fans to notice anything, but definitely late enough for Krist to notice, late enough that the damage had already been done.

For the rest of the interview, Krist couldn't help but wonder. Even after the interview, Krist had wondered.

Even after getting yelled at by the elder, Krist is still wondering.

He buries his face back in the pillow.

"Idiot!" he shouts into it, wondering if he's talking about his senior... or himself.