011 & 053
011. promises ; sungjong/sunggyu
Sunggyu makes a lot of promises, and they usually come true. He promises that Infinite will debut, they will win, and it will all mean something. And that all happened (except maybe it doesn’t mean anything in the end).
Sungjong is second to last to become a member of Infinite. Woohyun gives him doubtful glances, Hoya and Myungsoo ignore him, and Dongwoo just smiles because he smiles at everything and everyone. Sunggyu promises it’ll get better.
Sungjong is the first to break down. He is the youngest, he misses his family, and the life of a trainee isn’t quite what he wanted. His frail 14-year-old body collapses as Sungjong bursts out in tears. Sunggyu is the one who comforts him while Sungyeol stares, Myungsoo and Hoya continue to ignore him, Dongwoo is confused, and Woohyun scoffs. “Remember that we’ll debut. All this hard work will finally mean something, a year from now,” Sunggyu promises.
Infinite. That is a name and nothing more, Sungjong thinks. There are so many flaws, so many complicated feelings far beneath the surface that everyone outside sees. Supposedly, they have infinite talents, they have infinite potential, and lastly, the one lie they always tell, we will be together infinitely, forever and always. This is an empty promise that Sunggyu makes early on, and maybe it doesn’t really count since they all know it isn’t true.
When Sungjong finds out his younger brother is in the hospital from a car crash, Sunggyu is there, and Sunggyu promises that Sunkyu (how ironic that their names are so similar) would be okay, he would survive, everything is going to be okay.
That is the last promise Sungjong believes ever again.
053. piano ; myungsoo/sungyeol
Myungsoo frowns as what should be a perfect fifth clangs dissonantly (in reality, the difference is minute, but Myungsoo is a perfectionist, and the piano must be perfectly in tune). His favorite piano tuner is out of town, and he will not stand to wait until he gets back. Thus, the dark-haired boy asks the piano professor who might be able to do as amazing of a job, if not better, as his usual tuner.
A tall boy bounces in with a smile that’s a little too bright and eyes that are a bit too excited.
Myungsoo glares. “Who are you.”
“I’m Sungyeol! I’m supposed to being tuning a piano for Mr. Kim Myungsoo.”
A doubtful look settles on Myungsoo’s face. Sungyeol is far too hyper for his liking and both acts and looks (if you ignore the height) like a seven-year-old.
Sungyeol has already opened the piano and peers inside, his carefree smile turning into thoughtful concentration.
Myungsoo expects the boy to whip out a tuner, but he does not. He plays a single note, the A above middle C (the exact note Myungsoo had found out of tune earlier), and his features scrunch up a bit. He reaches into the piano to turn a knob, and the process continues. Sungyeol plays a note, and his long fingers tweak and twist the insides of the piano.
The many strings, knobs, and multiple other oddities within the piano always fascinated Myungsoo. He was excellent at playing the piano, yes, but he knew little of the actual workings of the beautiful instrument. He’d thought about learning to tune a piano before for this very reason, along with the fact that it would be considerably easier to do it himself rather than hiring another person and having to pay them.
Despite his first impression of the taller boy, Myungsoo is fascinated as he watches obviously expert hands dance inside rather than outside on the keys as he is accustomed to doing. He realizes that perhaps the delicate art of tuning a piano may be harder than the actual playing of it.
He is so lost in thought that he does not notice Sungyeol calling until the fifth time around when the voice is right next to his ear and too loud for his eardrums to keep functioning properly.
“Hey, I’m done!”
Myungsoo jumps a bit before regaining composure. He pulls out his wallet. “How much?” he asks.
Sungyeol simply smiles. “None. All I want is for you to play for me; that is payment enough for me, along with your satisfaction with the condition of the piano.”
All Myungsoo can do is stare, because in his life everyone has always wanted money for him. Yet this man has just tuned his piano, utilized a precise and difficult skill to be of service, and he wants nothing other than to hear him play.
Sungyeol gestures to the piano. “Go on, I’ll just stand here.”
Myungsoo takes slow steps to the piano and lightly strokes the keys for an A arpeggio, closing his eyes and listening as the now-tuned strings resonate in the large practice room.
He sits down on the bench and slips into the first piece that comes to his mind. His eyes close again as he sinks into the music and the gorgeous sound of the piano filling up the room.
When he finishes, he hears rapid claps and cheers, and he turns to see Sungyeol applauding, eyes brighter than they were when he first entered the room.
“Soo-ah! That was amazing!”
“Soo-ah?”
“Can I call you that?”
“…”
“Well I’m going to call you that!”
Myungsoo gives him an odd look. Did he think they were going to meet again?
Sungyeol skips out of the room, leaving a bewildered boy staring after him.
Sunggyu makes a lot of promises, and they usually come true. He promises that Infinite will debut, they will win, and it will all mean something. And that all happened (except maybe it doesn’t mean anything in the end).
Sungjong is second to last to become a member of Infinite. Woohyun gives him doubtful glances, Hoya and Myungsoo ignore him, and Dongwoo just smiles because he smiles at everything and everyone. Sunggyu promises it’ll get better.
Sungjong is the first to break down. He is the youngest, he misses his family, and the life of a trainee isn’t quite what he wanted. His frail 14-year-old body collapses as Sungjong bursts out in tears. Sunggyu is the one who comforts him while Sungyeol stares, Myungsoo and Hoya continue to ignore him, Dongwoo is confused, and Woohyun scoffs. “Remember that we’ll debut. All this hard work will finally mean something, a year from now,” Sunggyu promises.
Infinite. That is a name and nothing more, Sungjong thinks. There are so many flaws, so many complicated feelings far beneath the surface that everyone outside sees. Supposedly, they have infinite talents, they have infinite potential, and lastly, the one lie they always tell, we will be together infinitely, forever and always. This is an empty promise that Sunggyu makes early on, and maybe it doesn’t really count since they all know it isn’t true.
When Sungjong finds out his younger brother is in the hospital from a car crash, Sunggyu is there, and Sunggyu promises that Sunkyu (how ironic that their names are so similar) would be okay, he would survive, everything is going to be okay.
That is the last promise Sungjong believes ever again.
053. piano ; myungsoo/sungyeol
Myungsoo frowns as what should be a perfect fifth clangs dissonantly (in reality, the difference is minute, but Myungsoo is a perfectionist, and the piano must be perfectly in tune). His favorite piano tuner is out of town, and he will not stand to wait until he gets back. Thus, the dark-haired boy asks the piano professor who might be able to do as amazing of a job, if not better, as his usual tuner.
A tall boy bounces in with a smile that’s a little too bright and eyes that are a bit too excited.
Myungsoo glares. “Who are you.”
“I’m Sungyeol! I’m supposed to being tuning a piano for Mr. Kim Myungsoo.”
A doubtful look settles on Myungsoo’s face. Sungyeol is far too hyper for his liking and both acts and looks (if you ignore the height) like a seven-year-old.
Sungyeol has already opened the piano and peers inside, his carefree smile turning into thoughtful concentration.
Myungsoo expects the boy to whip out a tuner, but he does not. He plays a single note, the A above middle C (the exact note Myungsoo had found out of tune earlier), and his features scrunch up a bit. He reaches into the piano to turn a knob, and the process continues. Sungyeol plays a note, and his long fingers tweak and twist the insides of the piano.
The many strings, knobs, and multiple other oddities within the piano always fascinated Myungsoo. He was excellent at playing the piano, yes, but he knew little of the actual workings of the beautiful instrument. He’d thought about learning to tune a piano before for this very reason, along with the fact that it would be considerably easier to do it himself rather than hiring another person and having to pay them.
Despite his first impression of the taller boy, Myungsoo is fascinated as he watches obviously expert hands dance inside rather than outside on the keys as he is accustomed to doing. He realizes that perhaps the delicate art of tuning a piano may be harder than the actual playing of it.
He is so lost in thought that he does not notice Sungyeol calling until the fifth time around when the voice is right next to his ear and too loud for his eardrums to keep functioning properly.
“Hey, I’m done!”
Myungsoo jumps a bit before regaining composure. He pulls out his wallet. “How much?” he asks.
Sungyeol simply smiles. “None. All I want is for you to play for me; that is payment enough for me, along with your satisfaction with the condition of the piano.”
All Myungsoo can do is stare, because in his life everyone has always wanted money for him. Yet this man has just tuned his piano, utilized a precise and difficult skill to be of service, and he wants nothing other than to hear him play.
Sungyeol gestures to the piano. “Go on, I’ll just stand here.”
Myungsoo takes slow steps to the piano and lightly strokes the keys for an A arpeggio, closing his eyes and listening as the now-tuned strings resonate in the large practice room.
He sits down on the bench and slips into the first piece that comes to his mind. His eyes close again as he sinks into the music and the gorgeous sound of the piano filling up the room.
When he finishes, he hears rapid claps and cheers, and he turns to see Sungyeol applauding, eyes brighter than they were when he first entered the room.
“Soo-ah! That was amazing!”
“Soo-ah?”
“Can I call you that?”
“…”
“Well I’m going to call you that!”
Myungsoo gives him an odd look. Did he think they were going to meet again?
Sungyeol skips out of the room, leaving a bewildered boy staring after him.