Title: How I Loved a Stranger
Author: girlxvsxworld (Isaidhullo)
Pairing: TaeWoonxSungMin
Rating: PG
Summary: SungMin is a teenager who loves to dance more than anything. When he comes back to the dance studio and there's a new assistant teacher, what is he supposed to think?
How I Loved a Stranger
Chapter 2
Beep Beeep Beeeep
Taewoon groaned, hitting his alarm clock. He cracked open one sleepy eye, moaned softly and rolled over, falling out of his small dorm bed. He sat up and wobbled slightly as he pushed himself into a standing position.
He stared at the clock that seemed to be mocking him. It read 7:03. He sighed and left his room to make some breakfast in the tiny kitchen that he shared with 3 other guys. The dirty dishes were piling higher and higher in the sink, but he hardly gave them a second look and pulled another one from the cabinet above him.
As Taewoon was munching on his cereal, he thought about the cute little boy he had met that night, Sungmin, such a cute name to match. Taewoon smiled to himself. Sungmin’s face was absolutely priceless when he caught him trying to get his shirt off. He seemed kind of skittish, but he was really sweet. Taewoon had been kind of embarrassed by all the attention he got from the kids last night; he had hoped to talk to Sungmin more. When he did talk to him, though, he didn’t really find out as much as he’d hoped to.
Taewoon had watched Sungmin dance that night. He was really talented; he didn’t know that a kid could move like that. It only made him want to know more about the boy. He groaned again looking at the clock. He dragged himself to his room to get dressed and ready for his morning classes. He was majoring in business with a minor of music production, and despite the pain he put himself through every morning to get to classes, he was really enjoying life in college. Taewoon also was a rapper on the side, he performed to make a little bit of money other than what he was getting from assisting with the dance class. Actually, that night Taewoon wouldn’t be attending the class as he had a performance that night. He was excited, he really loved the rush of being onstage with all eyes on you. He was only a bit disappointed that he would be missing out on a chance to talk to Sungmin more. He was curious about how old he was, among other things. He hoped that he wasn’t too young, that would make him completely off-limits, and Taewoon didn’t like it when things were off-limits to him.
On the topic of sexuality, Taewoon wasn’t really gay. He wasn’t really straight, either. When he was younger, he had essentially declared himself ‘pan-sexual’ or just open. He didn’t want to put labels on it. Plus, he was still young, who knew, things might change.
Taewoon’s mind was flooded with thoughts and worries about Sungmin. He was just so curious. And he could only hope that Sungmin might be having similar thoughts about him.
~~
At about the same time, Sungmin was waking up, hitting his own alarm clock. He moaned into his pillow and flopped around a little in his bed trying to wake himself up. He thought about the night before. And the man he had met. He was excited for tonight, when he’d see him again. With that thought, Sungmin quickly jumped into the shower. Once he was out, he got dressed expecting a rainy day as he had seen yesterday. Once he had gulped down his cereal and sped out the door towards his bus stop, Sungmin realized that it was a fairly warm day and that he really didn’t need the things he had with him. He sighed and stuffed the extra layers into his backpack.
On the bus ride to school, all Sungmin did was stare out the window and daydream about his dance class. Sungmin had never really thought about his sexuality, and he wasn’t even thinking about it now. He always assumed he liked girls, because that was the “normal” thing to do. He didn’t really care about whether someone was gay or not, but he didn’t really want to associate with a gay person anyway. It just didn’t really cross his mind. He didn’t really think about how behavior now didn’t really seem like he admired Taewoon as an older brother or as a friend, even. He really didn’t know Taewoon, so he could only mark off his thoughts as curiosity, and that was good enough for him.
~~
Taewoon was finally done with his classes for the day, so he went home to prepare for his performance.
~~
Sungmin left the school doors with a thankful sigh. He was a little bit mentally strained by the day, he had had a few tests in a row that he didn’t really feel prepared for, and on top of that, he had spent all his free time that day daydreaming. His friends in his classes wondered what was up, Sungmin was a quiet person, but he did talk to his friends.
He felt refreshed by the cool fall air hitting his face and Sungmin strode forwards with confidence, ready to dance despite his tired brain. He lifted his eyes towards the sky and breathed in the smell of the crunchy leaves beneath his feet. Today, instead of jumping in puddles, he found the crunchiest piles and hopped happily on those, enjoying the loud, disruptive sound. He was in a good mood, looking forward to learning more about this man that was haunting his thoughts day in and day out. But he had only known him for about a day, so only really day in, he guessed.
He greeted the receptionist with a deep bow and a large grin and dashed into the dressing rooms. He dressed quickly and sat down on one of the benches under the lockers and took a deep breath. His heart was pounding hard because of the excitement and anticipation his brain was holding in. He realized he had a big, stupid grin on his face and he tried to push it down, but it just didn’t work. Sungmin started to doze off a little, his brain was tired and he was really hyping himself up.
“Hey, Sungmin.” A voice awakened him. Sungmin jolted up.
“Taewo-! Mr. Donghae… Hello…” Sungmin started off excitedly and then trailed off.
Donghae smiled. “Taewoon isn’t here today, he’s got a concert-thing he’s performing at. Don’t get too mad at him… or me. Glad to see that you two have already made friends! You should teach him a few things, you and Taemin should. You two are my best dancers. Well, and Minji, but you know how she gets around men…”
Sungmin’s face visibly dropped. “Taewoon… isn’t here?” He asked quietly. “…Oh… I see…” He said, getting up and walking towards the studio. Donghae looked after him, confused. Once Sungmin got into the large room covered in mirrors, he turned on the CD player and just let himself move to whatever was playing. The class had awhile to start, and he just didn’t care. He just moved, feeling the beat grip his body and twist his limbs how it wanted. The lyrics were nothing, just another string part of a tangled knot. It was through Sungmin that the knot got undone. He had to make it all look beautiful. Now he was just trying to forget his excitement. He was embarrassed, and he was angry that he was embarrassed. He wanted to forget this ghost, “Taewoon” and remember his life before he offered to help him.
Sungmin let out a puff of air and dropped to the floor. He crumpled, falling into a confused puddle. He was making too big of a deal out of this. Taewoon would be back tomorrow, Sungmin just had to treat him like a person, and it would be fine. Sungmin broke. His chest heaved and dry, empty sobs racked his small body. He wasn’t crying because he was sad, he was crying because he was confused. He just didn’t understand what was happening to him. The thin river of tears that was running down his cheeks thinned and looked up and calmed down. He went into the corner and grabbed a bottle of water, taking a long swig. He slid down the wall and withdrew into himself. He liked the feeling. Closing his eyes, Sungmin drifted off again until the classroom bustled with people once more.
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Hey again! Welcome to chapter 2! Sorry that my chapters are super-short... and also that this is kinda moving fast... I know it's really unrealistic, but I'll try to fix it. I know you might think that Sungmin over-reacted here, and he kinda did, but you know that feeling when your emotions just went all over the place and end on a low note? And then you kinda break down... I guess it just happens to me a lot, so that's why I made it happen to him :( sorry Sungmin <3