Chapter 2: || Listen For Lies ||
|| Chapter 2: Listen For Lies ||
As the night dragged on and the music award ceremony was in full action, the ravenette was standing in the smoking area with some other staff members of other companies. He paid no attention to them whenever they kept stealing glances at him. Casually, he took out another cigarette from his pocket and held it between his teeth as he looked for his lighter. However, before he could find it, a hand holding a lighter appeared in front of his face. "Need a light?" A husky yet feathery voice joked from next to him, causing him to glance in that direction. It belonged to a handsome man, who looked to be around in his mid-twenties and 6'1.
He had smooth ashy-blonde hair that was gelled back, showing off his sharp charcoal fox-like eyes and thick yet perfectly arched eyebrows. His skin was pale and he was quite muscular, hinting that he either does gym or a sport regularly. He was dressed in a dark grey suit with a white buttoned-up shirt and red tie. A grey blazer was loosely draped over his forearm and the ravenette caught a glimpse of its brand tag on its collar - it belonged to Guizo, one of the most expensive clothing brands in the world.
"Thanks..." He awkwardly yet reluctantly mumbled before tilting his head forward towards the lighter when the man flicked it on. A warm orange light illuminated the ravenette's face, creating a cinematic atmosphere for the man and onlookers around him. With half-lidded eyes, he pushed the head of the cigarette into the flame and watched how it got lit, creating a small puff of smoke. Once it was lit, he leaned away from it and held it between his fingers before releasing an extremely sweet-scented puff of smoke into the air. "My pleasure," The blonde smiled, closing the lighter and hiding it in his pockets.
A calm yet comfortable silence surrounded them as the distant music from the award show could be heard, along with the chants and screams of millions of fans in the stadium. Out of nowhere, the ravenette's ringtone screeched from his pocket and he hurriedly took it out. With a quick glance at his phone screen to check the caller ID, he answered it with a raised brow, unaware of the observant gaze next to him, "Yeah, what's up?" The blonde next to him could hear a muffled woman's voice, stressing over something. "Look," The ravenette started with a heavy sigh and pushed his hair back with an annoyed expression, "I know you're upset that we couldn't come to help you at your restaurant tonight but..."
He paused when the caller yelled at him, possibly cursing at him. His gaze grew cold and he clenched his jaw, causing some veins to pop up from his neck and forehead. "Hey," His voice was no longer sympathetic and patient, it was low and frighteningly calm. "I don't actually give a shit if we can't perform at your restaurant next time," He sneered into the phone with a scoff and a pissed-off smirk appeared on his lips as he continued smoking, "So, don't be surprised if we don't come running to your every beck and call, Eun-bi-ah." He held the phone away from his ear when the woman started screaming and cursing at him again.
The blonde had to cover his mouth to prevent his laughter from escaping. "Yes, yes, Eun-bi-ah," He sarcastically agreed with her when she cursed him out over the phone before reminding her, "Just remember that if you didn't ask us to perform at your restaurant a year ago, it wouldn't be so successful right now." At his words, the blonde paused and raised a brow, curious to know what he meant by that. "Bye, Madam~" The ravenette mused into the phone before ending the call with a scoff, shoving it back into his pocket. Without another word, he continued smoking while looking up at the night sky.
"Sounds like your girlfriend is angry at you," The blonde next to him joked with a perfect business smile, causing the ravenette to raise a confused brow at him as he glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "She's not my girlfriend," He harshly denied without looking at him, rolling his eyes, "She's my cousin." Humming, the blonde nodded with an 'ah' sound leaving his lips. "I wonder why she's so angry," He mentioned in a taunting manner, trying to get the younger man to tell him. Noticing his intentions, the ravenette sent him a glare and sneered slightly, "I don't think that's any of your concern, sir."
"You're right," He admitted with a wider smile, amused that his plan didn't work. He stuffed his hands into his pockets as he turned to face the ravenette. "Then," He continued with a charming smile, slightly tilting his head to the side, "May I ask what you meant by 'performing'?" Uncomfortable by this man's actions, the ravenette leaned back to create space between them. He stared at the older man for a moment before sighing, rubbing his nape when he realized that this guy wouldn't back down until his curiosity was satisfied. "If you're that curious," He started with a slightly exhausted frown, crushing the cigarette into the ashtray next to him, "I just do some folk and gospel gigs for my cousin to get some extra cash."
After hearing the words 'folk and gospel gigs', the older man's eyes widened with a sparkling gleam in them. From any onlookers' point of view, it was like the blonde just discovered a hidden diamond. "So you perform?" He eagerly queried, taking a step closer to the ravenette, who flinched and took a step back. "Yeah," He awkwardly confirmed with a frown, eyeing the older man with an uncomfortable look, "Just as a hobby though." A smile broke out on the blonde's face and he reached for something inside his pocket, "Then-" However, before he could say anything, the door slammed open and an urgent voice yelled, "Manager Kim, we have a problem!"
Immediately, the ravenette straightened his posture and rushed past the older man, leaving him stunned. "What's wrong?" He demanded with wide eyes and flinched when he recognised the staff - it was the person who was in charge of the backup dancers. "One of the dancers sprained their ankle during the first half and VUNX is about to go up the stage again any minute now," The staff explained with tears streaming down her face, her eyes swollen and puffy while her shoulders shook in horror. "I... I don't know what to do!" She sniffled and wiped her tears away with her sleeves, irritating her eyes even more.
"Come on now," He spoke in an urgent yet soothing manner as he pulled her wrists away from her face, preventing her from rubbing her swollen eyes, "First, stop rubbing your eyes - you're only going to make them worse if you keep rubbing them like that." With a quiet sniffle, she slowly nodded and felt him let go of her wrists. "Take a deep breath and relax, okay?" He told her as he grabbed onto her sleeve and tugged her away from the smoking area. "Okay..." She mumbled, tears slowly dripping down her face. Once they were away from the smoking area, he grabbed onto her shoulders and slouched forward to get to her eye level.
"Listen to me very carefully, So-yeon-ssi," He spoke slowly, his gaze was intense and hasty as he explained to her, "Go tell the stylists that they need to prepare another set of the backup dancers' outfits for me." Her eyes widened in confusion and her lips parted. "Then," He continued, releasing his hold on her shoulders and taking a step back as he glanced to the side, hearing the muffled voices of nearby staff from other companies, "You should alert the first aid guys that there's been an incident but don't make it obvious because there's a lot of filming crew here." He sent her a side glance from the corner of his eye.
"Tell the stylists that I'll be there in a few minutes," He added with a charming smile and patted her bicep, encouraging her, "So, don't stress. Okay?" She stared at him for a moment before clenching her hands into fists with a look of determination and admiration. "Yes!" She exclaimed with a nod before dashing away, reassuring him over her shoulder, "Fighting, Manager Kim!" As she disappeared around the corner, he ruffled his hair and mumbled with a pissed-off scowl, "For fuck's sake..." With a sigh, he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders in relief. Suddenly, he started sprinting down the hallways and corridors, apologizing to anyone who was in his way.
When he rounded a corner, he almost collided with a staff carrying a rolled-up green screen. He barely dodged them by sliding under the sign before getting back on his feet and sprinting again. By the time he arrived in VUNX's changing room, nervous-looking stylists and makeup artists were pacing around. Upon seeing him entering the room, they demanded an explanation. "One of the backup dancers sprained their ankles," He quickly explained as he started tugging his shirt off and snatching a white long-sleeved shirt from the clothing rack. He was unaware of the flushed faces of the stylists and makeup artists when they saw his bare torso, marvelling at his toned muscles and athletic backside.
"I'm going to be a stand-in for the backup dancer so can anyone please notify the other managers about this?" He demanded as he changed into black leather pants, ignoring how some of them gasped and squealed in surprise. "Y-Yes, I'll notify Manager Hyun right away!" One of the female staff announced before calling the said manager to explain the new arrangements. Once he tugged on a pair of black shiny leather loafers, he gestured for the stylists to get the hair styling equipment ready and the makeup artists were on standby, ready to jump in to prepare him.
As the hair stylists quickly styled his hair into a side-part style, he closed his eyes to allow the makeup artists to apply eyeshadow and other products onto his face. Several minutes later, he was done and he thanked them for their hard work as he tugged on the leather gloves, completely oblivious to the dazed yet excited gazes that the stylists had. Even though he was dressed so casually formally, his handsome looks and body build made him look like an idol rookie. Without wasting time, he sprinted out of the changing room and rushed towards where backstage was. He dashed past the idols and camera crew that were roaming the hallways, ignoring the gobsmacked looks he got from them.
The moment he arrived backstage, he spotted the first aid people tending to the injured backup dancer and So-yeon's face brightened when she saw him. He sent her a thumbs-up with a crooked smile before rushing to where the rest of the backup dancers were. He received confused expressions from almost everyone, especially the camera crew and other idols. When he reached the dancers, he quickly explained why he was there and how this situation would be handled. The choreographer of the dancers told him that they understood and swiftly showed him the choreography for the next few songs.
When he easily copied the choreographs, people were left speechless at how fast he learnt it. Soon, VUNX was back on stage and the dancers followed them. It wasn't long before thundering bass and music filled the stadium and the performance started. As the ravenette flawlessly followed the choreography, he caught several fans' - who were sitting front row - attention. Noticing the hidden visual gem in the crowd of backup dancers, fans squealed loudly with red faces, waving their signs and phones at him. Sweat dripped down his chin while his eyes held a dangerously sexy yet concentrated gleam, unconsciously charming nearby fans.
When they reached the part where some backup dancers had to surround VUNX as if they were begging for the idols' forgiveness, Sehun was honestly surprised when he spotted the ravenette on his knees next to him. His icy-blue eyes were filled with sorrow and pleas as he peered up at him, gently grasping at his jacket. Sehun couldn't help but lose his composure for a moment, his face growing extremely flustered at his unexpectedly sexy yet submissive expression. Meanwhile, the camera zoomed in on Sehun and the raven-haired dancer, causing the entire stadium to erupt in an uproar, surprised at the sudden ethereal yet sexy scene.
As the backup dancers peeled away from the idols, they continued the rest of the choreography behind them. The camera couldn't decide on which idol to focus, hinting that the cameraman also got flustered by the unexpected scene. It wasn't long before the song drew close to an end, earning them an encore from the audience. Then, the following song started. It was a song that was a combination of hip-hop and street dance atmosphere. The choreography had a lot of precise jumps, spins, body rolls and seamless transitions. The fans went ballistic whenever they spotted the raven-haired backup dancer doing the body rolls so aggressively yet seductively.
When he made direct eye contact with one female fan, who was sitting in the front row and recording the performance, he sent her a charming smirk. As he did another body roll, he teasingly stuck his tongue out, revealing the hidden tongue piercing he had. The fan trembled with a beet-red face as her eyes widened, her jaw hung open and she screamed her lungs out in pure excitement. Her throat started to hurt from how loudly she was fangirling at what she just had witnessed. Several minutes later, VUNX's performance came to an end and they, as well as the backup dancers, left the stage. The stadium was begging for another encore but their pleas weren't granted.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone