1. Mansae (1/2)

he was different.

in all of lee jihoon's life, he had never experienced one ounce of happiness. to be honest, he didn't really care. after all, when you've never had this drug-like feeling, there was no way of becoming an addict. having everything a person had ever wished for didn't make him greedy. he just felt empty. some would argue that it was because he was short, but he quickly aired those people.

however, there were limits to set when it came to voicing his opinions. recently though, there weren't any problems to get in his way. his life was planned out properly and why would he try to

eak routine so late in his life? well, it all started when he was conversing with one of his childhood friends, seungcheol.

"wait, so you want me to come your studio? you know i don't dance anymore, cheollie." an annoyed

unette sat in a chic chair, the colours being a creamy-white and coffee-

own. it was perfect for a café environment, as if the chairs were like the drinks sold there.

at the moment, he was giving a glare to his friend, a dancer who owns his own studio. they were young when the two took part in the activity and jihoon gave up before he was too good at it. he raps in his spare time and he's helped jihoon with his music during his entire life.

"i know it sounds like i'm dragging you back into dance, but i'm not. i know why you don't do it anymore, with the 'incident' and all." seungcheol replied, shaking his head at his friend's judgemental eyes. he had grown too used to that stare to care.

"i want you to look after it while i go on holiday." ah, seungcheol was going on a big trip with his boyfriend and café owner, jeonghan. he was motherly so jihoon had no issues with him as he made seungcheol happy.

"i could entrust it to my students, but i don't trust minghao running the place. jun is just a big no and no one would listen to chan. soonyoung could, but he's a tad too busy for that. don't get me started on what would happen if seungkan ran the place. wonwoo would cause chaos and why would anyone even let them be by themselves? please, woozi?" it was those puppy-dog eyes that made jihoon give in.

"okay, fine. just don't call me by that name again, cheollie. we're adults now, how long are you going to use that for?" the male sighed, shaking his head at that nickname. he had been called that since he was young and seungcheol used it more than he used his real birth name.

"that's good, jihoonie." the

unette groaned. "let's go now since you should introduce myself." the man smiled. that damned smile is what caused him to go meet the man that would probably change his life forever.

?

all jihoon had wanted to do that day was to sit with one of his close friends and drink some coffee. things at home hadn't been going so well and he was starting to become tired. it was all because he hadn't had a song idea in a long time and that was how he earned money. he was screwed until the day he's able to think of anything.

well, he had enough money to last some solid years, but it was his goddamn fiancée who was ruining that plan. always wanting to buy something, she constantly asks him for his credit card. it was no wonder why he needed to have an idea quickly with all her whining. he didn't even love her. jisoo, another friend of his, had always told him to get rid of her, but the problem was he couldn't. it was his mother who picked her out after all. there was no way to disobey that woman.

as jihoon entered a familiar building, him and seungcheol made their way up to his studio as the

unette patiently waited for them to arrive in the elevator. the two shared a comfortable silence, something jihoon was glad of as he wasn't in the mood to talk. the aura this place had

ought memories back to the short man. it was all so different now, but there was a vague trace of the place seungcheol literally raised from the ground.

unlike jihoon himself who already had money, his childhood friend had been middle-class and it was hard to get people to go to his studio. despite everyone seeing jihoon as a bad person, he had always offered to help support the place, but seungcheol was hellbent on trying his best to get what he wants. to be honest, he's proud of having a friend like him. well, jihoon helped afterwards to get the news around that there was an amazing studio around.

so, everyone had asked why jihoon had suddenly quit dance even though he was so talented. to him, the change was drastic. he loved the art so much and he had poured so much effort and time into perfecting his moves. however, it was a situation he never wanted to feel ever again. to this day, only few know what happened to him.

"here we are. i'm just going to go find them and i'll come back. feel free to dance to something." seungcheol wiggled his eye

ows playfully, knowing fully well jihoon would never dare to sway his body to the music. with a large grin plastered on his face, jihoon was left alone in the snow and maroon-coloured room, his eyes reflecting back at him in the huge mirror that took up an entire wall.

tapping on the floor for a while, jihoon decided to get up and do something. nostalgia was pouring into his heart, his body fluttering to the music controls. wondering if listening to music was the best choice of action, he flicked a switch and a very emotional song started to play. seungcheol had said he was doing more of a contemporary piece, rather than his hip hop style, and it was painful for him to listen to as that was jihoon's speciality.

walking away from the controls, his feet following the sharp sound of the piano and by the time he was in the centre, he was dancing again. he honestly didn't know how this happened, but it was as if all of the problems he faced suddenly disappeared. the request seungcheol had tried to convince him to do had taken too long, but in a matter of seconds, he was just there, pouring his feelings out.