PRIDE & RIDE

THE KING'S COMEBACK

It was a successful show tonight. It had been years since his last performance, and the crowd was so hyped that it felt like the king was finally back. He gave all those people - fans and celebrities alike - exactly what they wanted. The screams and hysteria filled his soul, reminding him how good it felt to have hundreds of thousands of people pouring that kind of energy back into him.

"I need a moment," Jiyong mumbled as he walked past his coordinating staff backstage, making his way towards the small room designated for smoking. There was only a single couch inside, with his cigarette packs and mineral water already prepared and waiting for him. It had always been like this after an intense performance. The rush would linger too long, the cheers and chants from the fans still echoing in his mind, leaving him overstimulated and craving nothing more than a quiet moment alone with his phone.

By now, his phone was already in his hand, a lit cigarette resting between his fingers behind it. He leaned back, his chest rising and falling as he slowly gathered back the energy he had poured into the crowd. A smile tugged at his lips as he read a message from his boyfriend, Lee Soohyuk.

"You did great, baby. Proud of you." The words on his screen played in Soohyuk's deep voice inside his head as he read them. He held onto the chat bubble, reacting to it with a heart before turning on the front camera to send his lover a selfie. That had always been his love language with Soohyuk. That man loved showering him with compliments.

Before he could send it, the door to the room suddenly banged slightly. The knob twisted, and before he could process what was happening, the door opened. The person who stepped inside made him freeze.

"Seunghyun?" he said, his feet that had been resting on the small stool in front of the couch immediately landing on the floor. His arms reached out instinctively, as if he could stop the man from leaving.

Seunghyun didn't waste a single second turning around the moment he saw the fucker he was still really mad at, even after all these years since their last fight. His hand reached for the door, ready to leave.

"Wait, don't leave, please." Jiyong broke the silence, and Seunghyun wanted to curse himself for listening to his request.

"What?" The taller man asked, avoiding any kind of eye contact because he really couldn't bring himself to look at the other. Even a picture of him was enough to make his blood boil, which was why Jiyong was still blocked on every social media platform he had.

"You came in by mistake?" Jiyong asked, his eyes desperately trying to catch Seunghyun's, but the other man refused to look at him. Oh, how he had missed his first lover, now his ex, and how hurtful it was that he couldn't even make him look at him, especially when he looked this good, dressed in an all-black custom-made suit covered with diamond details that shimmered under the lights, his makeup perfectly done for the night.

"You think I'm here purposely to see you?" Seunghyun let out a sarcastic laugh, his eyes still glued to the doorknob he was already holding. God, he wanted to leave so badly.

"Make sense." The smaller man replied as he took another puff of his cigarette. Soohyuk's text was already long forgotten.

"Seunghyun, it's been years, and I know I should've shut my darn mouth. I miss you. Can we talk for a bit, even if-" Jiyong choked on his words, unable to finish the sentence. "Even if you hate me?" he continued softly, and yes, he knew how selfish he sounded. But that still didn't change Seunghyun's mind. He still wanted to leave.

"Please? I miss you like hell." Jiyong shattered the silence that filled the small room again. "Can't we at least be friends?" he continued, no longer sitting on the couch. He was already standing, his small hands reaching for Seunghyun's free arm, the one that wasn't holding the doorknob.