Silver and Strawberries

Sweater Weather

Doyum laid panting on the hardwood floor. His chest heaved as sweat slid from his dampened forehead to the sides of his face. The silver-haired student had been in the practice room since classes got out earlier. The sun had set since then, but even it didn't feel like it was enough time.

Doyum had been practicing his choreography as much as he could for the dance team auditions the following week. He had this flowing image in his head, he knew exactly what he wanted to showcase and how to do it.

But something still felt like it was missing. As he watched and rewatched videos of himself performing the routine, his appreciation and disappointment grew all the same. Everything seemed fine, the build up and the climax were good, but he couldn't figure out an ending that was fitting yet impactful.

The song was supposed to be about grace and fluidity, which his current routine adhered to. Years of martial arts training and multiple dance academies attributed to his above-average isolated muscle control (for which he couldn't be more grateful). His body was operating at max power, but it's still not right....

Doyum reached for his phone to replay the song, fully intent on immersing himself with the lyrics and the sound of the song itself. The silverette stared at the ceiling and allowed himself to zone out and let his mind wander. He tried to pick up feelings and emotions that he might've overlooked. He listened once, twice, three, maybe four times before he unknowingly fell asleep where he lay.

Taekhyeon checked his phone for what felt like the tenth time in the last minute, hoping that he just missed a message from his silver-haired roommate. It was getting pretty late and the two had planned on grabbing dinner somewhere on campus after he finished basketball practice.

"Hey man, you alright? You don't look so good," Yechan, the basketball team captain, prodded.

Taekhyeon looked up from his empty inbox and sighed. "Yeah, Doyum hasn't texted me for a while and we were supposed to meet up. He's been disappearing a lot recently and coming home late. I'm getting kinda worried."

Yechan looked around and verified a distinctive lack of a silver tuft of hair – one that he usually saw whenever practice ran later into the evening. "Maybe he's busy? I'm sure Doyum's fine," he reassured.

Jinsung was in the middle of packing his things away when he overheard Doyum's name. Curious and very much interested, the pink-haired student decided that he wanted to be a part of the conversation. He and Doyum had gotten quite close in the last couple weeks, enough that their friend groups were slowly starting to merge into one. It was quite wholesome, really.

"Doyum said he was gonna practice for a bit after class today, if that helps?" Jinsung provided.

Taekhyeon straightened up at the information, "Goddammit, hyung."

Jinsung and Yechan were momentarily taken aback as they watched their junior start to shove things into his gym bag, rushing to leave the courts.

"What's wrong?" their team captain asked.

The tanner male paused before putting on his sweatshirt. "Doyum hyung gets a little too intense when he's dancing. Like he'll be there for hours without food and won't leave until one of us gets him intense. He's fallen asleep at a studio before; so now, he usually lets us know if he's practicing," Taekhyeon elaborated sounding a little upset.

"That's probably why he hasn't messaged you in a while," Yechan guessed as he ruffled Taekhyeon's hair in comfort.

It seemed like a common occurrence, but the captain still worried about Doyum's practice habits. Yechan had grown quite fond of the silverette after he saw him hang around the courts waiting for Taekhyeon. He was a good kid. Sweet even. Maybe I'll talk to him later about moderation and physical limits...