turning point | jay x heeseung | complete

iv. flickering

Flicker comes with some mixed memories for Jay.

He thinks of the vile bitterness he felt when Heeseung neglected to pick him originally, in I-LAND - the hurt and anger that consumed him. I thought we were friends? And then, the understanding and competitiveness flooded in; he got to lead his group, to assign parts, all without being in anyone's shadow.

Seeing himself in the red suit now is bewildering, to say the least.

"Time to turn off my cute mode," Sunoo monologues, messing with his hair in the mirror, "It's time for intense mode!"

It's strange to see him in such a chic outfit, but Jay thinks it suits him nicely.

The Dive Into You group just got their new outfits delivered, but with 7 fashion-obsessed boys, the production team are crazy if they expect them to wait the 2 measly days until the shoot. He notices that Sunoo's lapel is crooked in the mirror, and he turns and reaches out to straighten it.

"Woah, Jay-hyung," His mouth gapes. "You look so handsome!"

Jay wasn't sure if the stylist went a bit too hard on his suit. His shirt is instructed to have the top two buttons left undone. It's paired with a maroon suit jacket, slacks, and a dainty gold necklace.

"I was wondering if it was too much," Jay admits.

"No, no, they'll love it. Super sexy!"

Him and Sunoo emerge from the bedroom and into the living area. Sunghoon, Jake and Heeseung are taking a selfie and then examine it on Jake's phone.

"How do we look?" Sunoo chirps, spinning with a flourish.

"You look great, guys!" Jungwon gasps as he wanders in. "Sorry, I was helping Niki with his cufflinks."

"Jay! Jeez, you're too good-looking," Jake fawns, jumping up from his seat. He moves forward to examine Jay's necklace. Sunghoon elbows Heeseung.

Niki walks in and Jay thinks he looks like a star. He's tall and handsome, hair mussed perfectly even without a hairdresser's touch. A gold chain dangles at his hip.

"Look what they gave me," Niki grins. He opens his jacket and there's a pocket watch inside; shiny, golden and studded with red gems.

The room erupts into noise.

"I want one!" Sunoo whines, and he rushes over to grab it from Niki's hand, examining it carefully.

"Heeseungie-hyung," Niki calls, a little smug, "Doesn't Jay-hyung look handsome?"

Jay's face burns. Niki's a schemer. His eyes flick over and Heeseung's still looking at him, admittedly a little wide-eyed.

"..Definitely," Heeseung nods. He pauses, and then says, "We'll look really good standing side-by-side."

"So sexy! We're gonna look amazing," Jake is examining the gold thread meticulously stitched in Sunoo's suit.

Jay's glad the attention shifts from him, because the idea that Heeseung thinks he's any sort of good-looking is all he can think about.

-

"Jay-hyung?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you know you liked boys?"

"Niki-ya!"

Jay balks and looks around frantically; the dance room is empty save for the two of them.

"It's okay, the others went home already, remember? Sunoo-hyungie's gone to get a drink."

Jay relaxes instantly. He doesn't really know how to answer him properly. He wipes the sweat off the back of his neck and grimaces.