"Dad..." Hikaru groaned.
Shit. He should have just gone back home, then maybe his Dad wouldn't have signed him up for another round of female torture. He just hoped that this one would not try to touch his dick or slap his ass.
He shivered in disgust. Goddamnit. That was sexual harassment. Only his best friends could slap his ass as much as they wanted. His beautiful ass was IDOL property.
"I know what you're doing. You don't want to come home because you don't want to see your brother with his soulmate." His father's words resonated within Hikaru and the thought sent a bout of pain through his system.
His memory jogged and flashed the scene yet again before his eyes. His brother was kissing his wife in the kitchen, the way they looked at each other with those eyes...Eyes that he wanted on himself but could not have. Hikaru's heart clenched into a tight, steely fist.
"I don't want to die knowing that you'll avoid your brother for the rest of your life. I don't want to die knowing that you're unhappy like this!" His father declared.
Hikaru sighed for the hundredth time that night, running his hands through his hair. Damn it.
His mind reminded him yet again of the fairy. Her pretty brown eyes in the light of the sun had haunted his dreams and plagued his thoughts for the past month.
Random things reminded him of her. The shimmer of the rain in the light of the streetlamp, the flash of the front lights of a car, the spotlight on stage. The dark brown of coffee in his mug. He couldn't even drink coffee in peace now. The drink that usually calmed him and sent a pulse of clarity through his mind was now clouded with his thoughts of her.
Maybe...
Maybe it was time for him to lose his virginity. Perhaps, his body was at its peak and it required some form of release. Release that no amount of masturbation could give him.
Hell, his right hand was exhausted. He'd resorted to automated sex toys simply because the muscle strain in his arms had impacted his dance practices. He couldn't believe that his obsession could reach this stage.
"What do you want me to do, old man?" He groaned into the phone.
The annoyance in his voice was not really because of his father but rather because of himself and his new obsession. Could he ever convince his father to stop forcing him into those stupid matchmaking parties?
"Get a girlfriend!"
"Well, I have a girlfriend!" He snapped back, pushing open the flap of the tent.
The bubble of warmth embraced his body like soft and sticky whipped cream and he sighed out loud in relief. He stepped forward, his eyes roaming over the menu and darting over the food display.
It looked amazing. The sticks of fishcake bubbled in a pot of clear golden stock. Skewers of meat displayed on a rack piping hot from the pan. He licked his lips, admiring the stack of hot, spicy and seasoned chicken feet, golden-red from being boiled in soy sauce and spicy bean paste.
Choosing his food was always the hardest part of eating.
"Y-you have a girlfriend?" His father's voice trailed into his ears and he froze, suddenly remembering the conversation he'd been having with him. His father sounded surprised and the lilt of happiness in his voice was easy to recognize.
Hikaru decided to continue with his 'white' lie. If anything, he could always just tell him that she had broken up with him. He could probably fib a sob story and push it a little with a depressed complaint. Maybe, that would even stop his father from pushing him to get married, fearful for Hikaru's inability to get over his fake girlfriend.
"Yes! I met her in a hotel before a concert," he spoke, his mind flickering to her again. He might as well fanboy over his dream girl, let his father catch on to the real emotions in his voice. That would definitely shake him off from the idea of hooking Hikaru up with girls. "At the breakfast buffet."
"Tell me what's she like!" His father said, sounding more than just excited.
He seemed deliriously happy, genuinely delighted for Hikaru.
"She's pretty," He started to say.
Should he get spicy rice cakes or blood sausages? Hikaru covered the mic of his phone, lifting his head to meet the eyes of the aunty manning the store. He switched back to Korean, his lips flowing over the language fluently. "Aunty, rice cakes and blood sausages please!" Both. "One bottle of soju as well."
The lady nodded amicably, beginning to prepare his order. He stepped back, switching back to Japanese to speak with his father. His father's voice boomed through the speaker and he winced pulling his head away at the sudden attack.
"That's it? You have to tell me more!"
"Her eyes are the most beautiful shade of brown, I've ever seen," Hikaru breathed.
The sound of pattering rain on the plastic tent instead of the wail of wind was a welcoming change. And he immediately felt a little warmer from just the thought of being protected within this haven.
"She's cute, like a small fairy. Her ears tip upwards like an elf's." His lips twitched at the thought. "Have you ever seen that on someone? I didn't know sharp ears were biologically possible." His mind darted to the scene on stage.
He had travelled to the edge of the stage to wave at his fans only to spot her standing there. There had been something beautiful about that scene. Something that took his breath away and made him forget himself for a moment. The sea of fans that had waved and screamed at him had blurred into blotches of colour, light, and movement, and his eyes had zeroed in on hers.
She had been ethereal.
The light of the stage had danced across her face in soft pink and purple hues. The setting sun had washed across her skin turning it into a soft gold before vanishing with the clouds.
She had looked otherworldly, like a fairy after his soul, a siren in the ocean of people. The flickers of light that swathed her body were like magical wings on her back. Her short hair was alight in a million hues of colours from the darkest of black to the brightest of ochre.
He felt as if he were in the presence of a shooting star that had fallen from the earth. All Hikaru had seen that day was her, her standing in the crowd of nameless people who loved him.
Her, with those wide teary eyes that stared up at him. Brown eyes, soft and light like the delicious fish cake soup cooking at the stove. Like the boiled herbal tea eggs bobbing with the bubbles of steam and the crispy juicy bits from the chicken skewers.
Hikaru looked away from the food stand feeling embarrassed.
He had reacted a little stupidly to her when she had met his eyes. Hikaru had winked, winked at her. And she had looked adorable with that startled and shocked expression on her face. Her lips forming a cute 'o'. His body had burned hot with his embarrassment and need for her.
He hadn't been able to take it. A deep heat had lit across his skin and he needed to cool off. He ran to MinJae trying but failing, to explain what had gotten him so twisted up.
He couldn't bear to walk back to see her for fear of what he would do in her presence, but he thought about her. He thought about her the entire time. Later he regretted not looking at her for one more time.
"Wow, son..." His father's voice broke him out from his train of thoughts. "I've never heard you like this before."
Hikaru blinked. Wait a second had he said all that out loud?
"At the concert too? That's amazing."
Ah, shit. He had. He blushed, scratching the side of his face. Shit.
"Y-yeah," Hikaru stammered, feeling a little embarrassed.
There had been no one to talk to in the house with all the shit going on with his BFFs. He didn't really know who he could confide in. Hell, he tried talking to Ezra but recently the guy seemed a little off.
He caught his best friend lost in thought with a dazed look on his face. It seemed that Hikaru had held in that information of 'fairy girl' for a bit too long. And so when he started to talk about her, he couldn't stop.
"What kind of person is she?" His father pressed.
"She's kind. Really kind. She caught me staring at her meal at the buffet," he let loose a bark of laughter, his eyes crinkling at the edges at the thought. "She made this avocado mango toast with the ingredients there and she gave me one because she caught me staring."
"She sounds like a foodie. Like you."
"I know! I couldn't stop thinking about her after that, especially because it tasted so good," Hikaru giggled into his palm excitedly.
"She sounds lovely. I'll be coming to Korea in a few days to visit you. Let me meet her!" His father said. His words broke Hikaru out of his daydream as reality hit him in the guts yet again. The truth echoed in his mind.
"Maybe," he responded. His expression faltering and falling with each passing second.
"Kid, I'll bring the food to you. So go sit down!" The aunty called to him and he broke out of his thoughts to quickly reply to her.
"Okay, thank you!"
He turned, slipping off his mask quickly to pocket it as he stepped forward surveying his choice of seats. His eyes flickered across the tables to meet that of the other customer seated in the venue. His throat clamped up at the sight of wide brown eyes staring at him.
Her.