"there! right there!" a girl that was camouflaged among the set broke into a song, giving the cue to the rest of the actors to resurge from the props. and, just like a disney movie, the furniture came to life and started to sing.
"look at that tan, well-tinted skin..."
jeongin was dragged to the middle of a rotating circle of people singing, all of them joined by their hands. he hadn't practiced this part at all, and wondered if he'd been tricked into being an offering to some forgotten greek god.
hyunjin was taken away from his line of sight, hidden from him by a living wall of golden-throated actors. damn, those jeonghan people could sing.
"look at his coiffed, crispy locks!" jeongin ruffled his wavy wig.
"look at his silk, translucent socks!" the elastic of his mid-thigh lacy socks was stretched and snapped back on his skin.
from there, he could still get a glimpse from the backstage (which was so unfair since he couldn't even see hyunjin on stage), finding jeonghan with a microphone set and a notebook, a gloomy seungkwan by his side. jeonghan gave him a thumbs up.
"... gay, or european? it's hard to guarantee!"
jeongin was released from the demonic circle of evil talented people, and was manhandled around like a ragdoll, the sudden dread of a possible dance stunt crippling through jeongin's head. they wouldn't throw him into the air, would they?
the dress twirled as he moved, his feet working solely on muscle memory to not trip on those needle-thin high heels.
he wanted to talk to hyunjin. the play wasn't worth it anymore. sure, they were caught into banters all the time in the past, but they didn't feel so serious as this one. hyunjin was offering to help him, to keep him safe from an alleged serial killer, and jeongin selfishly took all his frustration on him.
as if jeongin had manifested him with only the power of his thoughts, chan appeared among the people dancing around, making way for him like a bunch of moths being chased away.
jeongin wanted to bolt out of there. before, he didn't realize, but now with his reasoning partly coming back, he remembered he'd definitely told chan about him being a criminal. oh, god, where was hyunjin? would chan... oh, god! that was perfect! oh, man, was chan an evil genius! he'd been planning this all along, and now... oh, god, now... he'd kill jeongin right there on the stage, and play it off as part of the performance!
the play would take an abrupt turn: that was a shakespearean tragedy after all!
"they bring those boys up different, there's culturally diverse!" a chair was singing, "it's not a fashion curse..."
"if he wears a kilt," jeongin delicately pulled up a bit on the hems of his dress. "or bears a purse!"
finally, he was able to catch hyunjin's tall self. jeongin had just milliseconds to decide how to alert the other of chan's nefarious intentions.
"yeah, his accent is hypnotic," a potted plant whined, "but his shoes are pointy-toed."
jeongin promptly raised a foot off the ground like he'd been taken straight out of a barbie movie.
he could clearly see hyunjin's face now, slightly hidden behind the set, patiently waiting to sing his part.
"gay or euro--"
"wait a minute!" a fierce hand captured jeongin's wrist, stopping him from trying to go to hyunjin.
he was abruptly turned around, dress twirling in a hypnotic perfect circle as jeongin was face-to-face with chan.
with a devious smile, chan started to say his lines, "give me a chance to crack this guy, i have an idea i'd like to try..."
jeongin's tongue suddenly tasted like a sand milkshake.
"so, young one, this alleged sexual orientation has been going on for...?"
"s-since i was bo-born." those stutters were not part of his lines.
chan's smile turned even more predatory, "and your first name is...?"
jeongin gulped. was it the time, now? the time he would die? "taylor." shouldn't his life be passing before his eyes like a video montage?
from the corner of his eye, jeongin caught a movement. it was hyunjin slowly coming out of his hiding place, waiting for the cue to enter the scene. his heart spiked up a few beats. how could he warn him of this critical situation? it would be mere seconds now before chan pulled out his knife, or dagger, or whatever it was he used to kill defenseless twinks and finally---
chan scoffed, "and your boyfriend's name is...?"
in a thoughtless, abrupt moment in which jeongin felt like he'd been detached from his body (or rather, his mouth being detached from him), jeongin blurted out a breathless, "hyunjin!"
a collective gasp.
then silence.
wow, if chan didn't kill him, he'd do it himself. that was all he could think amidst the deafening, pin-hitting-the-ground, crow-cawing silence. he thought he'd heard a loud slap of skin against skin, and turned his head just to see jeonghan at the backstage facepalming.
jeongin didn't blame him.
"you bastard!"
startled, jeongin snapped his head back towards the sound of that booming voice coming from the stage. it'd been so loud that it had also surprised chan, the grip he had on jeongin's wrist getting a bit tighter.
"you lying bastard!" it was hwang hyunjin. "that's it! i no cover for you, no more!"
he turned to the audience, making a bold move and breaking the forth wall: "peoples! i have a big announcement!"
then he was walking in jeongin's direction, shoving chan to the side (a bit harsher than needed) and taking his other arm, pointing at jeongin's face.
"this person is gay and european! and neither is disgrace..."
directing jeongin's arm to wrap around the back of his neck and the other on his shoulder, hyunjin took jeongin's hips on his hands and directed both of them to the middle of the stage, spinning around as if they were attending a royal ball.
the other actors weren't moving, seeming a bit restless, fidgetting and stealing looks to where jeonghan was. jeongin didn't quite get this part, but hyunjin had clearly rehearsed it thoroughly, since he was taking the lead.
also, from this close, jeongin had full access to the absolute piece of art that hyunjin looked like right now. was the love-struck expression on hyunjin's face real or just an act? was he embarrassed with jeongin's humiliating mistake? he just mindlessly blurted his name, because... what? because he wanted hyunjin to save him from big bad guy chan and snatch him off his feet and take him on his arms and marry him and go to mexico on their honeymoon and get a dog or two or...
god, was jeongin in love with hyunjin?
"you are so gay! you big parfait! you flaming one-man cabaret!" hyunjin rotated them to the side so the audience could see how close their faces were to each other's as hyunjin lowered jeongin to the ground with one hand, grabbing one of his legs with the other as he waited for jeongin to say his part.
"i'm in love with you," jeongin said with confidence.
hyunjin's whole attitude changed drastically. he stuttered his next lines, "you... y-you were not... yesterday?"
jeingin giggled as hyunjin put him back on his feet, opening his arms wide and proclaiming to everyone in that wide room: "so if i may... i'm proud to say... he's gay!"
the dancers and singers seemed to be freed from a spell, and regained life to continue performing their number on the stage, taking their positions and surrounding them into an intricate dance as they chanted along with hyunjin, "and european!"
"he's gay!" hyunjin insisted.
"and european!" they responded.
"he's gay!"
"and european and gay!"
jeongin posed in the middle of the stage like an middle aged pop star remembering his roots and shouted: "fine, okay, i'm gay!"
"hurayyyyy!"