The sound of hands clapping echoed across the room as dancer Soobin wrapped up his performance for the night. He bowed with grace, displaying his gratitude to the guests before exiting the stage.
A lot of them would be coming back for more, that was for sure.
He decided it was still too early to retire to rest, so he helped around as a waiter, earning a good amount of extra tips. It wasn't until late at night that the number of guests went down and he could finally take a quick break.
Quietly exiting through the back door, Soobin sat down on a bench and inhaled some fresh air. He took off his rabbit mask and let himself relax a little. The street behind the club was small and quiet, so he could hardly see anyone passing by. Just then, a grey cat showed up and came walking towards him, cutely asking for a scratch behind its ear. Soobin looked at it in awe and picked the cat up.
"Hey there" said Soobin. "Do you have a home?"
"Meow" the cat made a sound. Soobin placed the adorable kitty on his lap and gently stroked its back. "Are you hungry? I guess I can get some food from inside for you to eat". The cat just kept on meowing.
As if on cue, the door opened and another staff walked out. Soobin took a glance and saw his redhead manager with a plastic plate on her hand. Upon seeing her, the cat immediately jumped out of Soobin's lap to nuzzle itself against her heels. Yeji smiled and placed the plate on the ground towards it, to which the cat eagerly gobbled up all the food.
"Ditching work again, are we?" Yeji used her strict manager voice at Soobin.
"N-No I was just..." Soobin eventually gave up on finding excuses and sighed "You're right, I was indeed ditching work. But just for a few minutes, I swear! In fact, I just — was just about to head back in when you came" he quickly rambled, messing up a few words.
Yeji dropped the serious facade and laughed. "What are you panicking for? I wasn't gonna bite your head off"
"How could I not panic? You looked so mad I thought I was getting fired for sure"
"Hey, I'm not that heartless.. I know you're tired. Feel free to rest for another while" She sat beside the male on bench while keeping her eyes locked on the grey cat.
"Is that cat yours?" Soobin asked.
The manager shook her head. "She's not mine. But she always comes here around the same time every night. I sort of assumed she's a stray cat so I kept bringing food for her"
"Oh..."
The red haired pulled out a packet of cigarettes from her pockets and offered one to Soobin. Though he politely declined. "Thanks but, I don't smoke"
"Don't mind if I do then" she pulled out a lighter and began smoking.
"I don't mind. Please suit yourself" Soobin sat still next to her.
"You're in an awfully good mood today" Yeji began.
"You think so? Lia said the exact same thing! But I feel totally normal, though"
"Did something good happen?"
Soobin took her question and thought about it. Have something been making him happy lately?
An image of a man appeared in his head out of nowhere. Even Soobin himself was surprised his initial thought was about that certain senior with dark hair, sharp eyes, and muscles... his heart was beating loud the moment he realized.
"There's this... person who's constantly on my mind" he explained. "And every time I think about them, I feel... strange. You see, it's like a swarm of butterflies flapping their wings inside my stomach and it's so damn weird.."
"Is it a good weird or a bad weird?"
"I guess it's good? I mean, the butterflies come with the feeling of wanting to be with the person and wanting to touch them and hold them ... and get this, it gets even stronger when I'm already next to that person. Oh my god I sound like a total creep don't I?"
Yeji let out a chuckle. "Sounds like a disease"
"Disease? What disease?"
"It's called the lovesick syndrome" she said jokingly.
"L-lovesick? You aren't possibly implying that I'm in love, are you?" Soobin blushed deep red. "That's not likely. That person's been nothing but a jerk to me. Why on earth would I have such feelings for them?"
"It doesn't take good deeds to fall in love with someone, Soobin. Some people even fall in love at first sight, without knowing anything about the other person at all"
"But that person hates me. And I hate them too. I absolutely despise them, actually. So I ... I don't think it's love" Soobin said while doubting himself.
"If you claim to hate them so much, why do you always think about wanting to be with them? You're really bad at denying your feelings"
"What about you then?" Soobin quickly switched the subject of the topic. "What is love to you?"
Yeji inhaled the cigar and let out a puff of smoke in the air before answering. "Love is... a special feeling. You can compare it to a rose that is so attractive and red— it makes us feel eager to touch, to get a smell of it. But it comes with thorns, so sharp and ready to make us bleed when we're not being careful enough"
Soobin listened with his mouth slightly opened. He never would have thought his sexy manager was a philosopher.
"You sound experienced, noona. Have you perhaps ... umm... been with anyone?"
She smiled bitterly. "Yeah, just once. It was a long time ago. We were so in love, or at least I thought we were. It didn't last long and we broke up soon after"
Soobin's face fell. "Oh... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up"
"It's okay. That was way back in high school and I've already moved on. He's probably got someone new, too. I couldn't care less about that"
Soobin nodded and moved his eyes back to the grey cat. "So what do you think I should do? About my... weird feelings" he figured it was a good idea to ask the more experienced person.
"Hm... I say first, you should consult with yourself about your own feelings. Determine whether or not it's love or something else. Once you get the answer, decide if you want to continue feeling this way or you want to back out. The later is easier said than done, by the way. What's important is that you listen to your heart. Your happiness is your own to decide, so don't let other people ruin it. I want you to find true love, don't get your young heart broken like mine"
Needless to say, Soobin was moved by his manager's sincere words. "I understand. Thank you, noona. I hope you find your happiness too. Don't let the past hold you back"
Yeji smiled. "And you better figure out your feelings quickly, before it's too late" she stood up from the bench and dropped the cigarette to ground, stomping on it with her heels.
"Break time is over. Let's get back to work" she opened the back door and went back in. Soobin waved at the cat one last time before following Yeji inside. A lot of things were on his mind that night.
'What if what she said was true? If I really fell in love with Jun-hyung... what should I do? What are the odds of him feeling the same way?'
'In his point of view... I'm just some kid he uses to kill time. He is playing with me just for some temporary fun. Once he finds someone better, he'll toss me away without a doubt' he couldn't tell why just yet, but his heart stung at the thought of that.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, deep down, Soobin already knew the answer.
*———•*+𝘅+*•———*
To be continued...
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Finally some progress =~= or was it too soon?
Sorry for keeping y'all waiting !
Thanks for the votes and comments <3