#72
The celebrity lineup for the second day was much better than the first day, so he hadn’t expected there to be this many people. Still, the reason he had told Taeseong they absolutely had to watch the performance was none other than one of the singers coming today.
He was a famous ballad singer from an audition program. Although he finished the audition program with a somewhat disappointing 4th place, he quickly gained attention by covering famous songs with heartfelt melodies. Now he was more popular than the singer who had placed 1st, singing countless drama OSTs.
All the dramas that featured OSTs sung by that singer were romance genre, and the songs were also sweet or sorrowful to match the genre. He had released albums that weren’t drama OSTs, but they didn’t receive much attention due to their obscure-style melodies. That’s why all his representative songs were drama OSTs. That was also why Bonoh was so taken with that singer.
Generally, when artists come to university festivals, they always sing their representative songs, so today sweet melodies were scheduled to resonate throughout the main stadium. Or sorrowful ones. Bonoh prayed that those melodies would make Taeseong’s emotions even a little bit softer.
Just soft enough that after listening to the songs, even if he received a confession from his same-sex roommate friend, he wouldn’t despise or condemn him but would politely reject him. Of course, it would be great if he got caught up in the atmosphere and ended up dating him by chance. Even if he got dumped later, it would hurt more, but he wanted to be Taeseong’s boyfriend for even just one day.
Even when they had just entered the main stadium, he had already thought there were many people, but as the performance time approached, people began to crowd in even more. Every time people bumped into him as they passed by, Taeseong’s expression began to contort. Until just a moment ago, even when Taeseong’s expression hardened, he would quickly try to compose himself again, but now he wasn’t even showing such effort.
This was bad. Bonoh began to worry that this might backfire. He was concerned it might cause trouble. Just then, the song flowing from the speakers stopped and someone walked up onto the stage. He introduced himself as the host and announced that the performance would begin soon.
The host killed time with some uninteresting talk, then the singer Bonoh had been waiting for so eagerly came up on stage. Only then did the gazes of the people in the main stadium turn toward the stage.
When the intro started playing, the cheering people’s reactions became ambiguous. It was because it was the intro to an album title track, not a famous drama OST. Instead of a heartfelt melody, a strangely trot-like melody echoed through the main stadium.
“……”
Bonoh checked Taeseong’s expression. It wasn’t much different from before the performance started. It was fortunate that it hadn’t gotten worse, but it was troubling that it hadn’t gotten better either.
Well, he probably wanted to sing his album title track instead of the OST he always sang, at least for one song. He had even written the lyrics and composed it himself. He must have his own musical world he’s stubborn about… With that thought, Bonoh waited for the song to end.
-I thought I’d get used to days without you. But now my life without you is like a cafe without wifi.
Maybe because the singer wrote it himself, the lyrics were a bit obscure. Why didn’t he use a lyricist… The audience in the main stadium seemed to want to actively respond to match the festival atmosphere, but since they didn’t know the lyrics, no one sang along.
-No matter how long I sit here, it’s meaningless.
The atmosphere in the main stadium gradually began to decline. The singer seemed to notice too, saying “Ho, everyone together!” and turned the microphone toward the audience, but there was no sound of anyone singing the latter part.
-…Data is lacking but traces of you are overflowing.
Because of this, the singer missed the beat and came in one beat late. The first song ended like that, and Bonoh breathed a sigh of relief.
Now he’ll sing a sweet song, right? There’s no way he’d come all the way to a festival and not sing a single representative song. However, not all the principles of the world operate within the range that one individual can understand. The second song, and the song after that, were all not OSTs either.
Bonoh began to half give up. If he confessed to Taeseong after the performance ended in this atmosphere, he would surely get swept up in the sinking mood and the result would be disastrous. Since the performance had also lost its original purpose, it might be better to promise to confess tomorrow and escape to a quiet bar with Taeseong right now.
“Ah…”
Just as he was about to suggest to Taeseong that they leave, someone bumped into his shoulder as they passed by. Whether they were trying to leave or not, the person who bumped into him disappeared without a single word of apology.
Ah, really nothing’s going my way today. Bonoh stumbled and was pushed backward. Then Taeseong, who had been standing quietly beside him, grabbed Bonoh’s shoulder and supported him so he wouldn’t fall.
“Ah, thanks.”
Even after he said thanks, Taeseong’s hand didn’t leave Bonoh’s shoulder. When he said thanks, Bonoh hadn’t thought much of it either, but as the hand lingered longer, it became a bit strange.
“There are a lot of people. Be careful.”
Taeseong’s hand on his shoulder slid down his arm and just before falling away, grasped Bonoh’s hand.
“…Yeah.”
Bonoh barely managed to answer while clasping Taeseong’s hand in return. Taeseong’s hand was a bit cold. Unlike Bonoh, whose whole body was warm year-round, Taeseong seemed to have poor circulation in his hands and feet. When these hands touched his body, this temperature brought different stimulation.
And Taeseong’s hand was smooth, unlike his own. The hand was pretty, resembling its owner. Though it was quite large, it was white with long, slender fingers that didn’t feel rough at all. The knuckles didn’t protrude, so when just looking at the hand, the fingers appeared thin… but when they touched certain hard-to-mention places, you could tell they were quite thick.
He glanced at Taeseong. His gaze was fixed on the stage. Did he like this kind of song? His face was slightly stiff with his gaze fixed only straight ahead, so it didn’t seem like Taeseong was particularly focused on the stage or song either. Rather, he looked like someone who was nervous. Maybe Joo Taeseong was also… When his thoughts reached that point, Bonoh also hastily turned his gaze to the stage.
He changed his mind about suggesting they leave to Taeseong. Absolutely shouldn’t leave. He pretended to focus on the stage on purpose. He didn’t even move. He was afraid that if he did, Taeseong might let go of his hand. His eyes faced forward, but all his body’s senses were focused on the hand clasped with Taeseong’s. He began to worry whether his palm might start sweating.
If possible, Bonoh wanted to keep holding Taeseong’s hand like this and continue listening to obscure trot ballads. Just moments ago, he had been waiting for the song to end, but now he wished the song would continue forever. Even though neither the melody nor the lyrics were registering in his ears.
“Huh?”
A raindrop fell on Bonoh’s nose as he stared stiffly at the stage. As he was wondering about it, one or two more drops fell.
“Ah, there was no news of rain today.”
Someone standing nearby said irritably. So there was no news of rain today. Bonoh, who wasn’t good at planning, had resolved to confess but hadn’t thought to check the weather.
With the rain starting to fall, people in the main stadium began moving busily. There were people who tried to open umbrellas but then closed them again because they would block others’ view, people who tried to leave the main stadium, but there were also those who just decided to get rained on while continuing to watch the performance.
The rain was very fine but quite heavy. Since it poured suddenly, the stage seemed to have no preparation for it. The singer on stage was also soaked and continued singing while going “uhh-puh-puh.” When he opened his mouth wide to hit high notes, you’d worry that rainwater might pool in it.
Bonoh wondered if they should leave and glanced at Taeseong sideways. Joo Taeseong hated dirty things and was sensitive to humidity in bathrooms, so he probably wouldn’t like getting rained on, right? Then Taeseong’s eyes, which had been fixed straight ahead, turned toward Bonoh.
“Kim Bonoh, are you cold?”
“No.”
“Then it’s fine.”
Taeseong squeezed Bonoh’s hand tighter. It was still a hand that held coldness from poor circulation, but Bonoh felt warmth from that hand. He wasn’t cold at all.
Bonoh’s gaze also turned back to the front. Not much conversation passed between him and Taeseong, but that was enough for Bonoh.
The singer who had been performing pitifully went down from the stage. When his retreating figure disappeared, soon the host came up on stage to refresh the atmosphere. Next a girl group came up, then another singer after that continued the stage. Except for the first singer, everything was decent. There were no major problems except that one member of the girl group almost slipped on the wet stage, so they sang the last song without choreography.
By the time the performance ended, the rain had stopped too. People slowly headed toward the main stadium exit. Bonoh also walked slowly among the people, holding Taeseong’s hand. Due to the crowd, they couldn’t walk side by side, and it became a situation where Bonoh followed behind Taeseong – if they hadn’t been holding hands, he would have lost him.
People who had left the main stadium either went to bars or left the campus entirely. It seemed like they were going to bars near the school. Bonoh also felt reluctant to part with Taeseong like this. However, both of them were soaked from the rain, making it awkward to suggest going somewhere.
“Joo Taeseong, you have to drive when you go home, right…?”
Instead of directly asking if he wanted to drink, Bonoh decided to probe Taeseong indirectly. If he said he had to drive, he’d just let him go, but if he seemed to hesitate a bit, well, he’d suggest going to a quiet bar a bit away from school. He felt like he might gain the courage to confess if he got tipsy.
“No. I’m going to a nearby hotel because it’s uncomfortable having the seats get wet with rainwater.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
