The night in Seoul has not yet faded, but the lights in the practice room have already been turned on. Ouyang Guang's forehead is covered with fine beads of sweat. She is repeatedly practicing a turning movement in front of the mirror, and her sore muscles are protesting silently under her dance shoes.
Suddenly, the door to the practice room was kicked open. “Xiao Guang!” Kim Seung-hyun kicked the door open, his sports jacket still dripping with water. “Yixing and his roommate are fighting!”
The bottle of mineral water in Ouyangguang's hand fell to the ground, and the cold water flowed like a river on the floor. He didn't even have time to wipe his sweat with a towel, and ran to the dormitory. The raindrops hit his face and hurt. His mind kept flashing back to the scene of Yixing helping him correct his dance moves in the early morning. Those hands were obviously soft and warm, how could he fight with others?
When I pushed open the dormitory door, the smell of blood mixed with the smell of spilled instant noodles hit me. Zhang Yixing curled up in the corner of the bed, his white T-shirt splattered with brown soup, his wrists wrapped with a piece of cloth torn from somewhere to stop the bleeding. When he saw Ouyang Guang, he opened his mouth, and finally uttered a hoarse sentence: "I'm fine."
"Where are they?" Kim Seung-hyun kicked away the tilted stool beside his feet, his voice trembling.
"Send him to the hospital." Zhang Yixing lowered his head and stared at his bleeding palm, "I was too hungry this morning..."
It turned out that Zhang Yixing couldn't hold on any longer after practicing all night for three consecutive days. When he woke up in a daze, he saw two breakfasts on the table. He was so hungry that he didn't think much and just ate them.
"They just came to see me eating, and suddenly they exploded." Zhang Yixing tugged at the corner of his clothes, his knuckles whitening, "They said I was a 'shameless, poor Chinese', and also said...that I would never debut and would only be a burden to the team." He raised his head suddenly, his red eyes filled with resentment, "My brain buzzed at the time, and by the time I reacted, I was already wrestling with them."
These humiliations that Yixing had silently swallowed on weekdays finally became the last straw that broke the camel's back today, and the argument quickly turned into a physical conflict.
Ouyangguang squatted down and gently held Yixing's injured hand. The touch was even colder than he had imagined. "Why didn't you call us?" His voice was muffled and his nose was very sour.
Ouyang Guang punched the wall, shaking the photo frame crookedly: "Those grandsons always bully you! Is it necessary to fight over breakfast?"
Kim Seung Hyun was also very angry and scolded: "Just for such a trivial matter? It's ok to order Yixing to run errands normally, but saying such things is too much!"
Zhang Yixing smiled bitterly and shook his head, his hair on his forehead soaked with cold sweat: "I was the first to attack." He suddenly grabbed Ouyang Guang's wrist, and his nails dug into the flesh a few times, "Xiao Guang, do you think I am particularly useless? I can't even handle such a small matter..."
Ouyangguang hugged the trembling Yixing tightly with his backhand, and his back was soaked. The rain outside the window stopped at some point, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone through the mottled curtains, casting tiny shadows on the ground. None of the three spoke, only suppressed sobs echoed in the small dormitory.
However, the situation was worse than expected. That afternoon, the company posted a notice on the trainee bulletin board: Zhang Yixing had been given a serious warning for serious violations of discipline, all training was suspended, and he was immediately sent back to China. Ouyang stared at the glaring red seal on the notice, his ears buzzing.
Looking at the black words "serious warning, suspension of practice, and repatriation" on the white paper, Ouyang Guang suddenly remembered the day when f(x) debuted and the gleam in Yixing's eyes when he said, "As long as you persist, you can stand on the stage."
At this moment, that face that always had a gentle smile on it was being pressed under thick materials, and the countless days and nights of training with them were about to come to an end.
Kim Seung-hyun was so angry that he kicked over the trash can next to him, and the sound of metal hitting the ground echoed in the corridor.
When packing up, Zhang Yixing found that in addition to a few changes of clothes, most of his suitcase was filled with practice notes. The yellowed pages were densely marked with annotations, and the key paragraphs were repeatedly highlighted with a highlighter. Ouyang Guang opened one of the books and looked at the schedule tucked inside - tomorrow was supposed to be the day they agreed to practice extra.
“Don’t waste your time being sad.” Zhang Yixing suddenly spoke up and put his folded coat into the box. “I will continue practicing in China. When I come back, we will finish the unfinished dance together.” He smiled and patted their shoulders, but his trembling voice still gave away his emotions.
At the Incheon Airport, Ouyang Guang tightly grasped Yixing's suitcase and refused to let go, his eyes red: "Brother, can you please ask the company again..."
“Stop messing around.” Zhang Yixing ruffled his hair, turned around, took out a USB flash drive from his bag and handed it to Ouyang Guang, “Inside it are my organized dance notes, and a few unpublished songs.” His eyes swept over Ouyang Guang, and his Adam’s apple moved, “You have to do it for me…” Before he could finish his words, the boarding announcement suddenly sounded.
At the airport security checkpoint, the moment Zhang Yixing turned around, Ouyangguang suddenly rushed over and hugged him tightly. This person who always took care of them like a brother was so thin at this moment. "Brother Yixing, I'll wait for you." Ouyangguang said in a muffled voice, feeling the fabric on his shoulders gradually getting wet.
Watching the thin figure passing through the security gate and gradually disappearing in the crowd, Ouyang Guang felt particularly sad.
On the way, it rained without warning in Seoul. Looking at the water streaks on the car window, Kim Seung-hyun suddenly said, "Xiao Guang, we have to work harder."
Ouyang Guang looked at the gray sky and nodded heavily. Amid the sound of raindrops hitting the glass, the two young men secretly vowed to turn the dream of three people into the strength for two people to move forward.
Late at night, the practice room returned to silence. Ouyang Guang plugged in the USB drive, and a file titled "Unfinished Dream" popped up on the screen. The moonlight outside the window was like water, and he danced in front of the empty mirror. In a trance, he seemed to see Yixing standing behind him, smiling and saying, "Xiaoguang, reduce the strength here a little bit."
Tears blurred his vision, but he jumped harder than ever, because he knew that this was not only his dream, but also the expectation of two people.
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