The mirror in the practice room was covered with a thin layer of mist. Ouyangguang wiped it with his sleeve, and his sweaty face was reflected in the mirror. Seoul in December was freezing cold, but the high-intensity training kept his body temperature high. The music playing on the speakers had been looped for the ninth time, and his muscle memory could perfectly replicate every movement.
"Ouyangguang!"
Kim Min-ji's voice suddenly came from the door, scaring Ouyang Guang so much that he almost twisted his ankle. He turned off the music and turned around to see Min-ji leaning against the door frame, panting, her cheeks flushed from running, and a layer of white mist on her glasses.
"What's wrong?" Ouyang Guang's heart suddenly hung in the air, "What happened again?"
"Zhang Yixing..." Minzhi took a deep breath, "The company approved him to come!"
The mineral water bottle in Ouyangguang's hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound. The cold water splashed on his sneakers, but he was unaware. His mind was blank, and his ears were buzzing, as if there were millions of bees flying around.
"Really, Minji?" His voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible. "Isn't this a dream?"
Minzhi pushed her glasses and raised her lips slightly: "Really. I'll be here in two days." She looked at Ouyang Guang's eyes that lit up instantly and couldn't help but add: "Are you happy?"
Ouyang Guang didn't answer. He suddenly turned and rushed to the locker, his movements so fast that they made a gust of wind. His fingers were shaking as he unlocked his phone, and he scrolled through the address book three times before he found Zhang Yixing's name.
The moment the call was connected, Ouyang Guang's throat seemed to be blocked by something. He opened his mouth, but only a choked "Hello" came out.
"Xiao Guang?" Zhang Yixing's voice came through the receiver, warm and real, "Did Sister Minzhi tell you?"
"Brother Yixing..." Ouyang Guang took a deep breath, "You can finally come!" His voice trembled slightly with excitement, as if the emotions that had been suppressed for too long had finally found an outlet.
There was a chuckle from the other end of the phone: "Yeah, the flight is the day after tomorrow."
Ouyang Guang's fingertips unconsciously scratched the scratches on the locker: "After you come, we can live in the same dormitory and take dance classes together..." He suddenly remembered something and spoke faster, "By the way, I'm taking rap classes now, and the teacher said I'm making great progress..."
He suddenly stopped talking because of the reflection of himself in the mirror—the corners of his mouth were raised to an incredible arc, and his eyes were bright as if they were filled with stars. He hadn't smiled like this for a long time.
Over the next two days, Ouyangguang seemed like a different person. He was still the first to arrive at the practice room and the last to leave, but he always had a faint smile on his face. Kim Seung-hyun said he was "like a cat that stole a fish" and was subdued by Ouyangguang's throat choke.
"Be gentle!" Kim Seung-hyun patted his arm and begged for mercy, "I was wrong, can't I forgive it?"
Ouyang Guang let go of his hand and made a rare joke: "If you say that again, I'll throw you into the Han River."
Kim Seung-hyun rubbed his neck and suddenly said seriously, "Honestly, Xiaoguang, you smile too much."
Ouyang Guang was stunned for a moment, then turned his face away: "Stop talking nonsense and practice your dance."
But Kim Seung-hyun clearly saw that the tips of his ears turned red.
The next evening, Ouyang Guang ended his training early for the first time. He went to the dormitory and started to clean up. The bed in the other room had been empty, but he would wipe it carefully every week. Today he changed the bed sheet to a new one with a dark blue starry sky pattern.
When he was tidying up his desk and opened the bottom drawer, a black object caught his eye - it was the drumstick that Yixing gave him.
Ouyang Guang paused and slowly took out the drumsticks. It was a gift from Brother Yixing and he had kept it as a treasure.
The arrival hall at Incheon Airport was crowded with people. Ouyang Guang stood at the exit, tapping the railing with his slender fingers, the rhythm getting faster and faster. Kim Seung-hyun was chewing on his third hot dog next to him, with crumbs falling all over him.
"Can you please pay attention to your image?" Ouyang Guang frowned in disdain and reached out to pat off the onion grains on his collar.
With his mouth full of food, Kim Seung-hyun mumbled, "I'm hungry... Ugh! Here it comes!"
Ouyang Guang turned his head suddenly, his sight passed through the crowded crowd, and caught sight of that familiar figure at a glance. Zhang Yixing came out pushing a cart, thinner than when he left, with a sharper chin, but his smiling eyes were still as warm as before.
He was wearing a simple white down jacket and jeans. His hair was shorter than before, and the ends of his hair glowed a soft brown under the bright lights of the airport.
"Brother Yixing!" The moment Ouyang Guang shouted, he realized that his voice was choked with sobs.
Zhang Yixing looked up, his eyes lit up, and he trotted over. Ouyang Guang came to meet him, and the two hugged tightly in the busy airport.
Brother Yixing had a faint citrus scent on him, the same scent that Ouyangguang remembered, mixed with the fatigue from the long flight. He could feel that the bones in his shoulders were more prominent than before.
"You've grown taller." Zhang Yixing let go of him and compared their heights with a smile, dimples faintly visible on his cheeks. "You're taller than me now."
Ouyang Guang's ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye: "No way, it's still about the same height as me."
He reached out to take the suitcase, and his fingertips accidentally touched the back of Zhang Yixing's hand. The cold temperature made him frown.
Kim Seung-hyun squeezed over and gave Zhang Yixing a bear hug, almost knocking him down: "Welcome! I missed you so much!"
In the taxi, Ouyang Guang insisted on sitting in the passenger seat, secretly observing Zhang Yixing in the back seat through the rearview mirror. The other party was discussing something enthusiastically with Jin Shengxian, and laughed heartily from time to time.
The sunlight shone through the car window onto his profile, outlining a clear outline, and the dimples continued to appear on his cheeks, as if they had never left.
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