(this song just seems to capture the feeling I intended for this story ^^)
"Don't worry, son. You'll get a girlfriend soon! It might be hard these days; most young women look for a "manly" man, you know, the kind of man that's buff and is fit as a horse...! But don't worry; somewhere out there, there's a special young lady who can see what's really important and appreciate an honest, kind-hearted man."
It wasn't the first time that Choi Seunghyun wished that he wasn't a man.
He sighed softly as he scanned his reflection in the mirror for the umpteenth time. Maybe if his shoulders could lend some of their width to his hips and if his hands were a little smaller...
He shouldn't be so tall, either. Few Korean women were nearly six feet tall. He could be feminine, he thought, maybe even pretty if his eyebrows were thinner and his jaw and cheek bones less defined. His eyes were his best feature- with a little makeup, they could pass for the eyes of even the most attractive poster model.
But what man paid attention only to the eyes of their object of interest? Seunghyun didn't even have to tap into his memories of high school to know that most men looked for a girl with curves, long hair, clear skin, a blush on her cheeks and a bubbling brook laugh.
Of course, not all men were drawn to such a type of girl; there were those who were drawn to more mature girls, who were comfortable enough with themselves to forgo makeup, who were goal-oriented and ambitious.
Maybe a good, Christian girl?
Seunghyun laughed bitterly and bit his lip as his gaze dropped to his shaky hands that unsteadily gripped the counter top of the sink.
He could never be any of those things.
"Hey, Choi!" Jiyong yelled, uneccessarily, from outside the bathroom. "Your date is in five minutes! If you don't get out now, you'll be late."
The stiff smile that Seunghyun forced on his face wasn't as difficult to plaster on as he had thought it would be. It wasn't too much of a challenge to feel some kind of happiness, even if it didn't quite reach his heart, when he had his four best friends living with him.
But it had been a long time since he'd had a smile that reached all the way.
"Son, there's nothing quite like finding that beautiful woman that you want to spend the rest of your life with. It's just...a sense of fulfillment. And when you find her, you treat her right, protect her and make sure she knows that you love her..."
Seunghyun knew it was a little ridiculous that he was afraid of big crowds. He had grown up in Seoul, for goodness sake, and regularly performed in front of crowds of thousands.
But there was something a little different about being out on the street; perhaps it was a still unidentifiable something that had bothered him since childhood. Maybe as a child, he had had some kind of subconscious phobia of losing his parents when they went shopping in town and this translated into feeling uncomfortable in large, anonymous crowds in his current adulthood.
Seunghyun had never really pin-pointed the issue, nor had he ever really discussed it with anyone. It seemed a little silly.
But somehow, Dongwook had always known and in his subtly expressed knowledge, he made Seunghyun feel better. It could be as simple as a gentle, guiding hand around his waist when they were trying to avoid mobs of (mostly female) fans, or a soft "You'll do great" before a show; even just having Dongwook walk beside him, as they were doing now, worked wonders to ease Seunghyun's discomfort. Seeing as they were on a date, Seunghyun couldn't help but to faintly wish that Dongwook would hold his hand or rather, that Dongwook could hold his hand. They were in public after all and although their sunglasses, high-collared jackets and hats provided them with the security of anonymity, it could not give them the shield of "fanservice".
Seunghyun knew first hand that the society in which they lived was nothing but stigmatizing and they would be in much worse shape if they were caught as "two men holding hands" than if they were seen as "Se7en and TOP share some bromance!"
Seunghyun wondered, with criticism-hinted apathy, if calling it "bromance" made the more passionate alternative an easier pill to swallow.
"Hyunnie, are you okay?" Dongwook asked his lover, softly. "You've been awfully quiet..."
Albeit, their date had been to go see a film, but they'd had dinner before and as they walked together now, Seunghyun had hardly said a word.
"No, I'm fine," Seunghyun quickly caught himself, giving Dongwook a bright smile. "I'm just a little tired right now...I went to bed late last night..."
Seunghyun was glad to have seemingly put Dongwook's worried heart at ease, but a small part of him wished that this could play out like a scene from a movie and that Dongwook would somehow just know that he wasn't "fine".
But this was real life and Dongwook could only know as much about Seunghyun as Seunghyun told or showed him.
As they continued walking, Seunghyun saw a number of "co-ed" couples. He wondered how many of them were brother and sister, just friends and meant it and how many of them were really boyfriend and girlfriend.
Why did everyone always assume that a boy and a girl together were a couple but a boy and a boy together or a girl and a girl together were just friends?
Dongwook knew that Seunghyun had insisted that he was alright, that he'd had fun that evening, even apologized for not being so talkative, but he did know Seunghyun better than that.
He certainly didn't miss Seunghyun only kissing his cheek, instead of his lips, when they parted ways.
"A family man. That's what every man should be. With a good wife, children...that, son, is God's gift to man."
Seunghyun knew that Dongwook liked children and would want to be a father, someday. He would make a great father too, Seunghyun thought, he was kind, sensitive, loving...
Seunghyun knew that a family would make Dongwook happy and all he had ever wanted was for Dongwook to be happy...
Maybe that's why, after two years of seeing each other, Seunghyun called Dongwook to break up with him.
Seunghyun was disgusted with himself. First of all, he'd been incredibly insensitive and unjust to Dongwook by breaking up with him over the phone. It was just that he simply couldn't do it in person. If he did, he knew that he would start to cry and Dongwook would know that in his heart, he didn't want them to break up.
But, Seunghyun knew that he had to. For Dongwook's sake, so that Dongwook could get what he wanted out of life, even if he, Seunghyun, couldn't.
-----
Seunghyun had never cried harder than he had when, on a visit to his parents' house, he found books in his father's study with titles such as "A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality" and "What to do When Homosexuality is in Your Home".
Having arrived before his parents, who were out at the time, Seunghyun had actually gathered his unpacked suitcases and left, crying. He'd been seeing Dongwook at the time and even though he knew that his very strict parents wouldn't have accepted that he was in love with a man very easily, he certainly hadn't thought that they would treat him as though he was sick because he loved Dongwook.
He'd told them over the phone, instead, when he called to explain why he'd left.
That phone call had put an end to the relationship that Seunghyun had had with his father.
Seunghyun trid to explain. He loved Dongwook, not desired him. What they had together wasn't lust; it was love. Seunghyun wasn't delusional, he wasn't being promiscuous, he had never had bad experiences with anyone of the same or opposite sex, he had never really had bad experiences, period. His affection wasn't misplaced, he wasn't confused about his sexuality, he wasn't a stereotype and he wasn't rebelling against tradition.
For all the complexity that society fashioned about homosexuality, the "answer" to it all was quite simple, to Seunghyun.
He loved Dongwook and Dongwook loved him. They weren't trying to prove anything, they weren't about to strip off their clothes in the street to protest their right to be liberated, they didn't hate God.
All they wanted was to be able to love each other like any other "normal" couple.
But Seunghyun just wanted Dongwook to be happy...
And now, after he'd broken up with Dongwook, he was crying even harder than he had, when his parents rejected him.
(You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him...Matthew 7:9)
God is the perfect parent, God is the perfect parent...maybe God really is the perfect parent? Maybe God does love me?
"Appa...I love him...! Can't you understand?"
"Seunghyun, you don't know what you're talking about! How dare you say such things! You don't "love" this man!|
"But Appa, I do! And Dongwook loves me and-"
"Don't you ever call yourself our son ever again! If you keep seeing this man, you are no longer our son! Either forget about him or you are no longer a part of this family!"
...God? It's me, Seunghyun...I know I don't pray as often as I should and I know it's been a long time since we've talked but...Is there any answer you can give me? I-Is it really wrong for me to love Dongwook? Did I do the right thing by breaking up with him...?
Jiyong, Youngbae, Seungri and Daesung were at a loss for what to do. Seunghyun had been crying in his room for two days straight, not even coming downstairs to eat. They knew that Seunghyun and Dongwook had broken up, but it was painfully obvious that there had been some kind of misunderstanding along the way.
It was Youngbae who had suggested that they call Dongwook, Seungri who placed the call and Jiyong and Daesung who explained the situation to a worried Dongwook when he arrived and
(this song just seems to capture the feeling I intended for this story ^^)
"Don't worry, son. You'll get a girlfriend soon! It might be hard these days; most young women look for a "manly" man, you know, the kind of man that's buff and is fit as a horse...! But don't worry; somewhere out there, there's a special young lady who can see what's really important and appreciate an honest, kind-hearted man."
It wasn't the first time that Choi Seunghyun wished that he wasn't a man.
He sighed softly as he scanned his reflection in the mirror for the umpteenth time. Maybe if his shoulders could lend some of their width to his hips and if his hands were a little smaller...
He shouldn't be so tall, either. Few Korean women were nearly six feet tall. He could be feminine, he thought, maybe even pretty if his eyebrows were thinner and his jaw and cheek bones less defined. His eyes were his best feature- with a little makeup, they could pass for the eyes of even the most attractive poster model.
But what man paid attention only to the eyes of their object of interest? Seunghyun didn't even have to tap into his memories of high school to know that most men looked for a girl with curves, long hair, clear skin, a blush on her cheeks and a bubbling brook laugh.
Of course, not all men were drawn to such a type of girl; there were those who were drawn to more mature girls, who were comfortable enough with themselves to forgo makeup, who were goal-oriented and ambitious.
Maybe a good, Christian girl?
Seunghyun laughed bitterly and bit his lip as his gaze dropped to his shaky hands that unsteadily gripped the counter top of the sink.
He could never be any of those things.
"Hey, Choi!" Jiyong yelled, uneccessarily, from outside the bathroom. "Your date is in five minutes! If you don't get out now, you'll be late."
The stiff smile that Seunghyun forced on his face wasn't as difficult to plaster on as he had thought it would be. It wasn't too much of a challenge to feel some kind of happiness, even if it didn't quite reach his heart, when he had his four best friends living with him.
But it had been a long time since he'd had a smile that reached all the way.
"Son, there's nothing quite like finding that beautiful woman that you want to spend the rest of your life with. It's just...a sense of fulfillment. And when you find her, you treat her right, protect her and make sure she knows that you love her..."
Seunghyun knew it was a little ridiculous that he was afraid of big crowds. He had grown up in Seoul, for goodness sake, and regularly performed in front of crowds of thousands.
But there was something a little different about being out on the street; perhaps it was a still unidentifiable something that had bothered him since childhood. Maybe as a child, he had had some kind of subconscious phobia of losing his parents when they went shopping in town and this translated into feeling uncomfortable in large, anonymous crowds in his current adulthood.
Seunghyun had never really pin-pointed the issue, nor had he ever really discussed it with anyone. It seemed a little silly.
But somehow, Dongwook had always known and in his subtly expressed knowledge, he made Seunghyun feel better. It could be as simple as a gentle, guiding hand around his waist when they were trying to avoid mobs of (mostly female) fans, or a soft "You'll do great" before a show; even just having Dongwook walk beside him, as they were doing now, worked wonders to ease Seunghyun's discomfort. Seeing as they were on a date, Seunghyun couldn't help but to faintly wish that Dongwook would hold his hand or rather, that Dongwook could hold his hand. They were in public after all and although their sunglasses, high-collared jackets and hats provided them with the security of anonymity, it could not give them the shield of "fanservice".
Seunghyun knew first hand that the society in which they lived was nothing but stigmatizing and they would be in much worse shape if they were caught as "two men holding hands" than if they were seen as "Se7en and TOP share some bromance!"
Seunghyun wondered, with criticism-hinted apathy, if calling it "bromance" made the more passionate alternative an easier pill to swallow.
"Hyunnie, are you okay?" Dongwook asked his lover, softly. "You've been awfully quiet..."
Albeit, their date had been to go see a film, but they'd had dinner before and as they walked together now, Seunghyun had hardly said a word.
"No, I'm fine," Seunghyun quickly caught himself, giving Dongwook a bright smile. "I'm just a little tired right now...I went to bed late last night..."
Seunghyun was glad to have seemingly put Dongwook's worried heart at ease, but a small part of him wished that this could play out like a scene from a movie and that Dongwook would somehow just know that he wasn't "fine".
But this was real life and Dongwook could only know as much about Seunghyun as Seunghyun told or showed him.
As they continued walking, Seunghyun saw a number of "co-ed" couples. He wondered how many of them were brother and sister, just friends and meant it and how many of them were really boyfriend and girlfriend.
Why did everyone always assume that a boy and a girl together were a couple but a boy and a boy together or a girl and a girl together were just friends?
Dongwook knew that Seunghyun had insisted that he was alright, that he'd had fun that evening, even apologized for not being so talkative, but he did know Seunghyun better than that.
He certainly didn't miss Seunghyun only kissing his cheek, instead of his lips, when they parted ways.
"A family man. That's what every man should be. With a good wife, children...that, son, is God's gift to man."
Seunghyun knew that Dongwook liked children and would want to be a father, someday. He would make a great father too, Seunghyun thought, he was kind, sensitive, loving...
Seunghyun knew that a family would make Dongwook happy and all he had ever wanted was for Dongwook to be happy...
Maybe that's why, after two years of seeing each other, Seunghyun called Dongwook to break up with him.
Seunghyun was disgusted with himself. First of all, he'd been incredibly insensitive and unjust to Dongwook by breaking up with him over the phone. It was just that he simply couldn't do it in person. If he did, he knew that he would start to cry and Dongwook would know that in his heart, he didn't want them to break up.
But, Seunghyun knew that he had to. For Dongwook's sake, so that Dongwook could get what he wanted out of life, even if he, Seunghyun, couldn't.
-----
Seunghyun had never cried harder than he had when, on a visit to his parents' house, he found books in his father's study with titles such as "A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality" and "What to do When Homosexuality is in Your Home".
Having arrived before his parents, who were out at the time, Seunghyun had actually gathered his unpacked suitcases and left, crying. He'd been seeing Dongwook at the time and even though he knew that his very strict parents wouldn't have accepted that he was in love with a man very easily, he certainly hadn't thought that they would treat him as though he was sick because he loved Dongwook.
He'd told them over the phone, instead, when he called to explain why he'd left.
That phone call had put an end to the relationship that Seunghyun had had with his father.
Seunghyun trid to explain. He loved Dongwook, not desired him. What they had together wasn't lust; it was love. Seunghyun wasn't delusional, he wasn't being promiscuous, he had never had bad experiences with anyone of the same or opposite sex, he had never really had bad experiences, period. His affection wasn't misplaced, he wasn't confused about his sexuality, he wasn't a stereotype and he wasn't rebelling against tradition.
For all the complexity that society fashioned about homosexuality, the "answer" to it all was quite simple, to Seunghyun.
He loved Dongwook and Dongwook loved him. They weren't trying to prove anything, they weren't about to strip off their clothes in the street to protest their right to be liberated, they didn't hate God.
All they wanted was to be able to love each other like any other "normal" couple.
But Seunghyun just wanted Dongwook to be happy...
And now, after he'd broken up with Dongwook, he was crying even harder than he had, when his parents rejected him.
(You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him...Matthew 7:9)
God is the perfect parent, God is the perfect parent...maybe God really is the perfect parent? Maybe God does love me?
"Appa...I love him...! Can't you understand?"
"Seunghyun, you don't know what you're talking about! How dare you say such things! You don't "love" this man!|
"But Appa, I do! And Dongwook loves me and-"
"Don't you ever call yourself our son ever again! If you keep seeing this man, you are no longer our son! Either forget about him or you are no longer a part of this family!"
...God? It's me, Seunghyun...I know I don't pray as often as I should and I know it's been a long time since we've talked but...Is there any answer you can give me? I-Is it really wrong for me to love Dongwook? Did I do the right thing by breaking up with him...?
Jiyong, Youngbae, Seungri and Daesung were at a loss for what to do. Seunghyun had been crying in his room for two days straight, not even coming downstairs to eat. They knew that Seunghyun and Dongwook had broken up, but it was painfully obvious that there had been some kind of misunderstanding along the way.
It was Youngbae who had suggested that they call Dongwook, Seungri who placed the call and Jiyong and Daesung who explained the situation to a worried Dongwook when he arrived and
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