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You couldn’t believe your luck - you had managed to make your way to the center of the barricade, being as close as possible to the stage. This wasn’t your first time coming to see your favorite group, but it was your first time being on the main floor instead of the nosebleeds. As everyone else flooded into the stadium, you let out a sigh of relief knowing you had found your spot and didn’t have to worm your way through the crowd to find a better one.
As you waited for the show to start you tried to make conversation with the fans around you. Most other people had come in groups, but none of your friends were really into this type of music, so you always tried to make friends at the shows so you felt less alone. Though, typically you would strike up a conversation for only a few minutes before the small talk faded and everyone kind of kept to their friend groups. You managed to take a couple of photos with the opening set in the background- just to have as proof that you were here. Turning to face the stage, you admired the level of craftsmanship involved in the production quality- it was simple, yet spoke to their band concept so perfectly: “rusted” scaffolding, tattered banners, and their band logo in lettering on the screen in a font that can only be described as aggressive.
Suddenly the stadium lights dim, leaving you and the rest of the fans in total darkness. The stadium erupts into cheers, your voice is just one in a crowd of thousands. Since you are so close to the stage you’re able to make out the sound of the smoke machines and can make out the faintest outlines of bodies on stage in the darkness. The lights slowly rise on the stage in a deep red color, and through the illuminated smoke you see two figures posed under the main archway. Looking up at the other levels of scaffolding you see the rest of the band members with their instruments, as always wearing their signature masks. As the smoke just barely begins to clear you see the taller of the two main figures raise their hand, fingers glinting from the light catching their rings. The crowd roars even louder, the figure using his hand to beckon the crowd for even more, which was very quickly given. As the screams reach their peak, you see the second figure raise their microphone up and there is a soft “shhhhh” that echoes through the arena. As quickly as the screams began, they stopped, with only a soft murmur left. You could feel the desperate kinetic energy building throughout the crowd as you all waited for whatever came next. After what felt like eons, the first figure took his raised hand, swinging it down on his guitar- a loud chord reverberated off the walls and shook your body all the way to the bone.
After striking the first chord, the stadium once again erupted into screams as the song began. The two figures moved forward on stage, emerging from the heavy smoke. And there they were; the front-runners of Crimson Reverie: Park Seonghwa and Jeong Yunho. Yunho’s rings shined as he played the opening sequence of the song on his guitar; his red and black striped sweater full of rips and runs went perfectly with his leather pants and chain jewelry. Meanwhile Seonghwa wore a black mesh long sleeve shirt over a tank top that didn’t leave much to the imagination. His pins and jewelry jingled slightly as he moved, sounding off in tandem as he plucked the chords on his bass.
As they played, both members took extra time to interact with the crowd, coming as far down on the stage as they possibly could. They moved from the outer edges of the stage towards the center, focusing on their instruments and their fans as they went. Seonghwa made it to the center first, locking eyes with you for just a brief moment before looking you up and down and giving you his signature smirk. You stand frozen in place, his gaze sending a shiver down your spine. Standing up to play a more intricate bass part, he meets Yunho in the middle to play their respective parts towards each other, standing as close as they can without the instruments touching. As they play Seonghwa locks eyes with Yunho and subtly cocks his head in your direction- though you are too preoccupied with watching them play to notice. Once Seonghwa makes his way to the microphone stand, you hear his buttery, sultry voice over the speakers, and the guitar solo slowly fades into the background of the song. Yunho takes this moment to finish interacting with the crowd at the center of the stage, and while it feels crazy, you could swear that he just winked at you.
You’re just overly excited, you tell yourself. Of course that wasn’t directed at me. And even if it was, it wasn’t actually directed at me; I just happen to be in the middle and he probably does that no matter who is in this space. Yeah. That’s totally what it was. After talking yourself out of your delusion you focus your attention back to the two men on stage, who have now both found their way to the microphones. You watch them sing to each other and the crowd, their voices mixing in such a perfect way, and you wonder how your friends could miss out on something this incredible. Once the opening song ends they greet the stadium of cheering fans and formally introduce the band- as if they needed it.
The concert proceeded as normal: Seonghwa and Yunho singing and playing to their hearts content and the crowd frantically screaming for them- which only riled the artists up more. They took turns playing their solo songs along with their full group numbers, and as always they found time to come interact with the crowd. Every time they came down to the center of the stage it felt like they lingered around you for just a fraction of a second longer than anyone else, continuously sending goosebumps all over you. But once again, you told yourself you were just being silly.
That's what it’s like being at the front of the barricade. They’re able to see you better so of course they interact with you more. It just feels so different because this is new for you. Breathe y/n, breathe. You kept trying to rationalize, believing that everyone else on the barricade probably felt the same way you did. You weren’t something special, you were just one face in a crowd of thousands- at the front of a crowd of thousands, true, but the point still stood. You tried to focus on enjoying the show, on being here amongst like-minded fans and getting the chance to experience this live, but the way they kept looking at you threw you off every single time.
As the concert started coming to a close you know one song would come along eventually; It was one of their more popular crowd-pleasers, and had put them on the map for so many people. They always found a new way of interacting with their fans during it: sometimes running down the aisles to go sing in the center of the crowd or inviting someone up to play part of the song, but really you never knew what would happen, and that was one of the best parts of it.
“We know you have all been waiting, but we wanted to save this until the end; give you something special as the penultimate song of the evening,” Yunho said, smiling into the mic.
“We wanted to make sure tonight was special for you all, as we always do. We want to take care of our fans in the ways you need us to.” Seonghwa whispered into the mic, and once again you could swear that he looked right at you when he said they wanted to take care of their fans. The guitar slowly came in as your favorite song began playing, and the stadium burst into cheers- it wasn’t called the crowd-pleaser for nothing. As Seonghwa played, Yunho swung his guitar to his back- one of the other band members picking up the part- and took the microphone off its stand. He managed to slink his way off the stage and into the aisle between the stage and the barricade, security making no attempt to stop him. He made his way down the line, slowly serenading each fan he passed, touching their hands, stopping shortly to sing with them; he really knew how to have a crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. By the time he had made it to you, it was the second chorus- which was typically a much slower and sultry version than the first.
Stopping directly in front of you he turns and steps even closer to the barricade than before, looking at you directly and this time there was no question about it. You took a deep breath as he came closer and somehow over the permeating smell of sweat from those around you, you could only smell him: a mix of a woodsy, sea salt cologne and a musk that you could only imagine was just how he smelled. It was so overwhelming you found yourself taking a step back, but before you even knew what was going on he reached out his free hand and pulled you closer by the back of the neck. Now face to face with him you felt the pressure of hundreds of cameras focusing on you, but you couldn’t be bothered to focus on that when you had the Jeong Yunho right in front of you- touching you, singing to you. As his eyes locked with yours you felt like everything else disappeared- the screaming crowd was nothing but a dull murmur, the bright lights eliminating your view of anyone other than him, and as the music slowed, you watched him open his mouth to sing.
“You go down just like Holy Mary. Mary on a, Mary on a cross. Not just another bloody Mary. Mary on a, Mary on a-” his gaze never left yours, his hand pulling you closer by the second, until the only thing between you was the microphone. He seemed to be searching for something in you as he sang, asking a silent question that only you knew the answer to. You nodded in response, not really knowing what the question was, but knowing that the answer would be yes regardless. Right as he finished his part in the chorus, the hand on your neck pulled you closer, and suddenly his mouth was on yours as the rest of the band came in for the final chorus. Time seemed to freeze. This wasn’t happening; this couldn’t be happening. Not to you. Even though your mind raced with the millions of reasons why this couldn’t be real, the soft pressure on your lips was enough to prove to you that yes, this was in fact happening. Before you could even think about kissing back he pulled away, biting his lip and winking at you again before letting go and running down the rest of the barricade back up to the stage.
You couldn’t even begin to process what had just happened. The people around you were shaking you in excitement, not believing that they had been close enough to witness that. The crowd sounded like it was in a bubble and all you could do was look up at the stage where you once again met not only Yunho’s gaze, but Seonghwa’s as well. You managed to tune back in right at the final part of the chorus. Yunho resumed his normal crowd interactions, while this time Seonghwa locked eyes with you as he sang.
“If you choose to run away with me, I will tickle you internally. And I see nothing wrong with that.” Once again you found yourself trying to talk yourself out of your delusions, though this time was much harder than before, as Seonghwa licked his lips, eyes still holding your gaze. Your heart had never beat this loud; it was almost to the point where you couldn’t hear the show, which was both a gift and a curse. You continued to attempt lowering your heart rate, but it felt nearly impossible. How were you meant to recover from something of this magnitude? Even though you needed to take time, the rest of the show continued; The boys played their final song and encores to the crowd of screaming fans, which included you- once you had remembered how air worked. The rest of the concert was without incident, other than the occasional glance in your direction from one or both of the men.
“Thank you for being such a wonderful audience!” Seonghwa called out to the crowd.
“We couldn’t be luckier! You are the most beautiful crowd we’ve ever had, and we wish we could bring you along the tour with us,” Yunho exclaimed, once again looking right at you for the briefest of seconds- your cheeks flushing with this consistent attention.
“But, as that is unfortunately impossible, we must say adieu for now, and leave you to go about your lives. Just try not to forget about us, okay?” Seonghwa smiled at the audience, which erupted into screams making sure they knew there was no way for them to be forgotten. You were fairly sure that this evening would be seared into your mind forever.
“Goodnight everybody!” The two screamed in unison before striking one final chord, plunging the stadium into darkness once more. The cheers from the crowd were deafening and you felt your throat start to scratch as you cheered alongside your fellow fans. As the lights slowly faded back up, the stage was back to looking as it had before the show, this time smoke pouring off the edge of the stage, pooling at the feet of you and all the other people at the barricade. You had some time before the crowd would move enough for you to begin walking away, so you just watched the stage a while longer, trying to fully absorb this evening. You were fortunate that the people around you were immediately trying to figure out the best way to share the videos they had gotten of your special moment, to make sure you had every angle to rewatch later, and most of them had even asked for your consent to post the videos- which you thought was especially caring of them. As you were finally able to start moving with the crowd you found yourself rewatching the videos you had just been sent, and god were you thankful to have so many angles- this way if you ever managed to convince yourself it didn’t happen, you had irrefutable proof of the opposite.
You walked along the edges of the crowd, it felt less claustrophobic that way, and gave you the space you needed while pouring over those videos. Your hand reaches up to touch your lip. How could a kiss be so soft yet so rough? You could still feel the intense pressure from his kiss on your lips and you wondered if you would ever experience something like that ever again. Out of nowhere you feel a hand on your shoulder, startling you enough to jump and drop your phone. You turn to see one of the security guards bending over to pick up your phone and hand it back to you.
“My apologies,” he bows his head slightly. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” As you look up at him you realize this isn’t one of the venue security team members in a neon shirt. No, this security member was dressed in all black, and looked much more put together than the average security guard. “Your presence is requested backstage. And you are more than welcome to bring any friends who may be in your party.” he said in a hushed tone. You looked up at the man in shock.
“Me? Wha-” you begin, before the security guard shushes you.
“Discretion is of the utmost importance I’m afraid,” he says looking down at you. “So, if you would like to collect your friends and follow me, we can get started. Though of course if you’d rather not come backstage that is completely up to you.” You froze, trying to figure out what could possibly be going on, wracking your brain for a non-delusional reason that you’re being pulled aside. Maybe you won a secret ticket draw, or you had accidentally bought a different type of VIP pass, or maybe- “I am afraid that I do need an answer sooner rather than later my dear.” the security guard says with a smile, pulling you out of your inner thoughts once again.
“Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah of course I’d love to.” you whisper nervously, just loud enough for him to hear. Hearing this he placed a lanyard around your neck, and you assumed it was the standard VIP lanyard.
“And your friends?” he asks, cocking his head toward the group of other concert goers that were slowly dispersing.
“I don’t have any,” you mumble, the guard raising an eyebrow at you and you realize how pitiful that sounded. “That’s not- What I meant to say was- I don’t have any friends with me. I came alone.” you looked up at him with a smile, trying not to remind yourself how strange it felt to be one of the only people who came alone.
“Well then, that will make this much easier for everyone. Come with me.” he finally says as he leads you into a crew-only area. You pass through a thick black curtain and you’re there- backstage. You were expecting the crew to be rushing around trying to pack everything up, but it looked like they were just tidying up for the evening. You remembered that they had another show tomorrow night in the same venue, so there was no need to pack the set away. You follow closely behind the security guard, worried that if you were to be separated you’d get in trouble for trespassing. As you walk through the long hallways staff and crew wave to you with a smile, and you can’t help but wave back, though albeit a bit sheepishly. You were still so overwhelmed that you almost didn’t believe this was happening. After receiving yet another smile and wave from a staff member, you glanced down at your lanyard, finally taking the time to read what it said.
“Friend of the band?!” you asked the security guard, your mouth agape. “But I’m not-”
“It’s the best lanyard we have for situations like these” he stated quite simply.
“What do you mean by that? What situations?” you couldn’t even begin trying to understand what was going on, and apparently for good reason.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” And that was the end of that. No more information could be gleaned from this discussion and you were meant to be kept in the dark on what was happening, so you decided to just accept your fate and keep walking. After what felt like a labyrinthian amount of corridors, the guard in front of you finally came to a stop. He turned to face you and smiled before opening the door into what you could only assume was a lounge. Stepping into the room you looked around at the decor: deep red wallpaper, soft leather couches, a fluffy rug, and signed posters on the walls from some of history's greatest performers. You turned back to look at the security guard, tilting your head in question. “Feel free to take a seat, and someone will be with you momentarily,” he smiles and begins to close the door. You make your way over to one of the couches sitting slowly, as you were still unsure of what was going on. You took your time to take in your surroundings, slowly reclining in the seat as you decide to open your phone once more to check the time- not that you had anywhere else to be, of course. You somehow forgot what you had previously been looking at on your phone, so when you opened it you were met with one of the many videos of the kiss from earlier in the evening. You couldn’t stop yourself from watching it on repeat, entranced by the way his lips meshed against yours. Once again you lifted a hand up to your lips, your fingers brushing against the skin as you remembered how it felt, how he felt.
“Did you like that, Little Bird?” a voice whispered into your ear, causing you to jump in your seat and turn your head to face them. Yunho’s face was mere inches from yours yet again, a devious smile had found its way to his lips.
“We didn’t mean to startle you, Angel.” Another voice whispered on your opposite side. “It’s just that you look so perfect studying yourself like that.” Turning once more you’re now face to face with Seonghwa; looking up at you through hooded eyes, he sends a shiver down your spine. You open your mouth to say something, but you find that it has dried up and you can't manage to find anything to say.
“Don’t worry darling, that's perfectly normal.” Yunho says with a smile, stepping over the back of the couch to sit gracefully next to you. His arm finding a place right on the edge of the couch behind you- close enough to feel even though he wasn’t touching you. “Isn’t that right, Hyung?” he tilts his head to look at Seonghwa, who is now leaning onto the armrest of the couch, silently watching you. He hums in agreement, quickly looking away from you to lock eyes with Yunho.
“We do tend to leave people quite… speechless.” he chuckles darkly at his own joke, trailing off as he turns back to look at you. You couldn’t help but notice how his eyes darted down to your neck before looking at you again, biting his lip as he realized you were watching his gaze. “Why don’t we take a moment to get to know you, Angel?” he says with a smile, “We have yet to learn your name.” You looked at him- your mouth dry- as he raised an eyebrow at you, signaling you to speak. Even though you struggled to get any sound out, they both looked at you so patiently, you knew they would wait forever to hear your voice.
“Y- Y/n.” you manage to choke out, trying to smile even though you could barely focus with both of them this close to you.
“Y/n… what a beautiful name.” Seonghwa said, smiling at you. “What do you think, Yu?”
“Perfect.” Yunho sighs out, somehow having managed to move closer than before, though still not touching you. “And what was our Little Bird doing here tonight… alone?” he asks, tilting his head sympathetically. As you open your mouth to answer you feel the fabric of your skirt move upwards, looking down to see Seonghwa's hand holding the hem, his long, delicate fingers playing with the fabric. You catch his eye and he smiles at you, resting his chin on his other hand playfully. You close your eyes as you feel Yunho’s breath on your neck, “Couldn’t bear to share us with anyone else, hm?” he whispers into your ear. You shake your head, causing him to chuckle in response, his breath coasting along your cheek. You subconsciously lean closer to him, trying to close the miniscule gap that remained between the two of you, but he pulls away. “Tsk,” he sharply inhales, “You just can’t stay away from me, can you, y/n?” You feel Seonghwa gather more of your skirt in his hand, revealing more of your thigh to the cold air of the room. His fingernails graze the fishnets on your legs, but still not actually touching you. A quiet whine escapes you at this teasing proximity, your stomach fluttering with need as the older man leans closer to you, taking in a deep breath through his nose.
“Mmmm… smell so sweet.” Seonghwa muses, growing ever closer to you. “Yunho…” he turns his head to look right past you at the younger man beside you, his eyes pleading. “Wanna touch…” he pouts as he continues caressing the fabric at your thighs. A wave of heat rushes through you. You feel Yunho’s hand coast its way around you as he moves to gently run his knuckle across Seonghwa’s cheek.
“I know, Star. It shouldn’t be much longer now,” he said softly as he gave his cheek a gentle tap, “Be patient, and I may just let you have the first bite.” he smiled, before turning his attention back to you. A soft, yet wicked smile graced his mouth as his hand moved up to toy with your hair. You were transfixed as he twirled a strand around his pointer finger, your breathing slow and manual as you made some attempt to maintain composure despite the gentle touches you could just barely feel. “You see y/n, you’ve worked our dear Seonghwa up into quite the state,” you glance down at the man in question, his hand clutching at the fabric of your skirt, resting his head on the couch beside you, staring at Yunho’s hand playing with your hair.
“I- I’m sorry..?” you almost whisper not sure what to do with this information.
“Did you hear that, Hyung? Our sweet Angel is sorry…” he says, voice laced with mock pity, to which Seonghwa can only respond with a low hum. “Darling, do you even know what you’re sorry for?” he asks, tilting his head towards you, not waiting for an answer before continuing, “You are simply too tempting to play our usual cat and mouse game,” he trails off before his free hand brushes up your leg. Following their earlier pattern his hand only touches the fishnets that cover you, somehow never actually touching your skin. “And as much as we want to dive right into this- into you- we have to know that all of this is okay. We need to know that you want us to touch you, y/n.” he locks eyes with you, sincerity dripping from his tone.
“Please,” you breathe out instinctually, looking down to where their hands were on your thighs- or, just over your thighs. You didn’t want to stop and think about what any of this meant, in fear that any moment of hesitation would make them disappear. Somehow sensing your feelings, Yunho interrupted your thoughts almost immediately.
“While I appreciate the eagerness,” he chuckles, “I want you to think on it for more than two seconds for me, Angel. I promise we are not going anywhere, are we, Hyung?” Seonghwa pulled his eyes away from Yunho’s hand and looked directly into your eyes.
“I have no intention of leaving you, sweet thing,” he took another deep breath in, leaning closer to get a better taste of your scent. “Unless, of course, you’d like me to.” He says that part with a pout before pulling back again so you have space to think.
“Tell us to stop and we’ll have our Security escort you out. You’ll get some signed posters and a VIP package for your time,” Yunho says almost clinically, pulling his hands away from you as he does so. You whimper at the loss of closeness, the corner of Yunho’s mouth lifting up in his signature smirk.
“Or…” Seonghwa leaned in once more, until his lips ghost along the edge of your ear, “You stay. Here, with us, and we get to enjoy our time together.” his voice much lower than you normally hear in their songs or videos.
Without moving your head, you turn your eyes to Yunho whose eyebrow is raised, awaiting an answer. “Please. Please Yunho, I want to stay.” Seonghwa lets out a contented sigh as he moves his lips to ghost over your neck and shoulder, the lack of actual touch driving you insane. “Please, I want- need you to touch me. Please…” You whine as you try to lift your body so Seonghwa’s mouth actually touches you, but he moves just enough to maintain the distance. Yunho gives you a sickeningly sweet smile before leaning over to the table beside the couch, producing a few papers, a clipboard, and a pen.
“I am going to need that in writing, first, Little Bird.” he smirks as he sinks onto the couch next to you, handing you the clipboard. You quickly glance over the paperwork catching a few words here and there: ‘NDA’, ‘health & safety clause’, and ‘biting’ being just a few that caught your eye. You chided yourself for not reading it thoroughly, but at this point you were ready to sign your life and soul away just to get them to touch you. They could have whatever they wanted, so long as they took you too. Seonghwa’s breath grew heavier against your skin as he saw you signing the last paper, still not actually making contact with your skin. Once you hand the clipboard back to Yunho, he slowly goes over every signature, just to make sure nothing was missed. Smirking, he slowly stands up, holding the clipboard to his chest.
Seonghwa pulls himself away from you and looks up at Yunho, waiting for an answer, his big doe eyes shining with the reflection of the lights in the ceiling. The younger of the two slowly makes his way to the door cracking it open and handing the clipboard to whomever was standing outside. After waiting a brief moment- assumedly for them to triple check everything is squared away- Yunho turns back to the two of you, a devious smile playing on his lips as he gently closes the door.
“Oh, Little Bird…” he says, nodding to Seonghwa while reaching over to the light switch, “How much fun we’re going to have with you.” And suddenly the room is plunged into darkness.