You woke up with the sound of your ringtone, your phone vibrating and being way too loud for your taste. You buried your face into your pillow, groaning and mentally cursing whoever was trying to reach you at such an ungodly hour. You grabbed your phone and squinted your eyes at the screen, the sudden light hurting them, so that you could see who was calling you. “If this is a prank call I swear to go- oh?” you stopped yourself as you recognized Seungyoun’s contact name. Without hesitation, you picked up.
“Seunyoun?” your voice came out lower and hoarser than you expected so you cleared your throat in an attempt to make it sound normal. A low chuckle could be heard from the other side of the line.
“Hi” he said “I’m sorry I woke you up” he was almost whispering, whether it was because he was tired or because you had just woken up you didn’t know “I just-I just needed to hear your voice.”
You couldn’t help but smile at his words, your cheeks quickly getting hotter, thank god he couldn’t see it. “Are you still practicing?”
“Yeah, but I think I’m gonna call it a day soon”
“Please do, it’s too late already, you need to sleep.” You spoke in a worried tone, you hated that he had to stay up and practice for hours on end. To him it didn’t matter if he got every single step in the choreography right, it didn’t matter if he knew his lines and had already gone through them a thousand times, he would still make sure to practice everything until exhaustion took over him. He was a hard worker and you couldn’t be prouder but he needed someone to bring him back to reality and to remind him that he’s not a robot and that it’s okay to take care of himself. That someone was you.
“I know, I know, but…” he sighed “There’s just so much stuff to do.” You couldn’t see him but you knew he had his spare hand going through his hair in frustration “The final is in three days, I need to get every single detail right. What if I mess up and ruin the performance for everyone?”
“Seungyoun-“ you tried to stop him but he was way too immersed in his rambling to notice.
“Ah I really can’t mess up, I can’t disappoint everyone who’s been supporting me, I can’t disappoint you, I-“ he just kept going on and on, his insecurities and worries spilling through his lips.
“Seungyoun, can you please stop it” you raised your voice a little to get his attention “Babe, I know that you’re nervous and even scared but I also know that you’ve got everything under control. Relax, freaking out will do you no good.” You reassured him.
“Ah, you’re right” he sighed again “I’m sorry I’m bothering you and keeping you awake, it’s just… You’re the one thing keeping me sane right now.”
Your heart swelled with his words and you gently bit down on your bottom lip to keep you from smiling.
“Ugh, I miss you so much” you whined, “I would definitely go over there if I could.”
He laughed “I know, I would too.” You both stayed in silence, just listening to each other breathing for a bit until he broke the silence.
“I won’t bother you anymore, I’m heading to the dorms now, go back to sleep.” You could hear the rattling of clothes and steps so you assumed he had gotten up from the floor.
“Feel free to bother me any time you want. Also, you better go straight to bed, if I see you are online I will literally fight you” you playfully warned.
“You can’t even do a push-up, I doubt you would be a dangerous opponent.” He teased, laughing.
“Stop it! Go to bed, now!” you whisper shouted.
“On my way. I’ll hang up now.”
“Seungyoun” you called, not wanting him to hang up just yet.
I always loved Giriboy and his music, but I thought that in 2019 people would have gotten the memo that dressing up as someone from another culture/ethnic background is not funny, or acceptable.
Keffiyeh isn't a joke nor a costume, and neither is a thobe. It is important to a people and their culture, their tradition. Not some joke.