Part 3: Between the Spotlight

Title: Debuting Into Love

Part 3: Between the Spotlight

Rain tapped gently on the windows of the dorm. It was the kind of late night where the world felt paused—quiet, as if waiting for something to happen. Everyone in Eclipse was asleep, curled into blankets and silence. Everyone… except BamBam and Yetao.

They weren’t in the same room. But they weren’t apart either.

Their phones buzzed with messages that went back and forth like steady heartbeats.

BamBam: “Are you still awake?”

Yetao: “Couldn’t sleep. Thinking too much.”

BamBam: “About?”

Yetao: “About you. About this.”

The ellipsis blinked. BamBam was typing. Then deleting. Typing again.

Finally, he sent:

“Come to the rooftop?”

Upstairs, under the rain-speckled sky

Yetao stood beneath a small overhang, hoodie pulled tight over his head. BamBam appeared seconds later, a sweatshirt thrown over his shoulders, looking like he’d run there barefoot in his thoughts.

Neither said anything for a long while.

Just the sound of the rain and the faraway hum of city life.

BamBam stepped close, close enough for their shoulders to brush.

“I’ve been in the industry for a long time,” he said, voice quiet, “but this feels like my real debut.”

Yetao looked at him, brows drawn in curiosity.

“I’ve done stages, world tours, interviews. I’ve had millions of eyes on me. But with you… I feel like I’m standing in front of someone who sees me. Like really sees me.”

Yetao’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I do.”

There was a pause.

A beat.

A heartbeat.

Then BamBam looked at him, gaze soft but certain. “I want this. Even if it’s hard. Even if we have to be quiet for now.”

Yetao nodded. “I’d rather have something real in the shadows than fake love in the light.”

BamBam chuckled softly. “You always say things like that. Deep. Like a lyric.”

Yetao smirked. “Maybe I’m just trying to impress you.”

“You don’t need to try.”

And just like that, under a sky too dark to judge them, BamBam leaned forward—and this time, the moment didn’t hesitate.

Their lips met.

It was soft. Gentle. A beginning.

Not rushed or desperate. Just a quiet answer to all the questions they hadn’t dared to ask out loud.

The next morning: Back in the spotlight

The air in the studio buzzed with the tension of debut day. Makeup artists fluttered around, dancers rehearsed moves backstage, cameras rolled. Eclipse was finally making its first official appearance on live broadcast.

And BamBam and Yetao were professionals—they knew how to wear masks.

But even behind layers of foundation and performance, the air between them had shifted. They didn’t speak much. They didn’t need to. Their glances were enough. A passing brush of fingers backstage. A shared water bottle. A laced look during the choreography when their bodies aligned in perfect synch.

But as they waited behind the curtain before the live performance, reality slipped in.

A producer approached. “The company doesn’t want you two standing too close during interviews. Just… for image reasons. Understand?”

Yetao felt it like a cold wind.

BamBam smiled politely. “Sure.”

The producer left. BamBam didn’t speak. He just stared at the floor.

Yetao reached for his hand. “I don’t care what they want. When we perform… we’re real.”

BamBam looked up. “Yeah. Let’s be real. Even if only on stage.”

The stage lights rose. Music blasted.

Eclipse came alive.

The crowd screamed.

Cameras panned.

Yetao hit every beat with the fire of a man dancing with his truth. And when BamBam stepped into the duet part, their eyes met—not as idols, but as something more.

When the song ended, the crowd roared. Fans cried. The debut was a success.

But in the brief moment between the lights dimming and the curtain closing, BamBam grabbed Yetao’s hand—just for a second. Hidden by shadows. Seen by no one.

But felt by both.

Backstage, moments later

The members laughed and hugged. Staff offered congratulations. The pressure had burst, leaving only joy.

In the corner, away from the cameras, Yetao turned to BamBam. “We did it.”

BamBam smiled. “Yeah. We debuted.”

Yetao stepped closer, so close his voice was only for BamBam. “And not just the group.”

BamBam’s eyes glinted. “No. Us, too.”

And as the noise swirled around them, they stood together—two hearts beating offbeat, but finally in tune.

To be continued...

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