Ben was once again drowning in assignments, but this time, he wasn't panicking.
After getting roasted by Terrence due to his lack of discipline, he'd begrudgingly adopted his militant study schedule. Two hours of focused work every night after dance practice. It wasn't easy or enjoyable. But it kept him afloat.
His grades were hovering at "not embarrassing," which was still leagues below the standard his parents expected. But Ben took what he could get.
Two days after the third round of NDC, with dance practice paused and his brain fried from the sheer volume of homework, Ben finally dragged himself into the studio. He looked like a ghost someone had tried to dress in sweats.
Terrence wasted no time. "This is what happens when you don't know how to balance academics and dance," he said, voice smooth as ever and tone unforgiving.
Ben dropped his bag with a thud. "Not everyone's a robot programmed to function like a tireless mummy."
Terrence grinned smugly. "That's true. Everyone else just flails in chaos."
"Chill, Ben," Kai groaned, flopping onto the floor like a dead fish. "I'm failing at everything. I tried begging Gyusonim, but it didn't work. The man has no soul."
Ben blinked. "Did you think crying would help?"
Kai looked at him with teary puppy eyes. "I offered to clean the faculty room, too. Still failed. Tài cánrěn le!" [Too cruel]
Ben sighed and flopped down beside him. "Where's hyung?"
Terrence leaned back against the mirror. "Part-time gig. He was weirdly excited and said he was backup dancing for some soloist. Big name, apparently."
Ben tried to suppress the ache in his stomach. Daniel's absence always felt strange. The studio without his boisterous energy felt quieter.
He cleared his throat. "Any updates from NDC?"
Terrence perked up. "Yeah. Apparently, they're scrapping the team format. Not enough teams left with more than two members. Ours is like the last dinosaur."
Ben chuckled. "We survived all three rounds together. That's impressive."
Kai nodded sagely. "Of course we did. We are top-tier performers. We are icons. Legends!"
Terrence side-eyed him. "You forgot 'delusional.'"
Kai puffed up like a defensive frog. "Say that to my face."
"I just did."
Before Kai could launch into a passionate defense of his legacy, the studio door creaked open. Sean stepped in with his usual air of stoic mystery.
He looked directly at Ben. "You missed two days."
Ben collapsed on his back. "I was being crushed under the weight of capitalist academia."
Sean just nodded. "What are you all rehearsing?"
Terrence shrugged. "Just freestyling."
Kai, somehow producing a mouth organ from thin air, blew a tragic tune. "I'm resting before Daniel hyung comes back to murder us with his mentoring."
Ben, now well-rested and somewhat hyper from finishing his assignments, sat up. "Since the team's getting split up in the next round, why don't we try doing a full team dance while we can. Work on coordination, maybe."
Terrence raised a brow, clearly about to veto it, until Sean cut in.
"Okay," he said simply.
Terrence blinked. "You're agreeing?"
Sean shrugged. "It sounds interesting. Let's do an Idol choreo."
Kai's mouth organ disappeared as mysteriously as it had come. He bounced up like an excited child. "Yeah! I always wanted to try EXO's Overdose!"
And just like that, the four of them embarked on their first-ever team dance. It was messy, loud, and wildly out of sync.
But after a long time, they had fun.
***
As the clock crept toward closing time, the studio slowly emptied. Ben stayed behind, too lazy to move, sprawling across a bench in the locker room like a human starfish. His body ached, but his mind felt oddly light.
Just as his eyes started to droop shut, he heard a door click.
He looked up, blinking.
It was Sean.
He walked in calmly and pulled off his t-shirt like it was the most casual thing in the world to do.
Ben sat up so fast he nearly fell off the bench. "Uh…they're gonna close soon."
Sean glanced over, unfazed. "Yeah."
There was no urgency in his movements. He grabbed a clean shirt from his bag but didn't put it on right away. Ben tried to keep his gaze elsewhere, but couldn't help noticing that Sean was built. No one had any right looking like that while being that quiet. He quickly looked away, feeling a little off. He wasn't used to being this aware around guys.
"Do you work out?" Ben asked, voice a bit higher than intended.
Sean glanced down at himself as if noticing his abs for the first time. "Some weight training."
Ben nodded quickly. "Cool. You look it."
Sean blinked at him like he was analyzing a strange bug. Without breaking eye contact, he said, "Your third-round performance was intense. You express yourself really well through dance."
Ben coughed, a bit flustered. "Thanks. You did great, too."
He wanted to say something smart, but his brain felt scrambled. The locker room suddenly felt too small.
Grabbing his bag, he made for the door. "I–uh–I'll head out—"
Sean pulled his shirt over his head and followed.
IMPORTANT
During revision, I noticed that a few chapters felt a bit too long for a comfortable reading experience, so I've divided them into shorter parts to make things easier for everyone. I've also made sure each chapter stays within about 1.5k words for a smoother, more enjoyable read.
I hope you'll take your time with the updated chapters, and if you enjoy them, please consider leaving a like.
Enjoy!