By the time they reached the NDC venue, the waiting room was filling quickly. Competitive energy thrummed in the air like static. The tension was thick enough to butter a bagel with. After a half-hour of waiting, a tall official stepped forward with the solemn energy of someone about to deliver a war draft.
"We will now announce the rules for Round Four," he declared, clipboard in hand. "Since only sixty-two participants remain, the judges have unanimously agreed, the next round will be a duo round."
The announcement hit the room like a minor earthquake. Dancers exchanged looks like they were about to be thrown into the Hunger Games.
KPT University's five-man squad tensed in sync. It was one thing to perform solo. You controlled the pace, the rhythm, and the mistakes. But as a duo, your fate was linked. If your partner crashed, you both burned.
Ben bit his lip, scanning the crowd instinctively, only to find a dozen eyes already on Daniel. Some were outright hostile. Others were calculating his weaknesses like chess opponents.
Ben wasn't surprised. Daniel's third-round performance had been too brilliant, and his clip had basically gone viral on the NDC site. Of course, people saw him as a threat.
What was unexpected, though, was the few women eyeing him like he was a limited-edition handbag. One in particular stood out. A tall and proud girl with a haughty tilt to her head and eyes fixed on Daniel like she was two seconds from proposing marriage and naming their unborn children.
Daniel, naturally, was oblivious. He was too busy collapsing over Terrence like a rejected Victorian aristocrat. "This is it," he wailed. "My career, my rhythm, my legacy. All gone."
Terrence grunted and peeled him off like a heavy jacket. "We're all facing the same crisis, hyung. Stop being so extra."
Ben chuckled under his breath. Honestly, this guy was unreal.
Three days of distance hadn't helped Ben at all. He missed Daniel like a lost limb. The harder he tried not to think about him, the more Daniel took over his thoughts, swaying from harmless memories to not-so-innocent desires his subconscious had no business indulging.
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to ground himself. He just hoped to get through this round and sort it all out later.
The officials reappeared, wheeling in two tall glass jars, each filled with smooth, pastel-colored egg-shaped capsules. A small bowl of colorful paper origami sat between them.
"This round will test your teamwork, chemistry, and professionalism," the man announced. "As dancers, you won't always get to choose your partners, so learn to adapt. You and your randomly assigned partner will perform as a duo." He paused for effect. "Failure to do so, by either partner, means disqualification for both."
A collective wave of stress swept the room.
"And," he added with a cruel flourish, "each duo will draw an emotion. You must embody that emotion in your performance."
The murmurs rose again. Some dancers just blinked, while some looked like they wanted to fake a faint and escape.
Daniel and Kai weren't helping. They threw themselves backwards like opera singers discovering they had vocal cord paralysis. Sean didn't blink. Terrence sighed like he wanted to quit the group on principle. Ben just tried to breathe.
This could be good. Spending time away from Daniel would help clear his head.
They were divided into two lines, thirty-one dancers to each jar. Each would pick a capsule from the jar and find their partner by matching numbers. The duos would then approach the bowl and draw their emotion.
Ben stood with Kai and Terrence on one side, Daniel and Sean on the other. Ben was near the end of the line. He waited as Kai and Terrence picked their capsules and moved off to find their matches. By the time Ben reached the jar, only three egg-shaped capsules remained. He plucked one out, cracked it open, and pulled out the slip inside.
07.
Ben blinked and looked up, expecting to scan a crowd of strangers.
Across the room, Daniel was waving his slip around, beaming like he'd won a goddamn jackpot.
07.
Ben stopped breathing. Blood drained from his face.
He wanted to scream.
Out of everyone in this competition.
Out of all the sixty-one people in this godforsaken room.
He had to be paired with him.
Daniel, too, saw Ben's slip, and a wide smile cracked on his face. He bounded over, beaming like someone had just told him fried chicken was calorie-free.
"Ben-ah!" he exclaimed. "We're partners! Isn't that great?"
Ben stared at Daniel with all the warmth of a man watching his house burn down.
"Awesome," he deadpanned.
Together, they walked to the center table. Ben moved like a condemned man, fingers trembling as he reached into the origami bowl and drew a red paper star.
He unfolded it. Read the word and immediately—
His brain blanked.
His heart launched into the sun.
His soul whispered, 'Goodbye, bitch.'
The word was:
DESIRE