Ch.27
Jimin's P.O.V.
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Holding my phone tightly in my hand, I kept staring at the screen. My eyes were glued to it. Not like anything super interesting was on it. People would get up one by one and pass by me. The door would open and some would enter happily or nervously. How they exited made me feel like throwing up. Where was the closest bathroom? Lifting my head was hard. I kept avoiding stares from everyone as new people took empty seats. All I had to do at the moment was breath naturally. For some reason, I thought I had built up the courage to come here, but the pain wasn't over. My whole body was shaking with nerves as the woman opened the door with a clip board.
"Park Jimin..." She listed names off her clip board. The rest of the names were muted after I heard my own. Was it too late to run? Getting up from my seat, I turned off my phone and put it in my pocket.
Three other guys came with me into a large room. The floor looked almost spotless, the wood shining as the sun came through the high windows. There was a long table in the back of the room with chairs scattered around. Only two people actually sat behind the table with a water bottle in hand. Shaking my hands, I kept my posture straight as I looked around the room. A whole wall was a mirror and I let out an involuntary gasp. The three guys were already checking themselves out, trying to stretch, and show off some small moves. I didn't move like them. Instead I stood in front of the table with the most confident smile I could muster. While the guy continued writing something on his notebook, I waited for him to finish.
A few scoffs were let out from the other boys. Especially from the one with his hair dyed a strange color. It looked like it wasn't fading right, but I wasn't one to judge. The other two kept their natural hair color while I had my blonde hair. Just for today, I even put in blue eye contacts. Taehyung once said that they made me look fierce and Jungkook told me I looked really pale. Either way, I felt like I dressed nicely for this occasion. The others were in all black athletic wear while mine was a bit more formal. The man behind the table put his pen down and looked up. He seemed a bit startled to see me smiling at him. I wasn't ready in the least, but (F/n) makes me want to be confident. The other guys stopped moving around and followed my actions as I bowed.
"Hello." He crossed his arms. "I'm the choreographer, Sungmin. Introduce yourselves to me individually. Let's start with you." He pointed directly at me.
"Hello, my name is Park Jimin! It's nice to meet you." I smiled. "Please take care of me!" Sungmin eyed me with an unreadable expression. It changed slightly when the boy with the strange hair let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm Hyungseong." He stopped chuckling. He crossed his arms as he gave me a side glance. I wanted to be nice and I was going to be. But in my opinion, I felt like this guy was too confident over nothing. Sungmin carried less interest with him due to his personality. He continued with the other boys and gave them the same unreadable expression.
Our looks were definitely getting judged which made me nervous. It brought up a lot of insecurities I had with myself, but I pushed them all away. We came here to dance. I'm actually going through with the audition (F/n) sent me. Jam Entertainment wasn't that big of a company, but it was still intimidating. Female interns roaming around the room were looking at us as Sungmin walked closer up to the mirror. Hyungseong noticed and sent them all a wink. Did he forget Sungmin could see this all through the mirror? My eyes tried to focus on Sungmin since I wanted him to know how attentive I could be. Girls weren't going to distract me and I took things seriously. The other two gentleman were trying their best to do the same.
Sungmin began giving us an eight count. He showed us the moves once as we all tried to pick it up. The other auditioners picked up the moves quickly. Even Hyungseong was leaving me in the dust and it was only the first eight counts of the dance. It made my stomach twist as I slowly did the steps. I've never had proper training compared to these other guys. They must audition and work hard all the time. Hyungseong can at least have that under his belt. All I do is learn idol dances for fun and think I'm somewhat decent at them. Maybe it was all in my head. But (F/n) loves my dancing so much. It was hard to pull myself out of the blackhole I had created. Sungmin watched me as I repeated the steps for the millionth time. They were waiting on me.
"...C-Can you repeat the steps?" I asked in a soft voice. Sungmin's eyes narrowed down on me with slight frustration. Hyungseong rolled his eyes, trying to get the other guys annoyed of me. They luckily didn't care in causing drama right now. Sungmin only told me what the steps were and for me to count them out.
Step forward with your right leg, dip into a lunge, bounce up with your feet together. Then step back diagonally. What was next step? I tried my best to count it out, but I wasn't that good at it. Despite not knowing the exact counts, I finally got a grasp on the moves. It put a huge smile on my face as I looked back at Sungmin who wasn't as happy as I was. He was silent before continuing the next eight counts of the dance. The total dance had thirty-two counts. It was a little easy when he went slow. Then it got harder when he added arms to the dance moves. Now I had to really use my whole body. While my brain tried to sort everything out, Sungmin played the song and showed us how fast it should be performed.
We all nodded. There was sweat forming on my forehead as I nervously repeated the moves on the side lines. All my movements were slow as I processed the steps and memorized them. I'd rather do them correctly and slowly then mess it all up at full speed. Hyungseong was already doing the fast version but kept using the wrong foot to step out on. He didn't notice how that little mistake slowed down his timing by a few seconds. The other dancers were trying to go at full speed, but occasionally had to think on which movements were next. They were all good dancers. Was it obvious to the interns that I wasn't talented enough? Sungmin took a sip from his water bottle. Soon he would make us perform the dance. If it wasn't to his liking then we would receive a heart wrenching call. Why did I show up?
"Move it!" Hyungseong huffed as he bumped into me. All his movements were big, more emphasized then they should be.
"You're stepping out on the wrong foot," I stated to see his face change. He looked down at his feet in disbelief.
"What are you taking about?" Hyungseong was ready to get angry again, but I showed him the correct movement. He watched me do the dance movement. Instead of counting out the steps, I sang the song lyrics that went with the movement.
"Here." I did the correct step forward as I finished the dance. Hyungseong paused before doing that part himself with my advice. His timing was finally correct as I hummed the tune of the song. Sungmin put the cap back in his bottle, watching the four dancers. Hyungseong didn't say a word. At least he didn't say anything rude, but I'll take a thank you whenever he's ready.
"You only get one chance to perform it as a group and individually." Sungmin crossed his arms. We all nodded, spacing ourselves. He didn't give us any positions. He only watched what we came with. As the four we were.
Hyungseong and the guy wearing white shoes were in the front meanwhile I was in the back with the other guy. The dancer next to me was in the window between the two dancers. I was to the left of Hyungseong. Sungmin played the song without a second to waste. It began playing out the speaker and I noticed Hyungseong was off on the starting time. But I tried to pay attention on myself. Sungmin made us dance towards the table. We didn't have the mirror to see how our movements looked like. Hopefully, I was emphasizing the right movements in the dance. The other dancers were trying to go for a robot dance while I went for jelly trying to become stable if that made sense. I don't know, but I knew it was important to have a unique dance style.
(F/n) is going to be proud of me. She'll be happy to hear that I actually went out for this. It wasn't my plan to try-out, but as the date came closer the audition was all I could think of. If I don't get selected, I'd rather they not call me at all. It's better than hearing 'no'. Towards the ending of the dance, I made sure to move my head up like he said, but I forgot to raise my hand up. He definitely saw that. I quickly raised my hand up in embarrassment with my fingers making a gun. Sungmin turned off the music and began to write stuff down. In that moment, I dragged my hands down my cheeks. He saw me fail. All I had to do was that simple dance move. If only I had enough time to practice. Repeating the moves again, I tried to do it as much as I could. The other three dancers were still panting from the first try.
Hyungseong muttered that I'd lose stamina and I'd get out of breath. He was right. My dance won't be as energetic as it needs to be. It felt like I couldn't win, but I had to think of (F/n). I'm doing this for her. It's okay if I'm not chosen. I don't want to be an idol. I just want to dance. In the end, this should be for fun. Sungmin made three of us go to the side. We were now going one by one. Swallowing hard, I tried practicing again, but Hyungseong grabbed my shoulder. He pulled me to the side with a serious expression. It was no longer obnoxious and his tone of voice wasn't sarcastic. That helped calm me down from the frustration I felt earlier.
"Watch this guy dance. It's not polite to practice while someone is performing," Hyungseong muttered, "Besides, it helps to learn from watching others dance."
Staring at him with big eyes, I finally nodded. He was right. We all watched the first guy perform the dance. No one spoke a word as the song played. There were somethings I saw in his dancing that was really cool. He made his popping obvious, but not forced. Not mention he had great control over his body. This guy was most likely a b-boy who danced on the streets. Those guys were always so cool to me, but they probably would laugh at my girl group dances. They were just fun to learn. Once he finished, he was allowed to leave. Sungmin wrote some stuff down before calling my name. I couldn't feel my body anymore. Did I have to go next? I wanted to be last. I'm gonna fail. And vomit.
"You can do it. I saw it while you were practicing." Hyungseong pushed me forward. Turning back to face him, he kept a cool expression and the guy next to him gave me a thumbs up. Hungseong really wasn't what I was expecting him to be at all. Getting to the center of the floor, I waited for the music to come on. I'm going to make (F/n) proud.
Reader's P.O.V.
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Jimin looked like he wanted to tell you something so badly. He kept looking at you and more than usual. During the break period, he was tapping his foot impatiently. Taehyung was glad to be back at school. He was shocked by his words, but he was grateful. He told Mr. Pyo how much he missed him. Little does Mr. Pyo know that Taehyung was in jail. Taehyung had a lot to think about when he sat in that cell. That's why he wasn't mad like he thought he would be. He was still a bit hurt but felt better when Hoseok came to get him. Then Hoseok even got put into jail for him! That's how Taehyung took it anyway. That's what made things even.
Jungkook talked to you briefly and you were happy to just be normal friends again. Sometimes the drama could be so draining. Could these boys ever catch a break? Well, it's all over for now. Jimin and you separated from the two youngest members to head over to Ms. Lee's class. As the year continued, the grumpier she got. A smile has never been found on that woman. Jimin was going to tell you something as soon as you guys arrived to the 'line' but she was already telling people to run laps. Class hasn't officially started yet. Rolling your eyes at the woman,you parted with Jimin to go change into your physical education clothes.
The rumors that you're the gang's slut has almost vanished. No one ever mentioned it in the changing room. That made things easier for you. It was completely forgotten about at this point and Yoongi isn't as hostile as he used to be. Namjoon's hospital and medicine bills are cleared up. Plus, his mother is recovering nicely. She's going to start working again tomorrow. Seokjin is also able to lift items with his shot arm. He used to hold just his keys with that arm and suddenly it would fall without warning. It made him upset at first, but then he stopped caring. Now he was holding boxes with a smile. Jungkook was shocked Seokjin wasn't more upset, but it was all a matter of what they considered important to them. Jungkook was the muscle of the group after all. He got frustrated with the steroid symptoms making him feel fatigued. But he had no reason to be mad anymore. The symptoms were gone and steroids were completely out of his system.
Good news just keeps happening now. Leaving the locker room, you got excited to see Jimin waiting for you outside. Immediately, you threw your arms around the blonde boy. He laughed and hugged you tightly. The smile on his face was still bigger than yours. What's going on? Jimin held your hand as he brought you to the track field. Ms. Lee blew her whistle to see the physical contact between the two of you. Laughing, your hand was released to Jimin's dismay. The two of you still ran side by side. Over the school year, you've gotten a little faster at running. Jimin still runs faster but slows himself down for you. Soon you'll reach his level!
"What's got you all smiley?" You giggled as he quickly looked down.
"I've been wanting to tell you this since yesterday." Jimin's round cheeks grew pink. "I did the audition for Jam Entertainment."
"You what!?" You began to squeal. Now you were bouncing instead of running. "Jimin, oh my god! That's amazing!"
"I think it went well, but I don't know." He quickly ran his hand through his hair.
"I'm sure it did, Park Jimin!" You playfully smacked his arm. "Look at you~! You're so talented. I'm sure you left a good impression even if they don't choose you."
"Thanks. I doubt I'll get chosen, but I had fun," Jimin admitted.
"That's good to hear!" You clapped your hands as the both of you finished your first lap.
Ms. Lee was starting to really put down the hammer. The school year wasn't over yet. A part of you wanted it to be over, but a bigger part of you enjoyed having your friends at school. Besides, this was Seokjin and Yoongi's last year at SuChin high school. That was really sad to think about so you thought about all the good news today. Jimin actually did the audition! Jam Entertainment has to see the amazing potential in Jimin. Maybe he'll become a trainee for a few years and then get famous. Hopefully he won't forget you or the rest of the boys. As much as Yoongi didn't want Jimin to dance, you were going to make it happen.
Physical education was over for the day. Lunch could finally begin! Jimin and you did not mess around when it came to lunch. The both of you run faster than what you do during Ms. Lee's class. That would be considered jogging, but Ms. Lee doesn't care. As long as you're moving fast enough to the point where it looks like you're exercising. Jimin opened the cafeteria door for you as you slid into the line. Waiting for food can take forever. That's why bolting here after class is essential. The blonde followed you out of the line and walked with you towards the outside. Another sunny day! Everyone was already outside to your surprise. Except for the second years that is. Normally, the third years take the longest.
Sitting down with the first years, they didn't hesitate to bring you into the conversation. Jungkook was going on about his old athlete days. Taehyung refused to believe Jungkook was once considered the best in Korea. The maknae insisted that he helped bring multiple teams to Nationals. He said they all relied on him because he was such a beast. Jimin shook his head as the doors opened. Hoseok and Namjoon came outside with not the brightest expressions. The smile on your face wasn't strong as before. Oh no, what's wrong now? You got too comfortable with good things happening to the gang. It wouldn't take long before the world attacked them once again.
"What's with those faces?" Seokjin furrowed his brows.
"I thought you two made up." Yoongi chewed on his straw.
"We did. Hoseok just has some bad news." Namjoon patted the red head's back. "But nothing that we can't fix."
Everyone stared at the second years. Bad news yet it could be changed? Then it can't possibly be too bad. That part relieved you. If it was something the gang couldn't fix then you'd probably be in a darker mood. A lot has happened to the gang. You might have not affected the group as whole, but you liked to believe you changed some of the member's lives in positive ways. Yoongi can believe whatever he wants. This is just what you think. Hoseok and Namjoon stay down with everyone on the floor. They didn't even take out their food. How serious was the new issue? They danced around the subject a little making the curiosity inside you rise.
"My parents know that I was in jail." Hoseok sighed as all the boys around you appeared more worried. You didn't know how his parents were, but you knew that was still a bad thing. Your parents would kill you if they ever had to get you out of jail. "They got the call since I'm still a minor too. They weren't going to get me out as punishment, but luckily Seokjin came to the rescue as my one call."
"It's nothing." Seokjin smiled.
"But." Hoseok paused. "They think I was with you guys. I tried making up a reasonable lie, but they won't listen. They want to take me out of SuChin."
"Wait, what?" Yoongi crushed his juice box. His eyes grew darker, doing a good job at masking most of the anger he felt at this news.
"How are we supposed to stop that?" Jungkook frowned as Namjoon heard all the questions roll in. Hoseok didn't answer a single one. He only stared at the ground with a gloomy face.
"Okay, I know you guys are probably aware that Hoseok's parents hate us." Namjoon held his hands up, everyone quieting down. None of them spoke over their leader. All of them nodded to his words and listened to what he had to say. "But I still think we can convince them to keep Hoseok here. It won't take much effort, we just need the right members to talk to his parents."
"I'm out." Yoongi sighed, lying down on the ground to nap.
All three first year boys shrunk into the corner. Namjoon clicked his tongue in disappointment. He understood why Yoongi dropped out. He also knew the reason he wouldn't be a good choice to talk to Hoseok's parents. The only member left that hasn't dropped out yet was the eldest member. Seokjin was stuffing his face with meat by the time he saw Namjoon staring at him with a smirk. Soon Hoseok was trying to bat his eyes at Seokjin. Holding back a giggle, you watched the black haired male uncomfortable swallow his food down. The second years were creeping him out to the point Yoongi found it funny.
"I can volunteer to talk to them..." Seokjin said with an almost unsure voice. Namjoon and Hoseok cheered in delight.
"Perfect!" Namjoon high fived his best friend.
"Oh hey! (F/n), can you try talking to my parents too?" Hoseok turned to face you with a grin. Namjoon clapped his hands together, mouthing you to please accept. The sound of meeting Hoseok's parents sounded intimidating. They were clearly different from everyone's parents here, but still in a bad way. "Please! You and Seokjin can do it together."
"Oh...sure. If you really want me to." You gave him a nervous smile.
Hoseok thanked you with a lot of joy. Him and Namjoon were certain that this was going to work. They said the plan was to talk to them after school. It made you nervous to what you just had accepted. Looking over to Seokjin, you gave the eldest a friendly smile. The two of you would be working together in trying to save Hoseok from leaving SuChin. School wouldn't be as fun without him. The gang needs Hoseok. Every member is valuable. Seokjin gave you a smile back and even winked for good measure. You let out a soft giggle but Jungkook and Jimin had different thoughts. They glared at the eldest as if he destroyed their dreams. Taehyung then threw a cracker at Seokjin and soon Jungkook tossed one too.
"What!?" Seokjin whined.
"Stay away from my wife!" Taehyung grinned. Your eyes widened to hear those words leave his mouth. Jungkook and Jimin were immediately outraged by this boy's comment.
"YOUR wife!?" They shouted simultaneously.
"Yeah, if anything (F/n) is going to be Namjoon's wife." Hoseok patted the pink hair.
"Oh my god." Namjoon shook his head, chuckling lightly. "What if (F/n) turns out to be Yoongi's wife?" Right away you knew that wasn't going to be a thing. Yoongi got up into a sitting position to give Namjoon a sharp glare.
"No." Yoongi huffed and then fell onto his back again. "She'd have a better chance with Hoseok." You and the second years laughed as well as Taehyung. Yoongi didn't find the conversation amusing while Seokjin was still annoyed at the fact that crackers were thrown at him. Jungkook and Jimin didn't like you getting paired with everyone again. Gosh, these boys were a lot to handle but you love them all. And yes, including Yoongi even if he hates you. He's just gonna have to suck it up and accept your platonic love.