Hyoyeon falls again. It’s the seventh… no; it’s the eighth time she’s fallen doing the same dance step. For some reason, her feet don’t cooperate well and she can’t seem to coordinate. Frustrated, tears start building up in her eyes as she looks into the mirror of the dance studio.

In all her years of dancing, she’s never been faced with such a difficulty before. Given her flair for dancing, she’s never come across a step that required her to repeat more than five times before she can master. She’s deeply disappointed with herself, and feels as if she could break. 

Eunhyuk watches from the hallway silently, seeing if she will get up or not from the ground. … She doesn’t get up. He sighs and puts on a smile on his face as he walks in, leaving the lights as dim as they were before. She must have set the lights to this brightness for a reason.

He offers his hand to her. She quickly turns away and wipes her tears, not taking his hand. Eunhyuk shakes his head slowly, bending down on one knee and looking into her eyes. He tucks her fringe behind her ear.

“I feel like giving up on this.” She whispers softly, barely loud enough for him to hear. He laughs bitterly, still looking at her. “Hyo. Let me tell you something. Anyone can give up. That’s pretty much the easiest thing you can do on the planet. But to hold it together when everyone would understand if you fall apart… that… That’s true strength.”

She looks up at him, into his eyes, unconvinced. He combs her hair with his hand, and whispers again, his voice full of gentle concern. “I know this is hard… but hey, people are going to look down on you if you give up now. This is a solo dance, Hyoyeon. This is your chance to shine. Are you really going to give up this easily?”

Hyoyeon looks down at the wooden floor. “Well…” She starts. He lifts her chin. “Be confident if you’re going to answer. Confidence is what makes a dancer.” His voice becomes firm as he holds her gaze strongly. “No.” She replies. “I’m not going to give up.”

“That’s my girl. Let’s take it from the top.” He grins, standing up and watching her. She gets up too, and he pats her head before going to the corner. “I’ll be watching you from here. You can do it.”

And as he looks at her in the mirror, she knows that she can.