"Alright listen here freshie."

Sehun did not bother wasting any time getting straight to the point once both of them had arrived to the studio for their first practice session together. 

Jongin folded his arms indignantly, eyebrows raised as he waited to hear what he just knew was going to be some obnoxious speech about Sehun's superiority. Jongin wasn't much of a talker, but he was certainly damn good at listening. And he was indeed highly interested to listen to just what the great Oh Sehun had to say to him. 

"Taemin and I already started putting together a piece for the showcase, and since you're just Taemin's replacement," 

Jongin noted how emphatically Sehun stressed the word replacement and nodded appreciatively.

"Just follow the choreo I teach you without any questions. Don't try to add anything funny of your own and don't even think of trying to change it. Practice times will be according to my convenience and if you can't make it well that's too bad, you've got to find a way. Understood?"

Jongin smiled once Sehun had stopped, while on the other hand Sehun's brows were crinkled and he had a rather obvious grimace on his face. 

"Perfectly."

Sehun was quite taken aback by Jongin's incredibly passive stance, and to an extent he was even beginning to suspect Jongin had something up his sleeve for he was being far too nonchalant at the moment, especially given how he had not brought up the fishy resolution of the theft incident even though Sehun knew he must have been dying to find out just how he got away.

"R-Right. Good. Okay. Now, here's what we've come up with so far."

Sehun began the music and started with a jump spin, watching himself in the mirror as he executed power-move after power-move perfectly. Jongin was watching him closely, not only observing the choreo and technique but also observing Sehun's face. It was the picture of discipline and focus, but at the same time evoking powerful emotion which Jongin found amazing.

Jongin always looked up to Sehun as a dancer, but after what Sehun did to him, there was somewhat of a crack in the perfect perception he held of his idol. While he could still admire Sehun's terrific dancing, it was no longer just pure, solid admiration but more so of 'yeah you dance excellently but you're a crappy person so what's the point'.

The music came to a drum solo bit which was when Sehun stopped dancing and dropped his hands to his hips.

"This is up till where we finished our choreography. Give me till next week, I'll come up with somethi-"

Sehun froze as Jongin suddenly spun and popped his chest to the beat of the music. As the intense drum solo picked up, so did Jongin's fierce movements, with every punch and kick and roll perfectly synced with the beats. It was almost as if his body movements were creating the rhythm and melody. 

Sehun could tell it was impromptu dancing, but to any random person it'd probably look like a proper, professional dance. There was something captivating about Jongin's dancing where his movements transcended technique and were more so like a story-telling instrument which just left you speechless.

The music built up finally, signalling that it was going to end, with which Jongin gave a final pirouette and ended off dropping to his knees on the final beat.

As he panted hard, his fringe which was previously slicked up now covering his eyes, he looked up through his hair to find Sehun staring at him with an ajar mouth. 

"Sorry, I just, went with the music to see what we could come up with."

Sehun closed his mouth and folded his arms, trying to cover up his state of surprise.

"That...that was alright. But it doesn't flow well with the first part at all and there were too many spins when it got to the bridge. Plus, the movements don't really reflect the lyrics of the song and- nevermind. Point is, like I said, I'll come up with the choreo to finish off the piece so don't worry about it."

Jongin stood up, still panting a bit. There was a lot he wanted to say to Sehun, but he just knew it was either going to be pointless or just end up in a fight. Neither of which he wanted. So, wiping off some of the perspiration on his forehead, Jongin nodded with his gaze on the ground.

"Got it, I was just...experimenting."

Sehun nodded as well, still trying to appear unimpressed and unbothered when in actual fact, he was bloody awe-struck as to how Jongin was able to dance so well on the spot and still look so good. It was a show of pure talent which even he suspected he did not have as much as. 

Of course, he'd rather be shot first than ever admitting that out loud.

"Okay, well, let's get started then."

-------------------------

Sehun and Jongin practiced the first part of the choreo for 2 hours without any breaks. At first Sehun was purposely teaching Jongin as minimally and quickly as possible, but Jongin was a fast learner and could catch on pretty easily. There was no small talk, and neither were there any arguments or tiffs. It was just purely about the music and the moves. 

There was a particular step which managed to stump Jongin however, where he simply could not coordinate his arms and feet at the same time. 

Sehun stopped once he noticed this in the mirror and went over to Jongin, forgetting about their animosity in that moment and mainly focussing on the choreography.

"Punch on the third beat, not fourth. That's where you're going wrong. Like this."

Sehun held Jongin's elbows, moving through the motions and counting the beats as he showed Jongin how to correct his mistake. Jongin paid close attention, finally understanding and nodding once he got it. 

Sehun went back to his position and looked at both of themselves in the mirror, counting from the start and going through the series of steps again, with this time Jongin executing it perfectly. 

"Yeah, that's it. Good, okay from the top." 

As Sehun walked over to his phone to start the music, Jongin watched him with a faint smile, thinking back to how he was guiding him just a few moments ago.

It reminded him of the weeks Sehun spent being friendly with Jongin and practicing with him. In that time Jongin had no clue of Sehun's true ulterior motive. All he knew was someone he looked up to wanted to spend time with him and mentor him. In a brand new environment and school where he barely knew anyone and felt like a lost fish out in sea, Sehun made him feel like... like he wasn't alone.

Like he had a friend. 

And that was a nice feeling Jongin cherished so much. 

"Okay, 5, 6, 7-"

The music and Sehun's countdown snapped Jongin out of his thoughts, and also reminded him that those weeks were just a sham; this was reality.

Sehun hated his guts, and now he was stuck with him, preparing for a performance in which he couldn't even have any creative input. 

Jongin sighed, staring intensly at himself in the mirror as he got ready for the beat to kick in.

Even if he couldn't help choreograph the piece, he could at least make sure he slayed the out of it. 

-------------------------

"What do you mean you can't come?"

Jongin couldn't help but overhear Sehun's frustrated conversation on the phone with who he could only assume was one of Sehun's posse members. 

"What am I going to do now? Baekhyun and Jongdae are off on some date night , there's no food in the ro- alone? You want me to eat alone? Do you know how sad that is?"

Jongin contained his chuckle, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he watched the back of Sehun's head while waiting for him to go through the door to exit the studio.

"Ahhh you're such an . You said you were paying so I didn't bring my wallet. Now I'm going to have to go back to the room, get my wallet, go get some crappy takeaway and eat sadly by myself. I hope you know how much I hate you."

Sehun then shoved his phone in his pocket and finally went through the door, allowing Jongin to exit as well. 

Seeing Sehun's frustrated face, Jongin pursed his lips before speaking up.

"You know... we could just have dinner together."

"What?"

Sehun looked both confused and disgusted at the same time, as if Jongin had just suggested he take a bath in a pile of cow dung. 

"I got this voucher for a double meal at Big Al's Pizzeria and I haven't used it yet. It expires today and it'd be a shame to waste it..."

"You haven't used it yet?"

"Haven't found anyone whom I could use it with."

"Isn't Junmyeon your roommate? He's a nice fellow."

"Yeah he is, but I rarely see him. Our schedules don't coincide at all, plus he always has other dinner plans. So..."

Sehun just stared at Jongin with the same perpelexed and offended look, which made Jongin question why he even bothered being a decent person in the first place. This was the guy who tried to get him kicked out of school, of course he wouldn't really like the idea of eating with him. Taking the silence as a no, Jongin finally shrugged and began to walk off, but stopped after his sixth step.

"Wait!"

Jongin smirked as Sehun caught up to him, and once he turned and noticed the very grumpy look on Sehun's face, his smirk grew even wider.

"I'll pay you back even though it's a voucher, so don't even think I owe you anything because of this."

Jongin's smirk grew into a toothy smile, Sehun and him now step-in-step heading towards Big Al's Pizzeria.

"Thought didn't even cross my mind."