It was already nine o’clock in the evening and Jihoon hadn’t even eaten a single meal all day. He spent his remaining allowance on a new pair of laces for his shoes, as he’d completely worn out the old ones-- they were crummy, caked with dirt, and the plastic whatchamacallits at the edges (the aglets, he recently learned they were called) had disappeared completely. His shoes were well-loved, perhaps too much, but he couldn't bring himself to throw them out because they were the gift his mother had given him as congratulations for passing the auditions into Mireu High last year. So instead, he cleaned up by decided to buy new laces, neon ones of course (in a mismatched green and pink, because why the hell not?) and that had definitely cost him extra.

Now he was out of money for the week, and hungry. Starving, in fact. He could definitely mooch off of his best friend Jinyoung tomorrow, but Jinyoung for some reason slept really early at night (he needed his "beauty sleep" apparently, which Jihoon thought was hilarious), and he would hate to be woken up from it. Jihoon wondered if he could make it to the nearest chicken restaurant before he passed out from an empty stomach. He usually practiced his dance late into the night, but he had promotion exams tomorrow and desperately wanted to make it into Class A.

That was the only way he'd ever be put into consideration to become an idol, which was what he always dreamt of. Dancing was his passion, and popping was his expertise... but he also longed to sing and rap his heart out onstage. Jihoon had already let go of so many dreams in the past. He dreamt of traveling the world once, of singing ballads, of writing a comic that was as great as his favorite Shugo Chara series. If dreams were made of stardust, he'd have already formed a star big enough to explode into a supernova.

Jihoon didn't want to let go of any more dreams. If he did well tomorrow, if he danced good enough, maybe his teachers would recommend to have him formally moved into the Idol Track. 

Could there be a chance?

His stomach grumbled in response. 

Jihoon sighed. "Yeah right," he said. "If I die of starvation today, I wouldn't even be around to take the test tomorrow." He rubbed his stomach as if to rub away the hunger, but he knew it was a futile exercise. Darn it, he shouldn't have bought those laces...

...but man were they pretty. If only they were edible too. He stole a glance at the clock, which read 9:05 PM. Maybe Jinyoung was still awake? If only they were roommates, so he could be free to secretly steal his stash of food... but unfortunately, he was stuck with Park Woojin for the rest of the year, and that guy inhaled his food like a vacuum. Still, no harm in trying to text Jinyoung to see if he had some instant ramen left somewhere. Jihoon fished out his phone from his pocket, but it didn't seem to be there. 

"Ugh, where'd I put it?" Jihoon asked himself. He walked around the dance room, but it was empty save for his bag and the CD player he used to play the songs he danced to. "It's probably in my bag," he decided, making towards it. But just as he was about to grab his phone, a voice inside his head said: "Just one more song, Jihoon-ah".

He sighed. His inner voice was really trying to kill him. They both knew he was tired... but he guessed they both knew he was desperate. Desperate to chase after the dream he had so long hidden inside himself, thinking he wasn't good enough. But he wanted it. He enjoyed performing, he enjoyed dancing, singing, rapping, all of it. He enjoyed making his mom proud. He wanted to see her proud as he stood onstage an idol as well.

"All right," he said. "I'll dance to just one more song." He walked towards the CD Player, pressed the play button, and immediately EXO's 'Monster' started playing. Jihoon smiled. He loved this song. Taking a deep breath to compose himself and recall the choreography he had danced to over a hundred times, even in his head...

He started moving. He felt the beat, heard the lyrics, felt the emotion, and emptied them all out onto the dance floor with his movements. It was as if the rhythm of the song had held him prisoner, and he was no longer simply trying to memorize steps, but moving as if in a euphoric trance and feeling every movement, every sway, every pop. And soon enough he felt the words, too. 

"There's curiosity in your eyes," he started singing. "You've already fallen for me." He smiled as he danced; this was his favorite part. "Don't be afraid, love is the way, shawty I got it. You can call me monster." And as the choreography intensified, so did his movements and so did his voice. 

"I'm creeping in your heart babe, I'll flip you over, break you down and swallow you up." As the choreography dictated, he faced sideways to dance. "I'll steal you and indulge in you." From the corner of his vision, he caught someone watching him. 

"I'm gonna--" Wait...someone watching him?

"OH SHI--" he exclaimed, frightened as a boy materialized near the door. Jihoon quickly moved his hands up to cover his mouth, amazed at himself for almost spouting profanity in front of a stranger.

A stranger whose eyes were watching him with such an intensity that he couldn't help but stare back. The boy smiled all of a sudden, the smile crinkling his eyes.

"Sorry," the boy said. "I didn't mean to startle you. But you were dancing so well, I didn't want you to stop."

Who is this? Jihoon thought. And why is he so damn good-looking for a guy? Jinyoung would be quaking in his shoes right now, with this boy threatening his visual crown. Where the hell have I been?

"Uhh..." Jihoon said. Apparently 'uhh' was the only non-word he could muster. "Uhh...I was... I just. Uhm."

The boy laughed, and it was a sound that awoke butterflies in Jihoon's stomach. If people meant it when they said voices could sound like honey, this was probably what they were talking about when they said it. As the boy walked slowly towards him, Jihoon couldn't help but notice how tall he was, how lean, how fair, how nice his cologne smelled.

Wait what? Okay, he thought. This boy is standing way too close now. I should probably complain.

"You should've told me you were watching," he said. "That was really embarrassing." He moved away from the boy towards the CD player, turning off the background music. 

"Why so?" The boy asked, still not removing his eyes from Jihoon's face. If someone could melt from being stared at, Jihoon would probably be a puddle on the floor by now. "I really like the way you dance. And I like that song too. I really didn't want you to stop."

Jihoon blushed at the compliment, but he wasn't sure why.

"Your face is red," The boy observed.

"Uh-huh," Jihoon agreed, not knowing why he was incapable of forming complete sentences up to that point. "It's from how much I've been dancing. That happens sometimes."

"Do you always stay this late to practice?" the boy asked.

"No, but I have exams tomorrow. They're extremely important."

"Why?" The boy propped himself on one shoulder against the wall at the entrance of the room, leveling his eyes to Jihoon. Jihoon could only do so much not to stare and get lost in them.

"Because tomorrow is a promotion exam. I have a chance to move up from Class B to A and I ne