Sehun steps into the brightly lit dance room, internally counting off the reasons why this is an absolutely terrible idea. The five other people in the room are all staring at him as he stands in the doorway, and Sehun can feel their judgement, can see the assumptions forming in their eyes, can hear the beginnings of poorly-hidden gossip floating through the air. He’s dealt with this treatment for his whole life, he’s a master of ignoring it now, but even after all this time, it still grates his nerves.

Yes, Sehun admits, it is blatantly obvious that he comes from a wealthy family as soon as he enters a room, but that’s not his fault. It’s not his fault he’s been taught to walk, talk, eat, even stand a certain way since the day he was born. He’s been trying to resist that lifestyle, his parents’ demands, for as long as he can remember, but there are some things that can’t be gotten around. Whether he likes it or not, Sehun is the son of one of the richest, most successful businessmen in the country, and he’s expected to act like it.

Which is why he’s been hovering awkwardly on the threshold of the dance room for an uncomfortably long time. He’s sure that the others are wondering whether he’s in the right place, whether he just bought his way into the highest level class that the school offers instead of auditioning like everyone else. Sehun resents that, because he practiced hard and long for his audition, had snuck out of the house just to be there because his parents had told him he wasn’t allowed to do it. He had earned his place here, just like the rest of them.

Finally, one of them, a boy with a sweet-looking face and light purple hair walks over to him. “Hi! Come inside!” he starts. His Korean is really good, and it’s only because Sehun has been exposed to his father’s business partners from China that he can pick out the slight accent in the boy’s pronunciation. “I’m Luhan. What’s your name?”

“Oh Sehun,” Sehun says softly. He sees the recognition of the family name in Luhan’s eyes and braces himself for some kind of rejection, but it never comes.

“Welcome,” Luhan smiles instead. He seems to notice Sehun’s anxiety, because he lowers his voice slightly and continues, “Don’t worry, Sehun. They’re just not used to new members. It’s been a while since someone was able to make it into this class.” He’s shorter than Sehun, but he still wraps his arm around his shoulders to direct him over to the rest of the group, a gesture which takes Sehun by surprise, but which he appreciates nonetheless.

“Everyone, this is Sehun,” Luhan announces. He looks around at all of them meaningfully, which Sehun presumes is his way of telling them to introduce themselves, and also a warning to be nice to him.

“I’m Kim Minseok,” a short boy with burnt orange hair pipes up. “I’m the oldest, and before you say anything, yes, I know I don’t look like it, but it’s true.” It puts a smile on Sehun’s face, and out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Luhan roll his eyes fondly. “Anyway, welcome to our class!”

“Zhang Yixing.” A friendly-looking black-haired boy introduces himself next. “It’s very nice to meet you!” He speaks very slowly and sounds a little sleepy, almost dazed, but he smiles politely at Sehun, revealing a dimple in his right cheek. Like Luhan, he speaks with a slight accent, though his is a little more obvious than Luhan's.

“Hi, I’m Huang Zitao, but you can just call me Tao.” A tall, thin boy waves from where he’s seated next to Yixing. His accent is the most evident, but he still speaks smoothly and confidently. “I do martial arts.”

“You’re also afraid of everything under the sun,” Luhan reminds him, smirking. He leans in to whisper loudly and conspiratorially in Sehun’s ear, “Don’t be fooled by his muscles, he’s a huge softie.” Tao pouts in response but doesn’t deny it. Sehun is already starting to feel better; he can tell he’s going to get along well with this group.

The fourth boy hasn’t said a word so far, nor has he stopped staring at Sehun since he was first brought over. It’s somewhat intimidating. He has reddish-pink hair, a multitude of piercings adorning his ears, and eyeliner smudged around his eyes. His lips are pulled into a slight smirk as his dark, intense eyes meet Sehun’s timid gaze. Sehun would be lying if he said he didn’t find the boy extremely attractive. “Kim Jongin,” the boy says at last, suddenly standing up and holding out his hand for Sehun to shake, never breaking eye contact. Sehun is a little taller than Jongin, but not by much, and Sehun finds that even with that slight advantage, he still feels somewhat out of control. “A pleasure.”

“Likewise,” Sehun manages. He coughs a little and lets go of Jongin’s hand, looking around at the rest of them. “I mean, all of you. It’s nice to meet you all.”

Minseok walks over to stand next to Luhan, seemingly having a brief silent conversation with him before turning to Sehun. “Tell us a little about yourself,” Minseok suggests kindly. “Just so we all get more familiar with you.”

Sehun swallows, barely stopping himself from blurting out something a little too heavy for an introduction, like Hi, I’m Sehun and I love dancing almost as much as my parents love money. He looks around at everyone and clears his throat awkwardly. “So, um, yeah, I’m Sehun. I’m 17 and I love to dance, obviously.” He laughs nervously. “That’s why I’m here, it’s been my dream to qualify for this class since I learned about it. I practiced for the audition for three years, but then my parents told me they weren’t going to let me go through with it, because they can’t have a dancer in the family, it makes them look bad.” He doesn’t mean to let the bitterness seep through into his voice, but by the looks on his classmates’ faces, they too disagree with his parents’ old-fashioned beliefs. “So my best friend and my brother helped me sneak out and audition anyway, and I was so nervous that I thought I had blown my chance, but then I made it and my parents yelled at me for days but they finally let me come.”

“Why?” Tao asks curiously. “If they were so opposed to it before?” He looks genuinely interested about the answer.

Sehun smiles wryly. “My brother convinced them that because this is such a prestigious school, it won’t ruin their image, even if there is a male dancer in the family. They had to give in after that.”

“Well, we’re glad they did,” Luhan tells him cheerfully, and Sehun feels like he really means it. “Now, let’s get started!”