If Jay didn’t know his boys well enough he would say they were actually anxious about meeting seven girls tonight, but none of them would ever show that vibe. Nichkhun and Junsu were sitting on the floor of their dance studio. The latter singing loudly to some RnB song, while the other just sat idly leaning against the mirror. Taecyeon had just arrived a few minutes ago and was also on the floor catching up on some sleep. The others had yet to arrive, but all was good as Closed Formation wouldn’t be arriving in another thirty minutes. He could hear Renn in the isolation booth with Mai, the two girls had locked themselves in the room again, Renn mixing a track while Mai did whatever she did in there. The isolation booth was sacred grounds for Renn, and no one else but Mai and Hana were free to enter the premises.

Bored, Jay pushed himself off from the floor and dragged his feet towards the door to the soundroom. His hand easily found the handle, and he pushed the door open, poking his head inside.

As soon as his head crossed the doorframe a fluffy yellow pillow hit his face, throwing him back into the practice room. He could hear Mai’s laughter from inside the room, and he was about to step back in and ask why he was suddenly attacked,when he heard Renn’s voice.

“I told you not to come in here. You’re lucky that pillow was the first thing I laid my hands on. You won’t be so lucky next time.”

Jay gave up for good as soon as the door slammed shut, the sound echoing across the room. He turned around and picked up the pillow, hurling it at Nichkhun and Junsu who were both doubled over on the floor laughing.

“You know you’re not supposed to go in there when she’s working,” Nichkhun managed to say in between fits of laughter.

“Can’t say you didn’t deserve that,” Junsu added, his accent strong as he tried to calm himself down.

The door opened and all three looked over to see Hana walk in, closely followed by her big brother. The young girl quickly said her hellos to all her oppas, before walking past Jay to the soundroom. Jay watched her as she opened the door and disappeared, the door closing behind her with a resounding click. Jay turned around to see Nichkhun and Junsu bursting into another fit of laughter as he groaned aloud.

“What’s so funny?” Junho asked as he sat down next to his hyungs on the floor, grabbing the yellow pillow and wrapping his arms around it.

“Jay tried going into the soundroom, and that was Renn’s response,” Nichkhun explained, nodding to the pillow in Junho’s hands.

“In the face,” Junsu added, “and then Hana upstaged him completely”.

A slow grin took over his face as Junho suddenly snorted, trying to hold back his laughter. Jay groaned again as he resigned to walking over to the other side of the room where Taecyeon lay asleep, and didn’t hesitate to nudge the tallest with his foot.

“Yah. Ok Taecyeon. You’re not here to sleep you know.”

Taecyeon grumbled, his eyes shut as his hand absently moved to swat Jay’s foot away. Before Jay could continue bothering the giant the door opened once again, and Chansung and Wooyoung walked in, already dressed for practice as they dropped their bags on the floor.

“Is there really no other way?” Wooyoung asked as he found a seat by the wall. “You know, a competition where we wouldn’t have to count on... them.”

“Nervous already?” Nichkhun commented teasingly.

“He’s right. It doesn’t matter how good we dance, if they’re not up to standard then it’ll be useless.” Everyone looked over to see Taecyeon slowly pulling himself up into a sitting position and leaning back on his outstretched arms.

“I don’t like it much either,” Jay said as he sat down next to Taecyeon.

“They’re not that bad,” Junsu commented with a laugh. “Besides, you can’t look past the advantages.”

“You say that like we never practice around chicks,” Chansung said, sending a fleeting glance to the soundroom.

“As long as those two don’t hear you,” Jay muttered.

“I’m not talking about the seeing part. You guys can’t deny you wouldn’t want to tap that. Both of them.” Sounds of quiet laughter passed through the group, although no one directly voiced their agreement. “But incorporating chicks in the routine. We’ve never done that,” Junsu pointed out.

“Just admit hyung, you just want an excuse to put your hands on some ,” Taecyeon commented with a grin and a demonstration.

“Yah, don’t tell me you’re not thinking that too,” Junsu replied in defense.

Nichkhun snorted as Chansung spoke up. “They’re pretty hot, so no reason to keep your hands to yourself.”

Wooyoung and Junho seemed like the only ones who hadn’t burst out laughing as the rest doubled over at the comment. Both boys smirked and were the first to notice their guests as the door opened once again.

They stood up as seven girls walked into the room one after the other, all dressed comfortably, ready to dance should the need arise. Jay was the first to approach them, and he headed straight for Li. “Nice to see you all could make it. This is the rest of 2PM. You already know Khun and Junsu, and that’s Taecyeon, Junho, Chansung, and Wooyoung,” he said, pointing each member out.

“I’m Li,” she replied as she introduced herself.

“Hi my name is Catherine,” the blond followed, smiling at the boys in front of her. “You guys remember Tayler right? She’s Junsu-ssi’s friend, and this is Seulmi and Jisang.”

“I’m Yujin,” Yujin cut in smoothly, and her eyes going around the group and zeroing in on one boy in particular. “And this lovely darling creature beside me is Lara.”

Lara rolled her eyes but didn’t comment as a soft chuckle escaped her lips. “So, are we just gonna sit around and build a campfire so we can pass around some marshmallows and get to know each other?”

“So where’s this studio you’ve been bragging about,” Li asked lightly, interrupting before anyone could answer Lara’s question.

“Umm. Well. The studio,” Jay stuttered as his eyes shifted all over the room. “It’s over there.” He nodded in the direction of the closed door.

“Cool, can we check it out?” Seulmi asked.

“Not a good idea,” Wooyoung spoke up. He had already taken to his seat on the floor, leaning back against the wall as he watched the huge group in front of him. Junho laughed quietly at the thought as Catherine narrowed her eyes.

“Why is that?”

“Well,” Nichkhun began, unsure on how to explain their particular situation, “it’s...complicated.”

“Complicated how?” Li asked, “We have someone who does our mixes too-”

“No, no. Not that.” Nichkhun smiled apologetically and he gestured for them to take a seat. He walked over to the room, about to knock on the door. “Renn-”

The door suddenly opened, just enough for a hand to pop out, holding a CD case and cutting him off. Nichkhun plucked the cartridge from the hand and showed it Li. “Here’s a demo track for the auditions. I’m guessing it’s version...” he read off the messy writing on the cover, “3.2, still not the final track but it will do for rehearsals, you ready to try it out?” he asked with a smile.

“Awesome,” Yujin replied instead, getting up and already starting with her stretches. She didn’t miss the numerous pairs of eyes that fell to her as leaned over, placing her hands flat on the ground and keeping her legs straight.

“You might want to listen to the track first Yujin-ah,” Lara commented dryly as she looked around. “And you might want to straighten up, before their eyes fall out of their sockets.”

Yujin obliged, a smirk forming on her lips- she was obviously happy that Lara had reinforced that thought, and her actions had paid off. The aforementioned boys all glanced away, embarrassed that they had been caught staring.

Nichkhun coughed under his breath as he walked over to the stereo system and popped in the CD. A remixed version of “More” by Usher came through the speakers, and the occupants of the room couldn’t help but nod their heads to the beat. As the mixed track finished, Nichkhun turned to his audience, a grin already playing lightly on his lips as he addressed Li again.

“So, what do you think?”

“Seulmi-ah?”

Seulmi looked over as Li directed the question at her, being the most familiar with mixes within their group. “It’s pretty good. Sarang would like this, I’m not too sure about the bass line, Sarang usually mutes hers, maybe we can take it to her-”

“Not a good idea,” Wooyoung muttered for the second time from his seat on the floor.

“It’s just, Renn doesn’t like other people touching her tracks, and usually she goes over it with Mai to match the dancing component to the beats,” Nichkhun told them. “If you guys have suggestions, we can pass them along to her if you like.”

“Who?”

“Uh...Extended crew. Renn does the tracks, Mai helps with the choreography, logistics, scheduling...Band-aids...”

Li looked at the 2PM leader curiously. The behavior he was exhibiting was a stark contrast to when they had first met him at the shop a few days ago.

“Can we meet them?” Catherine cut in. “If we’re working with them, maybe this Renn and our Sarang can work together since both crews are collaborating for the competition.”

Jay was shaking his head while Wooyoung and Junho stifled their laughter. Nichkhun flashed another smile but it was Taecyeon who spoke, “By appointment only. The next schedule isn’t until five weeks.”

It was Chansung’s laughter that was the most distinct among the boys’ reaction as the maknae tried to keep himself upright. He clutched his stomach with one arm while the other balanced him on the floor.

“What’s so funny?” Seulmi asked.

“Nothing,” Jay answered immediately, quick to calm himself down. “Li-yah, who’s in charge of your choreography?”

Li didn’t miss the lack of formality, but she ignored it and nodded. “I am, and Jisang, at least for the main hip-hop component. Catherine and Yujin do other styles too, I think we can pull something up for the audition. Ballroom and ballet, you think your boys can handle that?”

“No need to worry about my boys, you just worry about catching up.”

“We’ll see who needs catching up,” Li muttered, accepting Jay’s challenge.

Any further discussion of the banter was interrupted as Wooyoung approached them, flashing Li a polite smile before he walked to Jay’s side. He glanced towards the soundroom before thinking better of it, and turned back to the duo.

“What styles are you most familiar with? We can divide and sort the mixes...”

Li motioned for Jisang, and Catherine soon joined them as the group discussed routine ideas, paying heed to the changes in the choreography due to the higher number of dancers, and the occasional mention of the event details and minor factors regarding the competition. It was after all, their first proper meeting.

Taecyeon joined Nichkhun as the two took the roles of the graceful hosts, forming a group with Yujin and Lara. Since the other group seemed to be taking care of the business related details, they decided to go with the more casual first meeting, reintroducing themselves and trying to get to know each other better. Even with the opposing personalities prominent within the group, they tried to keep the discussion as polite as possible, for first impressions sake.

Junsu found himself walking over to Tayler as it seemed obligatory for him to talk to her, since they were the original ones that had linked the two groups together in the first place. Junsu was glad that she was standing by Chansung and Junho, and the older boy stopped by the maknaes to subtly add them to the conversation. Seulmi stood nearby, and Tayler pulled her friend to join in a similar discussion of introductions.

It seemed for first meetings at least, the fourteen members knew how to be civilized.