Jay stood in front of the mirror as he focused on the intro of the mix, his body occasionally moving when an idea would come up. After listening to the track on repeat, he finally went over to pause it, resuming his position in front of the mirror to work on the routine.

As Jay counted in his head, he imagined the choreography being done by multiple people, and he worked on the moves that would have the best effect as a group. He danced to an unknown beat, pausing ever so often to rethink a step and redo it, trying to get a solid routine down for the intro. It wasn’t till he took a break did he notice the eerie silence in the studio. For once, Renn wasn’t in the soundroom where she would usually be found- the younger girl had gone to school, just like most of s. Nichkhun was supposed to join him, but the Thai was running late, and Jay was dancing by himself, all by his lonesome self.

The door opened and Jay’s look of relief quickly disappeared, replaced by a polite smile as Jisang and Yujin walked in. “Khun should be here in a bit,” he said as he walked over to them. “So, I guess we should get started?”

Jisang nodded. “Uh..Uhm, well, I was listening to the track on repeat all night last night and this morning, I, uh, think I have something.”

“Same, at least for some parts. Cath said she wanted to add some different elements. Do any of you have any experience with other genres?”

Jay shook his head slowly. Suddenly he was regretting agreeing to even joining this competition. If it wasn’t urgent, they would have joined a different competition, one that did not involve pair dances in different styles. Not that he didn’t like the idea of dancing with the ladies, on any other given day he would be the first to even attempt a hook-up, but this was different. This wasn’t for one night on the dance floor, this was a series of nights leading to one particular night that may or may not determine the rest of their lives, and Gran’s too, literally.

Jay rolled his shoulders to ease the building tension his thoughts had brought him and turned to the two choreographers from Closed Formation. “What you guys got?”

“Auditions are next week, we just need a short routine under two minutes to get in, we can get Sarang in here to-”

“No, no Sarang, or whatever,” Jay said, cutting Jisang off. “Everything you’ll need is here. Just dance.”

Jisang was slightly taken aback, but she agreed nonetheless, she turned to Yujin, but the other girl just shrugged. “Okay, are we using the demo track from before?”

“Do you have anything against it?”

“Uh...uh, no not really. I just...I was just asking,” Jisang timidly replied.

Yujin rolled her eyes at Jisang’s stuttering. She had many times told the younger girl to be more confident, they had eventually managed to work out her wardrobe, but clothes could only do so much. It seemed being in front of the opposite didn’t help either, instead worsening her already shy demeanor, but Yujin had never seen Jisang this bad before. “Great, since there are no objections then maybe we can start. I checked the rules. The auditions don’t necessarily need multiple styles of dancing, but I think we can incorporate some pair dancing so we can at least leave an impression.”

Jay rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you really think that’s necessary? I mean, if we get in with a normal routine, wouldn’t that mean we’d blow them away when we actually try to impress them?”

“Key word. ‘Get in.’ We still need to pass the audition first,” Yujin pointed out crossly.

“We’ll pass, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“I’m sure about me, and the guys. I know them, and I know how we dance,” Jay replied firmly. “If you were confident about your members, you wouldn’t have any doubts either.”

The way Jay looked at them, Yujin wasn’t sure if he was still being his cocky self, or if he was actually being serious. Jisang shot her a glance, and Yujin bit back a retort. “Then show us what you got,” she challenged smoothly, turning to face the mirror.

Jay raised his eyebrows at the comment and mentally cursed. He was being serious, but he hadn’t actually gotten a complete routine down yet, and now his words were going to be written off as unbacked up cockiness.

The door opened and a wave of relief swept through him as he saw the Thai walk in, tossing his bag to the wall and joining the trio in front of the mirror. “Sorry I’m late. Did I miss anything?”

“We were just talking about the audition piece,” Yujin answered with a smirk before Jay could respond.

Nichkhun smiled at the girls before his eyes met Jay’s, and the latter shrugged. He’d never tell him, but Jay was glad that he was there. The Thai was always smooth with the ladies, an act that seemed to come naturally to him.

“So, how far did you guys get?” Nichkhun asked after a short silence.

Yujin flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled, “Actually we were just getting started, you came at the right time.”

Nichkhun returned her smile and Jay mentally groaned. “Anyway, do you remember those moves for the routine we were working on Khun?” he said, directing his attention to his friend and interrupting their so called, exchange.

“Yeah, to the other mix? Are you sure we can move the steps to the new remix?”

Jay nodded. “Renn mixed them both, so everything should sound just right with the old steps. Beats and r...something are basically the same, she said it’s the synths she amped, then some strings so we can do the..uh...other stuff, something. I don’t remember everything she said.”

“But...” Nichkhun glanced at the girls before turning back to Jay. “We’d have some troubles with the breaking routine then, unless you guys can break dance?” Nichkhun asked, questioning the girls in front of him.

Yujin watched his eyes go from her to Jisang, and the younger girl looked down in embarrassment, and Yujin resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “We don’t break in our routines, but I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t mind learning,” she told him with a sweet smile.

Jay watched Nichkhun return her smile with a charming smile of his own, and the leader made a mental note to tell the Thai to keep Prince Charming in check- Jay didn’t need blatant love affairs within their group while they rehearsed together for the competition.

“Umm, I guess we could teach you if you’d like, it would help for the performing piece. I don’t think there’s enough time for the audition, so we can just shorten the breaking part for now,” Jay said. Yujin only gave him brief glance before her focus went back to Nichkhun, and Jisang nodded with another blush, making Jay wonder why girls were so difficult.

He walked over to the stereo set and hit the play button. Nichkhun was already swaying his arms and turning his body to the steps as if he was doing a lazy version of the choreography.

“From here?” he asked as Jay walked back over.

The leader nodded, his arm coming out to sweep in front of him as he moved his body following the choreography to the beat. Nichkhun only took a second to register which part of the routine Jay was using before the Thai followed along, synchronized in front of the mirror as the girls backed up to give them space. The song hit the chorus and their movements slowed for effect, and the base Renn had added to the mix added a sense of suspense that was absent in the original track.

“Here?” Nichkhun asked, gaining a brief reply from Jay before the two slid to the floor to start the breaking section of the routine.

If you really want more, scream it out louder,

If you on the floor, bring out the fire,     

And light it up, take it up higher,

Gonna push it to the limit, give it more.

The boys swept the floor as the girls moved to different dance steps behind them, the heavy baseline complementing the breaking routine out in the front. A sudden shift in the melody allowed for the dancers to transition smoothly into similar choreography, both crews mingling and falling into step.

Bright lights flashed before their eyes in a multitude of color and intensities, the judges only an ambiguous presence in their minds. All there was was just dance, raw and simple. With their minds completely tuned to the music, nothing else seemed to exist. It was only until after their auditions that the weight of the competition settled down on their shoulders. As 2PM and Closed Formation stepped to the sidelines, the gravity of their performance fell down on them as the adrenaline rush faded and anxiety began to kick in.

“2PM Formation. You guys are gonna have to pick up your game... cause we’ll be seeing you at the show!!”

The girls cheered as they hugged each other, and the guys high fived, an awkward air settling as the opposing genders faced each other. As much as they had rehearsed the audition piece together, the one minute routine was easily accomplished without much mingling- it would be nothing compared to the actual dance piece they were going to do now that they had passed.

“I still don’t like the name though,” Catherine commented to break the silence that seemed to have only settled within their group. Around them, shouts and thuds could be heard alongside the faint sounds of music as other groups rehearsed before their audition.

“I like it,” Chansung replied with a slight shrug. He looked over at her and smiled to ease the opposing thought.

“I don’t,” Lara said as she leaned on Yujin who was quick to contradict her with a side glance.

“We’ve already been over this.” Jay stuffed his hands in his front pockets and yawned. “Do we have to stay and pick up some more info?” he asked, changing the subject.

He directed this at Taecyeon and the latter glanced around. “Dunno, let me check.”

He backed up from their awkward circle and they watched him as he walked around, presumably looking for someone who would know.

“Yo, it’s not-” Lara cut herself off as Taecyeon’s head disappeared from sight, and she scowled. “...that way.” Yujin glanced over as Lara removed her arm from Yujin’s shoulder and headed in the direction Taecyeon was last seen, leaving Yujin with an incredulous expression etched on her face.

“I still think we should think of a better name,” Cartherine repeated with determination. She looked over at those who had previously voiced the same opinion for support. Wooyoung merely shrugged, and Tayler and Jisang both remained silent.

“But we’ve already auditioned as 2PM Formation,” Chansung said, “and it doesn’t sound that bad, right?” He gave her an almost pout, and she gave in.

“Well, I guess...”

“Yeah Catherine-ah, it doesn’t sound that bad,” Seulmi repeated, matching Chansung’s facial expression.

Quiet laughter passed through the group and Chansung grinned in triumph, nudging Catherine playfully. The atmosphere softened as their recent win sunk in- passing their audition was an affirmation that indeed, grouping 2PM and Closed Formation hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.

“So, are we going to celebrate?” Junho asked as he leaned forward and looked around the group.

“Can’t, need to get to work soon,” Wooyoung replied as he briefly glanced at his watch.

“Me too,” Jisang and Seulmi both chorused, and they shared a look.

“That’s no fun,” Chansung commented with another half pout.

“I’m good,” Catherine said and Li nodded her agreement.

“Same,” Yujin chimed in. “There’s a bar nearby.”

“It’s only four in the afternoon,” Junsu chuckled, “but that works with me.”

“I dunno...” Nichkhun trailed off, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve got an assignment to work on-”

“Do it later hyung,” Junho cut in.

“Don’t think I can, told Mai we’d work on it together, we have to go crunch some numbers. ”

Yujin narrowed her eyes, but before she could say anything Taecyeon and Lara reappeared, the latter with a triumphant smile that showed teeth.

“Got everything,” he raised his hand which held a few sheets of folded paper, “we’re good to go.”

“What took you so long?” Jay asked with a look.

“Oh, there were a lot of people-”

“This giant over here got lost,” Lara interrupted with a less that subtle eye roll.

Taecyeon looked over, slightly surprised at the sudden sense of familiarity before he felt an arm on his shoulder. “That seems about right,” Nichkhun commented with a grin at his friend. “Oh, are you free after? The others are going out for drinks.”

Taecyeon’s face fell and he reluctantly shook his head. “Can’t, need to work on a few papers.”

“Lara-ssi?” Nichkhun asked, taking his arm back and directing his attention to Lara.

She stared, slightly surprised at the formal term. To be honest, the girls had been keeping up with the accustomed honorifics, all but her but that was normal, yet most of the boys seem to have dropped it and gone with the more comfortable term, much to the other girls’ chagrin. Nichkhun was an exception of course: he remained the gentleman.

“Drinks, now? I’d love to, but I have to go tutor some kiddies soon.”

“Alright, so we’ve decided?” Jay asked. He seemed the most eager to get out of the crowded building where the auditions were taking place.

“Tayler-ah, you coming? You don’t have work right?” Li asked, turning to the girl who had remained quiet beside her.

Tayler shook her head. “I’m good. Unni,” she turned towards Lara, “are you gonna come for a bit before you go?”

Lara grinned. “You know me too well, how can I pass up a drink?”

[A/N]: I think this is the longest chapter yet. Sorry the updates have been taking a while, cause of our schedules they've been set as monthly. Cameo reappearances next chapter =)