The six boys managed to push through the doors into the hall and take a seat at the back just as the second bell rang out. Baekhyun shuffled along the row of chairs and sat down bedide Kyungsoo, with Chanyeol on his other side. Chanyeol kept his arm wrapped around his waist even as they sat down and so Baekhyun sighed and leaned into him. He looked over to see that Kai was on Kyungsoo’s other side followed by Sehun and Suho. Baekhyun gave Kyungsoo a nudge with his elbow which made the boy pull away his eyes away from the sly way in which he was looking at Kai. Kyungsoo looked up at him and he jutted his chin in Kai’s direction before winking suggestively at his friend and giggling. He had to squint a little at the pain from his giggle but it seemed to be getting better. None the less Chanyeol noticed and rubbed his arms to try and comfort him. He smiled up at his gangly, handsome angel just as the head teacher began to talk into the microphone at the front of the room.

“Welcome all of you, thank you for being here on time.” He began, he cleared his throat loudly before continuing. “Miss Lee Minhee will be revealing the results to you in a moment but I just want to explain how it will run. Once the results have been exposed all of the I would like all of the people whom have not been selected  to go on to the next part of the competition to return to their lessons via the back exit.” He indicated the door at the back. “We will then proceed to explain what the next stage will be to those participating. Now I am sure you know that there are going to be only 12 of you going through to the next round and there are 50 of you here now. This is a small chance so please do not be too disappointed if you are not chosen as you have all done wonderfully to get this far.”He gave a warm, encouraging smile to the teens hanging on his every word. It was probably much nicer for him to see than the gormed out faced he must usually see thought Baekhyun. He took a step back as if he had finished before he suddenly stepped forward again. “Oh yes, I almost forgot. You might be interested to know that you have not been judged exclusively in your pairs, as although teamwork was one of the aspects being judged, it is possible for one member in the pair to go through alone.” The head teacher stepped away from the microphone with a twinkle in his eyes as a ripple of murmurs spread through the hall.

Baekhyun looked up at Chanyeol who was looking back at him with a mirrored expression to his own. Worry. What if one of them had gotten through and the other hadn’t? How would they deal with that? He would be happy for Chanyeol, of course, but then he had dreamed about this opportunity for as long as he could remember. Dancing and singing was the only thing that was truly able to get him away from the reality of his parents back at home. He shook away his thoughts, there was no point in worrying yet, for all they knew neither of them had gotten through. The same petite, blonde woman stepped up to the microphone. She looked a little different from before, her hair had been swept off of her face into a stylishly messy, blonde bun atop her small pixi like face. She wore another pant suit like the one she had worn before but this one was ivory rather than navy blue. She smiled a warm and dazzling smile at the students. Baekhyun could practically feel all of the male students in the room checking her out, well with the exception of the row that he was sat in.

“Hello everyone.” She greeted with a slight bow and a gentle smile. “Before I tell you the results of this stage I would like to tell you all how fantastic you were. I was sat on that panel, listening to you sing and even though I am not a part of this school it made me proud, so I cannot begin to wonder how proud your teachers must have been of you. And I hope that you are all also extremely proud of yourselves. Now,” She clapped her hands together, “Without further ado, the results. There are four pairs in which both went through and there are four individuals who passed separate from their partner, this makes up the 12. I will first read out the individuals who are going on to the next level. In no particular order, Kim Hyunshik!” A round of applause and loud whoops filled the room as Hyunskik grinned and pumped his fist in the air. “Lee Shinwoon, Kang Eunhee and Park…” Baekhyun held his breath, was Chanyeol being chosen without him? “…Jaeah.” Baekhyun let out the breath he had unconsciously been holding as more clapping and cheering erupted as it had done after each name. There were only 8 more people to be selected, just four pairs. Baekhyun had his hands balled into fists but his tension ebbed away as Chanyeol slipped his fingers between his, interlocking their fingers and squeezing tight. Baekhyun squeezed back and leant more closely into Chanyeol.

“Now for the pairs that are going through. First is the pair P! Go Jihye and Go Minyoo.” The crowd applauded loudly again as the twins grinned at each other. “Next it’s pair E! Oh Sehun and Kim Joonmyun (Suho).” Baekhyun clapped his hand hard against his leg and cheered with the others, not letting go of Chanyeol’s tight grip on his hand. “And pair O! Do Kyungsoo and Kim Jongin…err also known as Kai.” Kai stood up and whooped, pointing to himself while doing a body wave to show off. Baekhyun flung his arm around his friend and squeezed him tight.

“Well done Kyungie.” Baekhyun whispered into his ear. Kyungsoo grinned.

“Thanks Baek, he glanced back over his shoulder, still in the embrace, “Why am I in love with such a douche?” He asked at an even quieter whisper, chuckling under his breath. Baekhyun looked back at Kai who was now elaborating his victory dance and getting warning glares from the teachers. Baekhyun laughed too.

“Because he’s lovely and you know it,” Baekhyun whispered before pulling back and turning once again to Lee Minhee. “The last pair going through is…” Baekhyun could hear his heart loudly in his ears, thumping around erratically as his palms got sweaty. He could feel Chanyeol’s nails digging into the back of his hand and his own nails digging into Chanyeol but all he could do was grip tighter in anticipation and tension. “…Pair X! Byun Baekhyun and Park Chanyeol!” The cheers that their names received were by far the loudest yet, the hall had erupted in a wave of noise, getting louder and louder the more the teachers tried to quieten the students down. Cat calls and wolf whistles were added to the explosion of noise when Baekhyun threw himself into Chanyeol’s arms who readily caught him. He felt warm from the inside out, happiness bubbled up from within himself and he found himself laughing into Chanyeol’s shoulder. He was lucky it was laughter as with how emotional he was being it was a surprise to even himself that he wasn’t crying in happiness. Chanyeol’s power grip on Baekhyun’s small frame and the breathless giggles coming up from his stomach should have been enough to send him rolling on the floor in pain, but his happiness was too great. It overshadowed all other things.

After 10 minutes of shuffling feet and pushing crowds the hall had been emptied pf the students no longer continuing with the competition and the 12 successful students were all sat in one line along the first row. Even though his manic reaction had passed Baekhyun still felt warm all the way through, lighter than air and fluffy inside. Lee Minhee pulled up a chair in front of the students and sat down, folding her slender legs, to make her address to them seem less formal. She grinned, the expression making her look no older than the teens she wsa sat amongst.

“Well done,” She said, “Even though the decisions were hard I and the rest of the deciding panel hold no regrets whats so ever about having chosen you twelve. Now…” She reached down and pulled a thick blue folder up from the floor where it had been lying unnoticed by her feet. “…I am sure you are all curious as to what the next stage is, yes? Well, you will be split up into two groups of 6, and before you ask, no you cannot choose, they have already been decided. You will have 1 month to compose a song and choreograph a group dance. You may think that this is a lot of time compared to the week you had before, but believe me, composing a song that you can dance to and fiting a dance to that song is a lot harder than it may sound.” Baekhyun didn’t need convincing on that. “After your performance our panel of judges will decide on the winning 6. Now this is where it get’s interesting. Your school, Kkamjong, is not the only school that has been participating in this competiton. The school Minseok, a few Miles from here has been going through the exact same stages as you. The group of 6 from here and a group of 6 from Minseok will be going to SMent and training for a week before a final performance. There will be both indervidual performances and those in your group. New trainees for our company will be selected from those 12. Now I will tell you your grouping.”

She opened her large folder and flicked through the pages, stopping when she found the one she wanted. She pulled out a piece of crisp white paper and shook out some imaginary creases. “The first group will be called CKRIP, as a combination of the letters that were froum your pairings. I am sure from the letters you know who you are but I will read out the names anyway, Lee Shinwoon, Kang Eunhee, Park Jaeah, Kim Hyunshik, Go Jihye and Go Minyoo. We had to switch the lettering around as the automatic order spelled PRICK.” She stage whispered, drawing an unattractive snort from Baekhyun. He wrapped a hand over his mouth and looked down, cheeks flaming. Minhee smiled warmly at him before continuing. “Which means that Park Chanyeol, Byun Baekhyun, Do Kyungsoo, Kim Jongin, Oh Sehun and Kim Joonmyun make up the group EXO.” The six boys looked at each other, silent for a moment before whooping in happiness.

Chanyeol leaned into Baekhyun’s ear, “Are you happy Baek?” He asked quietly, eyes sparkling and warm. “More than ever.” Baekhyun whispered back before pulling Chanyeol back into a hug. After a few minutes the adults gave up on trying to get the teens, who were now in their groups of 6 chatting away, back into order when Lee Minhee told them to leave them be. They were celebrating.

Shamelessly saying that this is my tumblr if anyone wants to check it out ^w^  http://kpop-fan-atic.tumblr.com/  <3