"5, 6, 7, 8..." You swayed your body to the left while Lay did the opposite. In the process, he managed to topple to the floor bringing you down with him. You let out a tired groan earning a chuckle in return. Shooting him a glare, he immediately stopped.

"Why are we using shackles in the dance anyways?" You eyed your ankle that was in shackles with Lay. Lips twitching into a smirk you sent him a look. Being Kai's girlfriend had its perks and most importantly you knew the way his mind worked. Lay curiously stared at you right before nudging you for an answer.

"If we plan on beating Kai and Jiyeon we have to outwit them. Those two are the type of dancers to combine different styles into their routine. So that leaves us to do one simple thing- use props. I doubt If people really see dancers dance with shackles on. It'll give us great creativity points from the judges." You waited for Lay's response but as soon as you turned your attention towards him- a giggle left your lips. He was staring at you with wide eyes.

"Yah, say something." You spoke again while waving your hand in his face. He snapped out of his daze and gave you a bear hug.

"That's a great idea~~ Aigo what a smart best friend. I see why I keep you around." Before you got the chance to hit Lay, he pulled you both up from the ground. He played 'Love Lockdown' by Kanye West from the beginning and before you knew it the two of you were dancing gracefully. As cliche as this sounds, when you danced it seemed as If all of your worries washed away into every dance step you made. You got a rush of adrenaline just at the word 'dance'. You eat, breathe, and sleep dance. You couldn't be more passionate about anything else in the world. The song faded and Lay turned towards you with a satisfied grin.

"I think we're ready."

 

 

 

 

 

Day of the competition.....

 

 

As you two drove to the MBC's outdoor ampitheatre for the competition, you felt like your stomach was twisting into a thousand knots. Lay noticed this and decded to hold your hand throughout the car ride. You were breathing heavily so you decided to drink tiny sips of water. "Damnit. I was so caught up with practicing the dance routine that I forgot that I have to see Kai today. How the hell am I supposed to react once we see each other back stage!??!?!" you cried in your mind. "Thinking about Kai?" Lay interrupted your thoughts. You looked at him desperately, "Please, you're making me more nervous. Just drive." Lay chuckled and squeezed your hand. "You are going to be fine! Just don't make eye contact and as long as you do not talk to him, you will be fine. Don't talk to Jiyeon either if you see her also. The two of them are just going to find away to lower your self-esteem. And hey, it's okay if we lose. I won't be disappointed at all. I'll still be happy! We both worked hard on this routine and we are going to have fun right? That's all that matters!"

 

"Yeah, but if we lose, that means Jiyeon will always be better than me at dancing and Kai------"

 

"Hey. I told you. Even if we lose, you should be happy. Like I said, we worked hard on this routine and if we have fun performing the moves on stage, that's all that matters. If Jiyeon and Kai sees us happy, that's the sweetest revenge you can ask for. At least we can be happy that it happened at the end of the day. Am I right? Isn't that what competitions were originally for? JUST HAVE FUN!"

 

Your nervousness melted away when Lay finished his encouraging speech. You sighed in content, "You're right. We worked hard for this. Sure, we might lose (but I doubt it), but having fun is all that matters. Yeah, happiness is the best revenge anyone can ask for..."

 

"You said it.." Lay smiled as he drove up to the check in center. The lady smiled at them when Lay rolled down the car window.

 

"Are you competing today sir and miss?" the Lady asked.

 

"Yes. I am Lay and this is Hwayoung."

 

The lady checked through her list and smiled when she found the two of you, "You two will be number 16 in the competition. Once you go inside the lobby, please tell them your number and they will give you a contestant sticker. This will help the judges and the audience know which group you are. Please stick it on your stomach before you perform." She handed lay a little piece of paper.

 

"Number 16?" you asked worriedly, "Excuse me ma'm, may we know how many contestants are there in total?"

 

"There are 40 contestants who are competing today miss. Which means, there are 20 couples in all and you are the 16th couple. I wish the two of you good luck!" she pressed the button in the middle of her booth and the gates opened. Lay waved at the lady and then drove through.

 

"Do we park anywhere?" you asked.

 

"No. The piece of paper that the lady handed to me has our parking ticket number..."

 

"Oh..."

 

Fortunately, your parking space was near the entrance. As you got out of the car, your feet wobbled. Lay chuckled at your current stage. "Kai always told me you get nervous before performances. He told me you were always shy back when you two joined the same dance institute." You blushed. You never knew that he told Lay these kinds of things. "Yah! We are going to get our revenge today. Stop blushing!" Lay nudged you seriously.

 

"Arassooo..." you snapped back to your senses.

 

You two entered the lobby and there were only a few contestants in line to the front desk. You sighed in relief, "Good. Kai and Jiyeon aren't here yet. I wonder if they got her earlier-----"

 

"LAY?" you and Lay turned around and saw Jiyeon and Kai. Jiyeon's facial expression was extremely shocked. "Oh, so you two decided to show up..." Lay crossed his arms and smirked. "Whoa.... I've never seen him THIS confident before. Especially towards Kai.."

 

"W-What are you doing here?" Jiyeon stuttered.

 

Lay scoffed, "I should be the one asking you that. I thought you said you had to go to your grandma's-----"

 

"Excuse me you two? You are holding up the line. If you are not checking in for the dance competition, please leave." the lady at the front desk stared at you two. You gave Lay a look and he whispered, "I'll take things from here. Can you check in for the both of us?" You slowly nodded at him and headed towards the desk. As you gave the lady your cards, you eavesdropped on the conversation that was happening behind you:

 

"What the hell are you and Hwayoung-ah doing here?" Kai's voice was threatening. He seemed beyond pissed. Lay chuckled, "What do you think we are here for? We are here to win a dance competition."

 

"You think you can win?" Kai glared at him, "Ha! Win my ! You've got skills Lay but if you are really planning to dance with her (Kai cocked his head to where you were standing) you do not stand a chance. From what I've seen, she isn't a "good enough dancer for me." Kai's voice raised on the last part. You cringed as you felt Kai's words sting through the back of your neck. "It's not your fault Hwayoung. It's Jiyeon's fault. You did not send him that text. She did. Stand your ground. Be strong. Win this thing if you can." you thought. "You two are finally registered. Here are your stickers. When you are about to perform, please put these stickers on your stomach so the judges and the audience can identify you. These stickers have your name and sequence number on them. This information can be used for voting at the end of the rounds. Please go through this door so the next couple can register their information."

 

"How dare you say that to Hwayoung!" Lay roared at him and then looked at Jiyeon who was just staying quiet. "AND YOU. You told me that you---"

 

"LAY! ENOUGH!" you grabbed his arm, "We can't waste time by arguing with these two. We need to go and get our wardrobe done, makeup done, and dance check-up done in just 2 hours. Let's go." You dragged him towards the door the lady specified you to go in.

 

Once you two were through the door, you gave the stylists your papers and you gave Lay his sticker. "The lady at the front desk said to put this on before it is our turn to compete. Keep it on okay? This will be used for identification and voting at the end. Arasseo?"

 

For the next two hours, all the contestants constantly kept on picking out different wardrobes, applied their makeup, and now they were all in the waiting room practicing. The waiting room was a dance studio itself so all the couples were spaced out trying to fix some last minute kinks. You and Lay were the only couple that was not practicing. Many of the other contestants gave you dirty looks, especially Jiyeon and Kai, but you shrugged it off. You sighed as you slumped your back against the far corner of the room, away from the other contestants. Lay was sitting down closing his eyes again.

 

"Lay, people are staring at us. C'mon, let's practice!" you whined. Lay looked at you seriously. "If you look around, people are practicing their dancing. Only dancing. Nothing else. We have props remember? We can't give away our secret weapon. We practiced enough. You said it yourself that we are ready. Be confident alright?" Lay gave you an encouraging thumbs up.

 

You bit your lip and gave in. "Arasseo, but people are giving us dirty looks.." You looked around the room to find Kai. He was on the other side of the room taking a break. As he was drinking water, you two made eye contact with each other. Kai's glare was intense, as if he wanted to eat you alive right now. Feeling a little uncomfortabe, you looked away and pretended to not see him. Kai glared at you one last time before he started practicing again. Since he busy practicing, you decided to steal a glance at the routine. You gasped.

 

"What?" Lay looked over to where you were looking at, "I told you, don't pay attention to him."

 

"I-I'm sorry. I-It's just that.. I-I thought... no.."

 

"What?" Lay stood up and shook your shoulders, "Yah! Hwayoung-ah! Snap out of it! There is no time to be weak! C'mon!"

 

"Lay..." you looked at him with a serious face, "Kai changed the routine."

 

Lay looked at you and then at Kai, "So? What if they did change the routine? What does that even matter?"

 

"No, you should've seen the routine that Kai made for the both of us. It was good. But looking at their new routine, Lay, it's 10 x's better than before. I can't believe it...." you said as you saw Kai run his hands down Jiyeon's body.

 

"Don't mind them! I told you! See? I told you repeatedly in the car not to acknowledge them because they will find a way to manipulate you! And plus, Kai and Jiyeon both know your weaknesses. Please, Hwayoung-ah! Get yourself together. We have 30 more minutes until the competition begins. Please please please be strong for me?"

 

Before you could answer, the door bursted open. Ten tall guys came into the room. You noticed them right away. It was EXO. Suho looked around the room until he spotted Kai and Jiyeon.

 

"Hey! He's over there!" Suho beckoned the rest of the members to follow him. You and Lay watched as the rest of the band members gave the couple some encouragement. You saw Chanyeol look your way and whispered something into Suho's ear. All of a sudden, Suho turned around and saw you and Lay. Lay smiled at him and beckoned him to come over.

 

"HEY YO! LOOK WHO'S HERE AS WELL!" Kris laughed as he saw you hiding behind Lay. Out of all the EXO members the only two you were close to was Kai and Lay. Sure, you are friends with the other members, but you hardly ever got to hang out with them because of Kai's over protectiveness. An idea sparked in your mind. You tugged on Lay's sleeve and he bent down to hear what you had to say, "Hey. Remember my rant to you a few months ago about how I'm not close to the other members?"

 

"Yeah? What about it?"

 

"We have another secret weapon..."

 

"What?"

 

"Remember I was ranting to you about how I want to be close to the other members but Kai wouldn't let me because he gets jealous easily and he is too over protective?"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Since the members are here, I want to get close to them. I don't think Kai would dare to stop me. He's busy practicing with Jiyeon at the moment. Maybe getting him jealous will throw him off a bit"

 

"Oh oh oh! Great idea!"

 

You pulled away as soon as the members reached to where you and Lay were standing. "Aren't you guys a bit too confident?" Kris sneered at the two of you. "Why aren't you guys practicing like the rest of the contestants?" Tao gave Lay a high five and he ruffled your hair. You really missed them.

 

"We have a secret weapon. We are saving it for the performance. You'll see" Lay said proudly. Chanyeol started laughing, "Finally! Someone who believes that they can beat Kim Jongin!" You winked at Chanyeol, making him blush. You were too caught up in reminscing with the members, that you did not know Kai was looking at you the whole entire time. Jealous boiled up inside him. Ever since the members tried to get close to you, he would pull you away so he could have you to himself. Seeing now that he's to occupied to pull you away, his insides were turning.

 

"You know what? I am actually glad Lay and Hwayoung are going against Kai. Seriously, that kid needs to stop winning at everything. Let's let him have a taste of his own medicine you know?" Baekhyun sighed. "I really do hope you guys win! I am glad you two have a secret weapon!" Luhan cheered. "Really? You want me and Lay to win?" you were shocked.

 

Xiumin huffed, "Well duh! We are tired of Kai winning at everything. Finally, the other dancing machine of EXO gets to show off his skills~"

 

"NOOONAA!" Sehun glomped you and spinned you around. You squealed because you started getting dizzy. "NOONA NOONA NOONA! I hope you win! Fighting!" Sehun put you down and did his signature aegyo.

 

"Aigooo..... you do not need to call me Noona. I am only one month older than you..."

 

"No way! It's appropriate and respectful!" Sehun scratched the back of his head, "Besides, it's weird talking to you without honorifics. We hardly see each other anymore. It will be kinda awkward for me."

 

You pinched his sides and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "Why are you soooo cuteeee!?!?!?"

 

"Because I'm the maknae!" Both of you started laughing like crazy. Out of the whole entire group, you and Sehun were the youngest since your birthdays were really close. It's fun acting cute around him.

 

Seeing this, Kai became really angry. Without thinking, he punched the wall which made everyone stop practicing. Everyone was looking at him.

 

"Yah... are you okay?" Jiyeon held onto Kai's arm. She looked at him worriedly. Kai turned around and saw everyone still staring at him. He bowed and cleared his throat, "Che-song-ham-ni-da..." Everyone looked at him weirdly but returned to their previous practice. Lay smirked when he saw this. He winked at you and you winked back. It's working....

 

"Well...u-um.. we are just going... to um.. get our seats now.. GOOD LUCK! We will surely vote for you!" Suho huddled all s out of the waiting room. You giggled as they all scurried out the door.