“Mom, I’m going over to a friend’s house today,” Yoseob said while eating his breakfast.

“Uhm, okay. What time will you be back?”

“Around noon, maybe,” Yoseob replied. “Kiki’s coming too,”

“Is he up yet?” asked Mrs. Lee.

“Yeah, he’s taking a shower,”

“Hehe, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you boys spending so much time together,” giggled Mrs. Lee. “How is he at school?”

“Well.. Other than the fact that he’s been stealing my friends, he’s great,” joked Yoseob. “Oh, mom, did you know that Yonghwa was going to my school all along?”

“Yonghwa? Who’s that?”

“Aish, he’s our old friend during kindergarten.., the one that always came over to our house,”  answered Yoseob.

“Hmm? Oh, you meant Mrs. Jung’s son?” Mrs. Lee said. “Really? You’ve never mentioned him before though,”

“Yeah well, he just came back from overseas,”

“Overseas?”

“Yeah, Japan,”

“Wow, that’s nice for him,” Mrs. Lee said. “Why haven’t you ever been sent overseas,” whined Mrs. Lee.

Yoseob pretended not to hear his mom whining. “Why hasn’t  he come down yet?” wondered Yoseob. Yoseob went upstairs to check on Kikwang.

*knock, knock, knock,*

“Ya! Kiki! Aren’t you done yet?” Yoseob shouted at the door, but there was no reply. Yoseob knocked again. “Ya! Kiki!” again he shouted to no reply, so he decided to open the door.

Kikwang was sleeping soundly in the bathtub.

“Ya! Wake up!”

***

“Hey, you sure you don’t want to go to the MC training today?” Yoseob asked while cycling.

“Hmm? Nah, I can go tomorrow,” replied Kikwang. “Besides, isn’t Joon supposed to teach us a new move today? I’m not gonna miss that,”

“Fine, suit yourself. Have you told IU-ssi about it?”

“About the dance? Why should I?”

“About the MC training, dummy,”

“Oh yeah! I guess I should tell her,” Kikwang said before taking out his phone.

“Ya, ya, you really think you should be doing that when your arm’s like that?” nagged Yoseob.

Kikwang by mimicking Yoseob nagging him. “Even with this hand, I’m still better than you,” teased Kikwang.

“What? You really believe that don’t you?” Yoseob exclaimed in annoyance.

Kikwang continued teasing him by releasing his hands and sticking his tongue out at Yoseob.

“Fine, you’re on!” Yoseob said, taking on the challenge.

***

*doorbell rings*

“Yes~, who is it?” Joon answered the call.

“Ya, it’s my house, dummy, I should be the one answering,” Soyeon said annoyed. “It’s probably the twins,” Soyeon said while taking the keys for the door.

“Well, they sure are late,” Joon said.

Soyeon opened the door to the twins. “Ya, you’re an hour late, what kept yo-..” Soyeon paused for a while. “What happened to you two?”

The boys came looking slightly battered. Kikwang with a huge grin, Yoseob with a huge frown.

“We got into a race, he lost,” Kikwang said smiling widely.

“A race? What were you racing with? ‘Burnout’?” Joon commented suddenly on the battered state the twins came in.

“Yeah well, the racing had nothing to do with being late,” Yoseob added. “If someone didn’t fall asleep inside the tub, then we wouldn’t have been late,”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” denied Kikwang. “Oh? Yoseob? Did you fall asleep in the tub today?” Kikwang asked innocently.

“Why you..!”

“Ehem, you’re in my house boys, behave before I kick you out,” Soyeon said simply, before walking back into her house.

The twins went inside her house. Then Joon noticed that Kikwang’s jacket was bulging slightly on one of his arms. “Oh? Kikwang, did you get that from the race too?”

“Hmm? Oh this? Nah, this one’s from yesterday’s accident. I fell down my bike,” explained Kikwang, showing them the wound.

“Hmm, that looks pretty bad, you sure you up for practice?” Soyeon asked.

“Yeah well, it’s not like we’ll be doing handstands today, right?” Kikwang joked.

“What about your MC training?” asked Joon.

“MC? Oh right! Yoseob! I haven’t called IU-ssi yet because of our race!”

***

IU stared intently at her phone. She slowly looked for Kikwang’s number in her contacts. ‘Should I call him?’ thought IU. ‘What if he doesn’t know it’s me? Or, what if he already forgot about me? What should I say to him though?’

At that moment her phone suddenly ringed. Kikwang was calling her. IU quickly picked up the phone. “Yes~, Kikwang-ssi?”

“Oh, IU-ssi, are you busy right now?”

“N-no, why?”

“Ah, okay then. I’m just calling to tell you that I can’t make it to the training today,”

“Oh.., really?”

“Yeah, yeah, so could you please help me tell the teachers about this? Tell them I’ll come over for tomorrows training,”

“Em, okay,”

“IU-ssi, are you training right now?”

“Hmm? No, we’re actually on a break right now,”

“Is that so? Okay then, have fun with the others, I’ll see you tomorrow,”

“S-sure,” IU said before Kikwang hung up his phone.

IU sighed in disappointment while looking at Kikwang’s number. ‘Haih, why am I getting so strung up for a guy,” wondered IU.

“IU-ssi? What are you doing here? The practice already started an hour ago,” one of the teachers stated.

“Ah, s-sorry about that, I’ll go in right now,” IU said quickly.

***

“Well, that went well,”

“What did she say?” asked Yoseob.

“She said it’s okay, and that they were having a break right now,”

“Really? Isn’t it too early for them to have a break?” Soyeon asked.

“Well, that’s what she told me,”

“Hmm, oh well, it doesn’t matter, come on lets get started,” Soyeon said.

“Wow, you seemed pumped up for this,” Joon said.

“Yeah, especially since we’re the ones who’ll be doing all the work,” whined Yoseob.

“Ceh, you know what your problem is? You’re a whiner,” Soyeon complained.

“Yeah? Well you’re an opportunist,” retorted Yoseob.

“…, What’s so bad about being an opportunist?” asked Soyeon.

“…, wait, that didn’t come out right,” said Yoseob.

“Guys, guys, keep your head in the game,” interrupted Kikwang. “We’re here to train right? So let’s get training,”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to show you guys my new move,” Joon said, excitedly.

***

“Okay, we got the basics down, it seems like you guys are actually pretty good at this,” mused Soyeon.

“Hey, why do we need to do all these random moves?” whined Yoseob.

“Well, I’m trying to get a basic grasp of your abilities so that I can choreograph the dance,” replied Soyeon.

“Really? Would you like some help with that?” asked Kikwang. “I’ve got some experience with choreographies,”

“Really? Okay then, you can help me out,” Soyeon said brightly. “Now, we need to decide on the songs we’re gonna use,”

“Leave that to me,” Yoseob said quickly. “I know a lot of songs, and I think I’ll know which songs we can and can’t sing,”

“He’s right, but you’ve got to come up with the song quickly, we can’t choreograph the dance without knowing the beat,” Kikwang added.

“Then, tell me what kind of songs are we looking for?” asked Yoseob.

“Well, I’m thinking we should use a slightly fast tempo song that’s got a lot of impact and memorable chorus. But not too fast, that’ll make it easier to make the dance more powerful, and easier for you guys to sing,” Soyeon thought carefully.

“A fast tempo song, that’s not too fast. Hmm, you’ve really put some thought into this haven’t you,” Yoseob said.

“I’m the manager, of course I have,” Soyeon said simply. “Anyway, Joon already showed me his dance, and well, it’s pretty good, why don’t you guys give it a shot,”

“Hah, sure, my nickname’s the ‘dance copy machine’ after all, I’ll get it in one shot,” bragged Yoseob.

“Really? It’s kind of complicated though,” Joon said.

“Pfft, nothing’s too complicated for me,”

“Okay, whatever you say,” Joon said.

“Ya, come on, faster already,” annoyed Soyeon. “Show them the dance,”

“Okay, first you go like this, and then..,” Joon said, explaining the dance. Dividing the dance into step-bystep, he showed them the dance once. Yoseob was listening and watching intently, and so did Kikwang, who was watching the dance from slightly farther.

“And, that’s it, done,” Joon said after finishing the dance. “You’ve got it?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Yoseob said confidently.

“Okay, then dance along with Joon,” ordered Soyeon.

Yoseob stood up from his chair. “Hold on,” Yoseob said, trying to recall all the dance moves that Joon just taught him. “Okay, I’m good,”

“Ready? Start,”

Yoseob danced according to what he remembered, which was, despite the occasional mistake, he did it pretty well.

“Woohoo! Yeah! I told you, I’m the ‘dance copy machine’!” Yoseob celebrated after finishing the dance.

“Wow, you’re pretty good, and I only showed it to you once,” Joon said amazed.

“Hmm, pretty good, your timing was a little bit off, but that’s okay,” Soyeon commented. “Kikwang, you’re next. Do you need Joon to show it to you again?”

“Nah, that’s okay, I’ll try following what I can remember,” Kikwang said smiling.

“Ya, are you trying to show off,” Yoseob joked confidently. “There’s no way you can remember it after only seeing it once,”

“Yeah? We’ll see about that,” Kikwang smiled confidently.

“Okay, Kikwang, follow me. Ready? Start,” Joon said before beginning to dance. Kikwang followed him from the back, synchronizing his every move with Joon’s. He mirrored the dance perfectly, even added his own cute little dance during a freestyle part in the dance.

“Woah, that’s awesome!” Joon exclaimed when they finished. “You did it perfectly!”

Yoseob was left speechless after Kikwang’s performance. “Oi, what’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” teased Kikwang.

Soyeon turned towards Yoseob. “Ya, did they really call you the dance copy machine? I guess they meant that ironically,”

***

P.S. : Sorry for the long wait, next one's coming right up