"Jongin.." Baekhyun muttered quietly upon seeing the boy.

The boy politely bowed at them while avoiding their gaze. Suho went to him and guided him to an empty chair as he handed him a bottle of water.

"What happened?" Suho gently asked. He wasn't angry, he was just curious.

"I.. I forgot something at my house so I have to get it then return here.." Jongin explained. Of course, he was the only one who knew that that was a big lie. 

The truth was that he already went home, not wanting to attend that audition whatsoever but as soon as he got home, images of Baekhyun's sad face filled his mind. It was like a nightmare because the last thing that he wants to see was that boy's sadness.

And so that's the reason why he's here.. quietly enduring those hateful glares that made him feel suffocated.

"That's alright.. do you still want to perform now? It seems like you're already tired.." Suho said worriedly.

"Ah no, I'm fine.." Jongin said as he rummaged through his bag. He took out a USB and was about to set it up to the speaker but Kyungsoo volunteered to do it. He was asked to just prepare himself while Kyungsoo and Suho fixed everything. He was really thankful for those two. They were like the father and mother of this family.

He went to the center of the practice room, facing the 9 pairs of eyes who was watching his every move. He accidentally met those eyes that were different from everyone else. It was sparkling from excitement.

Baekhyun's gloomy aura was nowhere to be found anymore. He doesn't care if the boy treats him like a stranger, he'll just approach him again like he did before. Yes, that's how optimistic he is.

He pumped his fist in the air and whispered a silent 'fighting' while Jongin was looking at him.

The boy didn't show any reaction and just looked away. It hurt Baekhyun but there's no way he'll let those things bring his spirit down. I have to cheer for him when these idiots don't, was all he thought.

Jongin took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Right after that, the whole practice room was filled with a familiar melody that everyone knew.

They were surprised at the boy's choice of song. It was a song that Suho, Kyungsoo, and Baekhyun made for fun.

"Into Your World is a very unusual choice.. can he really make a dance out of it?" Chanyeol, who doesn't know anything about dancing, whispered to Yixing.

"Of course, but it all depends on the dancer. If he doesn't get the feel of the song, then the dance won't have a soul in it and it will be boring." Yixing explained for all of them who were just as curious as Chanyeol.

Jongin heard it and was distracted. His feet and hands won't move. He was a dancer that dances with his soul but right now, he isn't dancing for anything important to him.

His gaze became unfocused as a familiar scene played in his mind. It was when he was still learning to dance. He would always fail, he would always fall, he would always make mistakes but because of that boy who inspired him, he never stopped.

He poured all of his feelings for the boy on his dance. His gratitude.. and his love..

But that boy was not in his life anymore. He left. That boy, his light, left him all alone in his dark world. He wanted to hate him but he just can't. That boy became his motivation to continue living for years and the bond that they formed was so strong. What could have gone wrong?

Just once, I want to walk side by side with you again.
Just once, I want to talk to you again.
Just once, I want to tell you what I really feel.
Will you hear me out this time? Or will you just walk away again?

Slowly, his hands and feet moved to the rhythm of the song. It was slower than what he had practiced before but right now, he's dancing with his soul. He was dancing for that boy again.

He poured his feelings in his dance.. his anger, his worries, his sadness, his regrets and his love. Yes, he's still deeply in love with that boy. It was a dance that expresses everything he was feeling that very moment.

The song ended without anyone knowing it. Everyone kept quiet and all that can be heard was sniffles.

"I.. I didn't know that the song that we wrote was that sad.." Kyungsoo sobbed in Suho's arms.

Tao who was usually a with a stone heart was trying his best to control his tears but ended up in Kris' arms as well. 

"That was really.. a soulful dance.." Yixing said as he wipes his and Sehun's tears with his handkerchief.

Baekhyun had tears in his eyes too. It was a feeling that he couldn't explain. While Jongin was dancing a while ago, it felt like he was telling them a story. The story that made him what he is now.

But he noticed something wrong. Something was definitely wrong. He felt it, the pain that Jongin was in but the boy didn't even shed a tear.

It was scary. He can't possibly be void of emotions, right? But why, why isn't he crying? Why is he keeping it? Why did he chose to suffer through it alone? 

Ah, that's right. 

Baekhyun suddenly realized that it was because Jongin doesn't have a shoulder to lean on. He watched as the boy left the practice room without a single word to them and surprisingly, no one was angry for what the boy just did. They all looked like they finally understood what was going on to Jongin.

"Hey guys.." Baekhyun called his friends quietly. "Let's.. let's accept him.."

He looked up to see blank faces staring at him, some were staring at an empty space. He bit his lips to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall before saying, "He's lonely.. and he needs friends. You saw it a while ago, you saw how sad he was.. I can't leave a person that's like that alone.."

Kyungsoo who was staring at him with a blank face earlier walked towards him and pulled him in to a hug. "Our Baekhyun is really a warm and caring person. Of course, I felt that sadness, we all did. We'll accept him.. Suho plans to accept him whether you guys want it or not anyway."

"W-what?" Baekhyun asked, confused.

"Look at them carefully. They look like they doesn't care but deep inside them, they want to help Jongin too. They may have small brains but they have really big hearts." Kyungsoo said while smiling warmly.

"Eww Kyungsoo you're so cheesy! And the , Baek! Why are you crying? Did you really think that we're that heartless?" Jongdae joked while chuckling.

"It's because you guys are idiots! I thought you won't agree!" Baekhyun said like a child while wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Really, I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not." Kris said with a wide grin on his face.

"You know what guys, let's stop this drama and do a group hug instead! We'll welcome the new member of our family tomorrow!" Chanyeol exclaimed as he jumped at Baekhyun and Kyungsoo who were already hugging each other.

The others followed and the two poor little boys almost got squeezed to death. Suho couldn't even bother to save Kyungsoo because he was too busy laughing at them.

That was the best part of having true friends. They may have different languages, different personalities, different choices, different dreams, but when someone has a problem, they make it their problem too.

That's what friends are for. They become one.