Xiumin and Hyun Jae walked through the halls to the practice rooms. Choosing one of the smaller ones, designed for singers, they entered the room. There was a baby grand piano on one side of the room, which took up most of the space, a set of speakers with an aux cord, and a couple of chairs against one of the wall. Xiumin sat in a chair as Hyun Jae pulled out the piano bench and sat facing the elder.

          “So… I don’t really know your singing style and haven’t heard you sing before. Do you want to just sing something you have practiced? So that I can get an idea of how I might be able to help you?” Xiumin suggested, unsure of how to start their practice session.

          “Okay,” Hyun Jae said with a smile, “but I’ll warn you: I’m not the best singer in the world.”

          “I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Xiumin assured him.

Hyun Jae smiled at him again and turned to the piano. He lifted the cover off the keys and placed his foot on the pedal, his fingers ghosting over the smooth keys in preparation. He closed his eyes and breathed in, focusing himself, a small grin playing on his lips. Releasing his breath, he began to play. Xiumin recognized the song immediately as one of their own. As Hyun Jae played the intro to “Miracles in December,” Xiumin sat up a bit in anticipation. Hyun Jae opened his mouth and the Chinese lyrics poured out of his mouth like water, filling Xiumin’s ears as seamlessly as if the words were a liquid. Xiumin watched in awe as Hyun Jae continued to sing, struggling to find at least one mistake so he could give the boy some sort of pointer. Xiumin found none though. He couldn’t help but be reminded of when he and Luhan had first walked in on Chen singing. Hyun Jae’s singing had almost the same effect on him as Chen’s first did. As the song came to a close, Hyun Jae looked expectantly at Xiumin for feedback.

          “Wow…” Xiumin managed to get out.

          “Wow?” Hyun Jae echoed.

          “Wow… That was… Just wow. That was really good.”

          “Really?” Hyun Jae asked, his eyes lighting up.

Xiumin nodded.

          “Ne. And your Chinese was very good as well. Aren’t you Korean?” Xiumin asked, remembering what it said on Hyun Jae’s profile.

          “Yup,” Hyun Jae responded, “but I figured if you had to learn all those Chinese lyrics, I’d challenge myself to as well. It’s not that hard when you only listen to the Chinese versions of the songs.”

          “You only listen to the Chinese versions?” Xiumin asked confusedly.

Hyun Jae smiled brightly.

          “Of course; you’re not in the Korean versions, so I listen to the Chinese instead. I did tell you I was a big fan. You kind of inspired me to go into the music industry.”

          “Oh… Well, I’m honored… Thank you? I don’t really know what to say,” Xiumin said bashfully.

Hyun Jae laughed at this, his eyes crinkling in the corners. Xiumin found himself laughing at his own awkwardness as well.

          “Sorry… I’m a bit weird, I guess,” Xiumin apologized.

          “Aniyo, it was cute,” Hyun Jae said in between laughs.

Xiumin felt his cheeks begin to go a little pink as he stared at Hyun Jae.

          Did he just call me cute? Xiumin thought.

Hyun Jae slowly gained control over himself after he saw that Xiumin had stopped laughing.

          “Anyways, sorry for laughing. So what did you notice about my singing?”

          “Um… Well, it sounded good to me. Nothing really major wrong,” Xiumin said.

          “Jinjja?” Hyun Jae exclaimed.

Xiumin nodded.

          “You’re a very good singer actually. When you debut, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were one of the main vocalists.”

Hyun Jae’s mouth opened and formed a small ‘o’ as he took this in.

          “Thank you, hyung,” he said, genuinely surprised at such high praise.

          “You’re welcome,” Xiumin responded, “Why don’t we practice some other songs until lunch? Since that one sounds pretty good already.”

          “Okay,” Hyun Jae agreed, turning back to the piano.

As their practice session continued, Xiumin noticed two things: one, Hyun Jae underestimated his abilities; and two, he had a gorgeous voice.

          Xiumin and Hyun Jae joined Chen and his mentee for lunch in the canteen as they’d promised. They got their food, sat down, and began introducing each other.

          “So this is Hyun Jae,” Xiumin began, “He’s a singer and dancer, but don’t listen to anything he says about his abilities, because I found that he’s a great singer when he said he was only average.”

Chen dipped his head in greeting before introducing his mentee.

          “This is Kwang Sun. He’s a kick- singer in general, so yeah,” Chen said.

Kwang Sun laughs at this. He appears to be an easygoing guy with bright eyes and an easy smile. The four eat their lunch in peace until Luhan and Sehun join them with their mentees. Even with their mentees to work with, they refused to be separated.

          “Minnie! Did you hear about what’s happening at the end of the week?” Luhan said as he sat down.
          “Ani, what?”

          “Apparently, we will be performing with our mentees in a showcase-type of performance. So you should be preparing something this week!”

Xiumin looked at this food and pondered this. So he and Hyun Jae would have to perform together in front of what would most likely be the entire company. Xiumin wasn’t really sure what to think. He was excited to perform, and with Hyun Jae’s talent, they’d surely do well, but they would also be very busy this week working on whatever they decided to do. Xiumin looked up from his plate to see Chen and Kwang Sun talking very animatedly about all the possibilities and their ideas for their routine. Xiumin smiled at his boyfriend’s enthusiasm. Turning to look at Hyun Jae, he found that the younger was already looking at him expectantly. Xiumin felt embarrassed when he realized that Hyun Jae must’ve caught him watching Chen.

          “Um… Well, what do you think?” Xiumin said.

          “I think that this sounds fun,” Hyun Jae replied.

          “Ne… Do you have any ideas?”

Hyun Jae thought for a moment.

          “Not exactly, but I think we should do a song in Chinese that has a good beat for dancing,” Hyun Jae suggested.

Xiumin nodded. That type of song would compliment both of their abilities very well.

          “We should start working on it sometime today or tomorrow then,” Xiumin said.

          “Ne, hyung.”

Xiumin went back to eating his food as the others around him discussed their plans for their routines. 

A/N: Sorry for the short update.... I'm sick at the moment :P I would've updated earlier this week, because I'm on vacation from school, but I got sick. This is just a short little introduction to what's coming up in the next couple chapters~ Thanks for reading <3 Please comment with your thoughts, my lovelies