"Okay, one more time." 
 

All the boys groaned, their shoulders slumped with fatigue as they hesitantly got back into the tree formation. Xiumin didn't ever think it was possible to be so exhausted. Every step he took was a challenge, he felt like he was going to collapse any second. He stared at the ground the whole time, his head too tired to be lifted up. No one said a word as they arranged themselves next to each other. They were practicing for their comeback with a song called 'Wolf'. They had been practicing for it for the last 2 months, every day of the week and frankly, everyone was getting sick of it. 

There would always be something to criticize and the choreographer wouldn't hesitate to call people out for doing something wrong. He was a short man, taller than Xiumin, but then again, most people were. What stood out about this particular man was his hatred for idol groups and his voice; it was the loudest voice Xiumin had ever had the displeasure to hear. Chen and Chanyeol had been picked out so many times that the usually lively boys would become silent as soon as they entered the dance studio. Everyone hated the choreographer, but no one spoke against him out of fear. 

As their comeback was coming close, Xiumin had been put on a diet which really put him in a cranky mood. He had to skip one meal out of three and the food that he ate wasn't enough to sustain him throughout the brutal training. 

Today was no different. All the boys had woken up at 7 in the morning and had arrived at the studio by 8. They had repeated the dance so many times that Xiumin could probably do it whilst sleeping. But they still continued training, repeating the dance again and again until their bones ached and their munds were numb. 

They were halfway through when the choreographer cut the music again. He pointed to Chanyeol. "You, come out." He said emotionlessly. Chanyeol stood frozen, his eyes wide in shock. "Wh-what did I-" "I said, come here." The choreographer, repeated angrily. 

Chanyeol gulped walking to the man. "Repeat the dance in this verse." The choreographer repeated. Chanyeol did as told, his expression fearful. Xiumin frowned. There was nothing wrong with the dance moves, Chanyeol had done them right. "Why are you so clumsy?" The choreographer said to Chanyeol stepping forward. Chanyeol stepped backwards out of fear. "I-" "You're a clumsy giant freak and you can't even do anything right. My grandma could make that dance look better and she's dead." He spat at Chanyeol. Chanyeol looked down, his face filled with shame, tears in his eyes. "Sorry." He whispered. 

Xiumin felt Baekhyun step up from behind him. Xiumin turned to see the puppy like boy looking furious, his strides filled with purpose. He opened his mouth probably to send a snarky remark at the choreographer but D.O. managed to grab Baekhyun just in time before he could do anything. 

Now, Xiumin was generally a calm boy. He was patient and peaceful with everyone. He didn't see the need to get violent unlike most boys his age when it cames to problems. His mother had always been proud of his patience, calling him her sensible boy. But no one had the right to insult one of his fellow members, especially since they were all working so hard. But he kept his mouth shut. 

He could see a similar expression on everyone else's faces, filled with anger and hatred, all aimed at one person; the choreographer. Tao's face held an undisguised disgusted look, Kai had his arms crossed, staring at the scene with narrowed eyes. Kris had put on his emotionless 'i-don't-care' face on but his eyes were angry. Suho's hands were curled into fists. Lay and Chen both looked scared and angry at the same time. Chen had his hand on Lay's arm and was pointing at the choreographer, no doubt translating. Sehun's mouth was in a firm straight line, his arms crossed as well. D.O. was glaring at the choreographer, probably imagining where to dumb his body after murdering him. Baekhyun's face was twisted in anger as he shrugged away from D.O.'s grasp and turned away from the scene, as if he couldn't bear to see it. 

But, naturally, it was Luhan that Xiumin looked at. Luhan was breathing hard, his head down. His hands were curled at his side, as if he was going to claw the choreographer. Xiumin unconsciously drifted towards him and held the boy's hand. Luhan looked at him in surprise. His body visibly relaxed and Xiumin sent a comforting smile his way. Luhan smiled back but he knew that it wasn't completely sincere. 

Soon, they began the rehearsal again. Everyone practiced even harder than before, anxious not to make a mistake. The sky got darker and darker, but they continued practicing. It was just before 9:00pm when another mistake occured. Xiumin turned to do the dance but tripped over Chanyeol's feet and fell. "Hyung! Sorry!" Chanyeol immediately said, helping Xiumin up. "It's okay, it was my fault. I wasn't looking." Xiumin said, smiling at the boy to reassure him. 

He felt Luhan come up to him. "Xiumin-" He was cut off by the choreographer. "You, Park Chanyeol, come out." 

Chanyeol began to shake next to him. Xiumin felt strangely protective over the taller boy. "Wait. It's not his fault. It was my fault. I was the one who didn't look." Xiumin negotiated, making his voice sound calm and relaxed despite the tense feeling in his stomach. The choreographer narrowed his eyes at Xiumin. "Did I talk to you, shortie?" He said, his voice dripping with hatred. 

Xiumin felt himself flush, both from anger and embarrassment. He knew he was short, the guy didn't have to ing point it out. "Look, I'm just saying-" He began trying to negotiate with the man but was again cut off. "You think I care what you ing think?" The choreographer yelled, stepping closer to Xiumin. Xiumin winced. Apparently not. 

"I just-" He tried again but was suddenly pushed back by the choreographer. The sudden push took Xiumin by surprise and left him on the ground. He groaned, he had landed right on his . Ouch. 

He suddenly heard a yell. "You ing bastard!" He looked up to see Luhan hurl himself at the choreographer. He managed to punch the choreographer before he was grabbed by Suho and Tao. "Hyung, stop it. Relax." Tao said frantically before switching to Mandarin as Luhan struggled against the two boys. "Let me go! He hurt Minseok!" Luhan roared, his usually pretty face twisted into a mask of pure hatred. Xiumin felt arms lift him up. "Are you okay, hyung?" He heard D.O. say. Xiumin ignored him, instead staring at Luhan. He felt something in his chest tighten as he saw the boy's obvious concern for him. 

The choreographer got up. "He ing punched me!" He yelled his hand over his eye as he stalked towards Luhan. "Stop right there." Kris said standing between the choreographer and Luhan. He towered over the choreographer and stared down at the man with angry eyes. "You're not going to do anything." He said coldly. Suho stepped forward next to Kris. "You have broken one of the regulations here at SM Entertainment. A tutor is never to physically abuse any of his students and you have violated this rule." He said, his voice business-like. "You have also verbally abused another member, which you can also be penalized for." Suho added, glancing at Chanyeol. 

"Kai, go get one of the management staff." Suho ordered. For once, Kai did as he was told. Chen followed him. "I'm getting out of here." The choreographer said, now looking a bit panicked. "Try." Tao said, a smirk on his face, as he stood in front of the door. It was well known that Tao was a wushu expert and a black belt. The choreographer sat down on the bench. 

Xiumin got up properly, his bum instantly hurt. "Ah." He said softly, trying to be quiet. However, his plan backfired as everyone else was silent. Luhan immediately turned to him, his face softened. Sehun had his hand on Luhan's arm to restrain the boy but Luhan pulled his arm away. He walked over to Xiumin, cupping the shorter boy's cheek with his hand. "Are you okay?" He asked softly, staring into Xiumin's eyes. Xiumin nodded. "It'll be fine." He said, sounding more confident than he actually felt. "But you, you shouldn't have punched him." Xiumin said softly, almost whispering it. Luhan's eyes hardened. "I would do it again. He hurt you, I can't just watch him hit you." Luhan said bitterly. 

"He's right, Luhan." Suho said calmly. "No matter how horrible it was for him to push MInseok hyung, your action wasn't right. You can't always resort to violence." Kris scoffed. "Well, I agree with Luhan. That guy can't get away with what he did." Kris said, glaring at the choreographer. "It wasn't right to punch him, but it wasn't right of the choreographer to push Minseok hyung either." Baekhyun reasoned, from where he sat next to Chanyeol. Chanyeol, the poor boy, seemed to be in shock and was sitting on the bench.

"Two wrongs don't make a right." Lay voiced out, his calm voice firm and loud, as he stared at the choreographer before turning to Luhan. "But I don't blame you, I was going to do the same thing myself." He admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. 

"It doesn't matter. It happened and now we need to deal with it." D.O. said. Xiumin nodded in agreement. 

At that moment, Chen and Kai entered along with three managers. "Now, what happened?" The manager asked, concern in his voice. "The ing girl punched me!" The choreographer said angrily. Luhan tensed at the word 'girl' but Xiumin rested his hand on his arm, calming the boy down. 

"That is not the whole story." Suho said calmly. "What the do you mean!?" The choreographer said angrily stepping up. Suho turned to face the choreographer and spoke, his voice cold and firm. "Let him hear our side. If you are innocent, then you should have nothing to fear."

Xiumin felt his eyebrows raise, impressed by Suho's calm demeanor. He's a leader, alright, Xiumin thought. Suho then went on to explain the whole story from Chanyeol being verbally abused to Xiumin's push and Luhan's punch. He didn't leave anything out and didn't sugarcoat or exaggerate anything, delivering everything professionally and clearly without bias. 

The managers nodded. "I see. Do you have any complaints?" He asked, turning to the choreographer. "No." The choreographer, said, his voice sulky. "I see. Did you actually push the boy and verbally abuse the other?" The other manager asked, his eyes narrowed. "I didn't-" "No?"

"Fine. Yes. I did it! That's what you wanted to hear, right?" The choreographer spluttered. "Stop acting like a child." The third manager interjected, his voice cool and professional. "You realize that you can go to jail for these crimes, right?" he asked the choreographer. The choreographer just gulped nervously in response. 

"I see. We will have to discuss this with other official members of the board. A decision will be made by the end of this week." 

~

They walked back to the dorm in silence. When they entered, everyone dropped off their stuff before gathering in the living room. Suho and Kris, who had been quietly discussing something in the corner stood up. Xiumin sat down next to Luhan. 

"Now, I think we can all agree that what the choreographer did to Chanyeol and Xiumin was wrong and completely uncalled for. We have presented our case and expect that a fair decision will be made. The managers believe that Luhan's punch will be put down as self defense, thankfully." Kris said. 

"I don't regret the punch." Luhan interjected, his voice firm. 

Suho sighed. "I know. But it's okay. I'm sure all of us wanted to punch the choreographer when he insulted Chanyeol. When he pushed Xiumin, well, let's just say, I'm surprised none of us murdered him." Suho said, laughing dryly. 

Luhan looked surprised before smiling. Xiumin smiled in appreciation. "Chanyeol, I just want to apologize to you for not having stepped up before. I should have done something before it escalated. Sorry, I failed as a leader, and more importantly, as a friend." Suho said, his head low. "Hyung." Chanyeol began, his voice shaky. "You didn't do anything wrong. And you're a great leader and an even better friend." He finished firmly. Baekhyun smiled, wrapping his arm around Chanyeol's shoulder. "I agree." He said. 

Kris cleared his throat. "Now is not the time for regrets. This may be a bit messy, but I believe that we will stay together, as EXO, as friends." He finished. Everyone applauded, whooping for 'Kris' and 'Suho'. 

Xiumin got up. "Not a long speech, don't worry. I just wanted to thank Luhan for defending me earlier and for every other member for supporting me. It means a lot." He said sincerely. He smiled at Luhan who smiled back. "The entire atmosphere's so cheesy, it's awkward!" Kai let out. Tao smacked his head. "You ruined it, idiot." He said, mispronouncing ruined. 

Baekhyun immediately imitated Tao. "You ruined it, idiot!" He said exaggerating Tao's accent. Everyone began to laugh as Tao sighed deeply in frustration. Even Chanyeol laughed, clapping his hands excitedly, his body curling up, like it did when he was genuinely happy. 

Xiumin smiled and leaned back, into Luhan. "Sorry!" He muttered quickly, sitting straight. He felt an arm wrap around his waist pulling him back into Luhan's arms. He looked up to see Luhan smiling. "I don't mind." He said. Xiumin smiled back, snuggling closer to the boy as he watched his fellow members joke around, happy and peaceful. 

~~~

what the did i even write i dont even know

uhhh i didnt really have any ideas, this idea just sort of happened 

oops

huh

anyway, thanks for the comments and new subscribers.

Special mention to annimaus for the comment! I'll do my best!