Chapter 6

"Again." 

Monique breathed heavily, leaning onto her knees as she attempted to take in a proper breath, closing her eyes tightly from her heart pounding so hard, her legs aching. Sweat drenched along the spine of her back, seeping through the fabric of her oversized, dark blue t-shirt, it covered her body with a glisten and shimmer in the lighting of the studio, but it didn't change the fact that she felt like she had ran a 10k marathon when all she had been doing was perfecting her dance routine for her debut. 

After wiping off the beads of sweat that trackled down her forehead and neck, she did as her choreographer had demanded- she did the entire hip hop dance piece from start to finish with no breaks. 

Her choreographer, Yin, wasn't anything how she had expected him to be during her auditions. He had smooth features, like a child's, a manly jawline with no trace of stubble, his eyes had been inviting and kind, but now showed concentraction and sterness for each move her body performed for him, he had broad shoulders that came naturally with a dancer as well as strong arms and legs that gave him a posture of a judge, but he remained slim and barely tall enough to look down at Monique's shorter stature. 

"You're doing great, give me one more run through of the whole thing and we'll call it a day." 

Monique panted, nodding and leaning against the cool mirrored wall, straining herself to push through- in all her years of dance, there wasn't ever such a demanding practice like the one she was currently enduring. She swallowed down a shallow breath and nodded to herself, giving herself one last push of encouragement before pulling up her leggings and doing a quick stretch and stepping in to her position in front of Yin for one last go of the choreography. 

Yin's sight on the young girl only intensified as she hit every powerful move with more confidence and concentration. The fact this was the last run through, made her forget her fatigue and put her all into the choreography, giving no errors and only perfection, making Yin slightly smile at the end of the performance and nodding in approval, clapping his hands together, "Perfect." 

"They're pushing her a lot," Jin murmured as he watched the practice Monique was currently going through from the other side of a two-way mirror. Rap Monster nodded with a sigh, "Hopefully she won't give up..." 

Suga sat in a sofa, leaning back into the fabric, arms behind his head as he glanced at J-Hope who also watched the practice intently, "She's strong, she can handle it." V, who stood beside J-Hope, nodded, patting the slightly older boy's shoulder with reassurance,

"Don't worry, hyung, she'll be great!" He smiled at him brightly, trying to dismiss the upsetting look on J-Hope's usually happy facial features, "Hyung, she's done, we can take her for dinner tonight after the recording with Weekly Idol." J-Hope sighed, glancing at  the tiger-resembling boy before nodding subtly at the suggestion.

Jungook and Jimin plopped themselves beside Suga on the Sofa and chuckled to themselves, "I think hyung knows as much as we do, that when she's done with that practice, all she's going to want to do is sleep." Jungook nodded at Jimin's words, looking back up at J-Hope worriedly,

"We've had countless brutal dance practices like that with Yin, but Yin's especially being hard on her. Maybe because she'll be a solo artist, and she needs to be the best to be a soloist with the company. But, who would've though Yin would be the one she'd be stuck with for her training." J-Hope nodded at Jungook's knowledge and glanced back through the mirror, "But I'm sure she'll be ok, hyung. She's a very strong dancer." 

J-Hope sighed, "I'm not worried that she's not a strong enough of a dancer or not, I just don't want her to push herself past her limit and hurt herself." Jin nodded as he stood beside J-Hope, patting his shoulder,

"It's obvious you care about her, Hobie, but you can't step in the way of this, this is her career we're talking about." J-Hope nodded at Jin and let himself fall into Jin, his head resting on the older's shoulder, "She'll be okay, don't worry. We've all had to take the path, they're probably just pushing her because her debut isn't that far away, she won't have much time for training." Rap Monster nodded in agreement, patting the younger member's assuringly, 

"We'll take her out for a bit when she's done." 

"Moniqueeeee!" The members turned at the sound of V's excited squeal to see Monique emerging from the dance studio, breathing heavily with a towel around her neck. She blinked at the group of men who came to see her and offered a smile to them, raising a hand as a wave, only to be tackled with a tight hug from V. She laughed and hugged him back, "How was practice?" He looked up for an answer.

She smiled at him and nodded, "It was great! Very demanding, sure, but great!" J-Hope sighed in relief from her expression and nodded. Jin glanced at the younger then back at Monique with a smile on his face,

"We came to see how you were doing and if you'd like to go out for a bit with us? Our treat, of course." Monique puffed her cheeks slightly and shook her head, making Jin blink, "Why?" 

"You guys have been paying for me ever since we met, I can pay for us for today," Jungook stepped in as Monique was about to pull out her wallet, pushing it down, "Yahhh, Jungook-ie, I can manage." She waved a hand, trying to make Jungook let go of her wallet and side bag.

"Noona! It's against our beliefs to make a woman pay, you can just relax and let us take care of it, we're men! You're worked hard today, please?" Jungook pouted, making Monique slightly roll her eyes at the sight and sigh, 

"But... But..." 

"No buts, we're paying," Suga stepped in and made an abrupt end to the argument, making Monique sigh in defeat,

"Fine." 

The group sat around a table at a nearby park, Monique sipping at a frappuccino Rap Mon had bought for her, resting her head on her forearm. Taehyung sat beside her, sipping at his cider and nibbling on his dry squid, Jimin sitting on his lap comfortably, "Tough practice, I'm gathering?" Monique subtly nodded, not lifting her head up from its position on her arm, making Jimin laugh, "It gets easier in time." 

Jin nodded in agreement, biting into his sandwich, "Did you at least have fun?" Monique glanced at the oldest through her hair, a smile on her lips, nodding. Jin laughed and hummed, "Has Hyun-ssi spoken to you about the actions of the company? You have been going to dance and vocal practice every day for two weeks and they have yet to tell you the expectations."  Monique nodded once again, a sigh breaking past her lips.

"I think you'll be a great solo artist, but the company has yet to release a girl group, so you never know which route they'll take," Suga chimmed in from his position on a nearby bench, laying down with his forearm folded over his eyes, resting, "It'll be interesting to see where they stick a foreigner."

Jimin rolled his eyes before tossing his crumbled up wrapper at Suga's head, "Yah, just because she's a foreigner doesn't mean she doesn't have a chance to be a solo artist. Show a little compassion!" 

Suga glared at the younger from underneath his bangs, "I'll kill you for treating your hyung with such carelessness." Jungook stiffled up a laugh at Jimin's sudden change in character as he flashed a sweet smile, his hands up protectively at his chest,

"I-I think you got me confused with another handsome and inteeligent dongsaeng of yours, heh.." Suga averted his gaze and continued to lay on the bench, his arm covering his eyes once again, Jimin then sticking his tongue out at the unknowing hyung, the ordeal making Monique laugh softly. She tilted her head to the side to look at J-Hope, smiling at him as their eyes made contact. He blushed slightly before clearing his throat and averting his eyes shyly to Taehyung, 

"Anyways, are you free sometime tomorrow? Maybe we can all go to the mall," Taehyung mentioned excitedly, wiggling Jimin off his lap, hugging her arm with hopeful eyes. A soft chuckle left her lips as she looked at the anxious and excited expression on the slightly younger male's face, rolling her eyes playfully before shaking her head,

"It would seem I don't have a choice," Covering as she yawned quietly. Jin chuckled at the appearance of the symbolic sign of exhaustion as well as her sleepy expression she wore on her face, playfully taking the frozen coffee she had been sipping at for the past half hour and then examined the frosty, wet plastic cup with squinted eyes. Monique grabbed at the stolen cup, only to have it pullen away from her reach, watching the expression in confussion, "What is it?" 

The older man tilted the cup in his hand, humming in false intrigue, "Is this even working? You're still as sleepy as before, if not more so." 

Monique rolled her eyes and snatched the cup back, taking a sip at the slushy coffee, "Joonie-Oppa bought it for me, besides, I want to be awake right now." 

The group of boys blinked, falling quiet in curiosity at the strange sentence, looking at the girl who twisted the red straw between two fingers, "Why's that, Noona?" Jungook questioned, voicing the other's thoughts. Monique flashed a smile at the boys who looked at her and hummed, wiggling in her seat slightly, 

"Well, because I want to spend time with my best friends, of course." 

"Jimin! I said stop it!" Jin growled as the younger laughed.

"But hyung, you have o learn the choreography!" The younger defended, making Jin roll his eyes at his response, dropping his hands to his sides in annoyance,

"Not if you change the choreo every two seconds!" He yelled back.

"That's the thing about dancers- they think of better choreography as they go, that's what makes a great performance, hyung. You don't want to disappoint our ARMYs do you?" He hummed out threateningly, wiggling a brow at him. The older sighed, crossing his arms over his chest in defeat, grumbling in response. 

"But hyung's right, you shouldn't be changing the choreography so often." J-Hope started, "How do you expect him to remember it if you do that?" Jimin huffed,

"Who asked you," Jungook grumbled, creating a dense atmosphere.

"It seems I got here just in time."

The group turned at the familiar voice, smiling as they saw the familiar figure at the entrance to the studio. Monique leaned against the doorframe with her practice bag dangling from her shoulder, an oversized, deep gray tank hung from her body with a teal spaghetti stap beneath it to cover more skin and comfort, emphasizing her curves beneath the loose fabric, matching teal leggings clung to her muscles with gray Nikes, her hair pulled up into a high, loose, ponytail. 

"What's you doing here, Noona?" Taehyung asked after tackling the girl with a tight hug, nuzzling his nose into her hair. Monique shrugged with a slight smile, placing her bag down, 

"I was told to help you with some couple choreography. Hyun-ssi said it'll add profesional experience to my resume." The group blinked as she began to stretch, Taehyung wiggled a finger at her,

"Soooooo does that mean you're the partner?" Monique smiled at him in answer, making him jitty, "That'll be awesome! A different pace for Bangtan Boys, and ARMYs would love to see a y side of us!" He continued to strike a y pose, making Moniqye stuffle up a laugh, earning himself a hit in the stomach by Namjoon, "Ow!" 

"That'll be great, so who'll be the lucky one." He stated, rather than questioned, his eyes glancing at J-Hope who hid off to the side of the member, trying to conceal the simultaneous ecstatic and anxious look on his face, "What kind of dancing would it be?" Monique glanced at Namjoon with a hum, not missing a beat as she finished her stretched for her response,

"Intimite." 

A grin placed itself on the three oldest members, eyes locking on J-Hope who noticed them, a scared expression on his face, holding his hands up as Jin, Suga and Namjoon pushed him towards Monique, making her look at them in confusion, "We nominate our lead dancer to represent Bangtan for such a task." J-Hope glared at the three before locking eyes on Monique, blinking as she studied him intently, shrugging, 

"Let's get started." 

"No, Hobie-Oppa, like this," She said as she, herself, did the motion before grabbing his hips. J-Hope stiffled up as Monique carefully placed her hands on his hips and demonstrated chich way to move them, concentrating on each movement the man made, making the slightly older boy even more restless. 

The onlookers could only watch in amusement as the lead dancer of their team struggled to maintain his emotions and get the fairly easy choreography- at least, easy for the two. Jin chuckled as J-Hope started to gain confidence in the footwork and and ual draw, pulling Monique close suddenly as he pulled her against his body for a part of the choreography, the room falling silent as the two became in sync with the dance, soft music playing as he did the steps flawlessly, Monique moving her body with his effortlessly. 

The chemistry between the two were obvious to those around them, but not to the two that needed to see it the most. they remained oblivious to how comfortable they had suddenly become with the close contact and skinship. Namjoon studied the two closely and glanced at the oldest who nodded at him knowingly, as well as Suga. 

J-Hope then wrapped Monique around himself before ending the song with her leaning over his knee, his head resting in her chest, both panting softly after they experienced something so magical between the two of them, looking into each other's eyes intently. A light blush covered Monique's cheeks in a light shade, before picking herself up out of his arms, straightening herself up and fixing her hair,

"P-P-Perfect," She stuttered before grabbing her bag and leaving the room to go to the bathroom, washing her burning cheeks with cool water.

The group watched Monique leave, turning their attention to J-Hope, to see him staring after the girl, still shocked with the dance the two had just done together. Taehyung was the first one to approach the still man, patting his back with a bright smile on his features, snapping J-Hope from his daze, "That was amazing, hyung!" 

Following Taehyung was Jimin who playfully slapped the older boy in the stomach, "Wahhhhh daebak!" 

The rest of the members approached him in a circle, humming in approval and congratulating him, making J-Hope confused. Namjoon wrapped an arm around the younger's shoulders and held him into his side, "I knew you were up to something~. You knew the choreo all along and just wanted to sweep her off her feet, right? That's so sleezy~." He cooed, making J-Hope even more confused, rubbing the back of his neck,

"I-I don't know, hyung, it just happened. I can't explain it, but it was amazing." 

Jin smiled and ruffled the younger's head, "Ok, let's call it a day. Monique's probably unsure of how to approach us." He chuckled, the others nodding along and agreeing to the suggestion. As they went towards the door, they looked up to see Hyun, looking at them in confusion,

"Where's Monique?" 

The group blinked and pointed out the door, "The bathroom." Hyun nodded, looking at the boys, raising a slight brow,

"Already done with practice and the choreography for next week's performance? Couple included?" Namjoon nodded with a smile, "So soon? You all did a once over for the concert?" The group nodded again, making Hyun shift slightly on his feet, clearing the doorway, "Ok, have a good rest of your day, and stay out of trouble."

"Ne!" The group responded, leaving and stopping in front of the women's restroom. 

"I hope she's okay," Taehyung mumbled, arms crossed over his chest, "We're supposed to go to the mall today, and if what Hobie-hyung did affects her to the point where she won't go- I'm going to kill him." Suga chuckled lowly, patting his shoulder,

"I've taught you well."

Finally the door opened, to reveal Monique with damp hair, a towel around her neck, and a flushed expression on her face, stuttering as she was about to explain herself to the shocked looks that appeared on the boy's faces, when another girl stepped beside her, looking the group up and down before flashing a fake smile,

 "She was having a little trouble with the water. You know how foreigners can be."