“Ah. You came.”

Immediately Soonyoung can feel his good mood evaporate. Jihoon’s words are cold, cutting. He hasn’t grown an inch since middle school, but even though he’s shorter and craning his neck up to glare, Soonyoung is the one who feels small. Never mind Jihoon’s balancing on three shoelifts. And stepping on the door frame.

“I was this sure you would chicken out. You always didn’t like to fight me head on. Coward.”

Fighting isn’t good for harmony. Quarreling was already bad enough to tear people apart.  That’s what he thought. If everyone’s happy, why cause trouble? So what if his latest modification to the choreography got rejected once again? They can dance together. The dance studio was full of people, music and laughter. Noisy and warm.

Soonyoung was so happy.

Then, not too long ago, they were friends. What happened to that? Soonyoung hasn’t raised anything at Jihoon ever, not his voice, his fist or his discontent. Even when the video started making its rounds around the school population, he was the one who tried to keep Jihoon in the dance club. That the dance club could brave the humiliation, that fresh choreography could give it a new lease of life. That the dance club they recently took over would make it.

Yeah, like a loser all he could do was cling. Plagiarism is terribly wrong, but foolishly Soonyoung only knows how to forgive. Could only believe that everything would turn out okay. Try to hold everything that was falling apart do fast together. The video uploader would stop posting comparison videos, the school would lose interest and regular life could resume. Then the dance club would have enjoyable dance practices, something Sooonyoung anticipates more than marathon anime sessions. 

And regular life did resume. After Jihoon picked him out, cast him aside and pinned everything on him.

“Our other choreographer Kwon Soonyoung apologises for plagiarising various dance performances.” 

One sentence. And nothing was the same again. Hell, Soonyoung wasn’t the same after that. Seungkwan had to pull him out of his gloomy air. Plagiariser, the word clung onto him. Kids from the junior class gossiping about him, seniors who once treated him like a cute kid casting a judgmental eye. 

And he never once fought back. Seungkwan’s dead convinced it was some form of twisted loyalty to an old friend of his, some whacked out form of sympathy.

Soonyoung has never been so sure. What if he’s just that much of a coward? That all his good reasons for not fighting are just excuses for being afraid?

“And he’s here to kick your .” Seokmin says from behind him. His arrogant tone is familiar and oddly comforting.  Right now it’s actually what he needs to here. Reminders of where he is now, of what has happened. That he's here for the dance club. 

“There’s no way I’ll lose.” Jihoon says with certainty. Really, what kind of tricks is he up to?

“Wait for it.” This overconfidence, it’s been so long since Soonyoung’s encountered it first hand. The annoying manner of speaking, but today it gives him strength. Seokmin believes in him. Believes despite not seeing him practice, not seeing the final results that Soonyoung can win. That Soonyoung will win.  

That if a fight eventually, there are people on his side.

There won’t be a repeat incident. Jihoon won’t get what he wants another time.

----

“And now for the highlight, the dance battle!”

Both him and Jihoon make their way to the center of the hall. Seungkwan gives his back a solid thump. All the attention shifts to them as Seungcheol explains the details. It’s a freestyle dance battle, and everyone present gets to vote openly on which performance they preferred.

For all their “date ruiner” and “here for free food” the boys like to say, they really do care. Care too much, these adorable fools. Seokmin gives a little fist pump from the distance. Soonyoung sends another fist pump back.

There’s less pressure. He knows that the guys came here just for him. They’re behind him, they won’t let him crash and burn.

They believe he can do it. More than he does himself.

And Kwon Soonyoung can.  

The music starts.

Damn, Soonyoung lucked out. That’s a song the dance club was considering for their school festival performance. He knows the beat, understands the flow of the music. Take a deep breath and start dancing. A well-placed trick here, exciting moves strung together. Fast-paced movements, not a single misstep. Fresh. Exciting.

 When the song finally finishes, Soonyoung pants lightly. He gave it his all, now just to hope he absolutely decimated Jihoon.

“We’ll give you five minutes to decide!”

The audience chatters. Soonyoung’s was good, many say. Highly enjoyable. But the replay broadcasted on the television screen makes him nervous.

There are a couple of people whispering that Jihoon’s was more polished. They’re right. His moves might be more lively, fresher but Jihoon’s always been the more precise dancer. Controlled and careful.

So what if he has the creative moves? Visually, you could think Jihoon was more impressive. Soonyoung hasn’t moved forward from when Jihoon left the dance club. Jihoon’s freestyling has improved, even if the moves are stale and something he feels like he’s seen before.

The feeling of defeat nestles uncomfortably in his stomach. The cheering for him doesn’t quite have the same impact.

He hasn’t lost just yet. But already he can feel his hope dwindling. The lively chatter throws their names around with equal frequency, but there smug look on Jihoon’s face makes him so nervous. And like the loser he is, he retreats to a darker corner of the room. He’s not a star, without the members he can’t stand by himself under the harsh lights. Not when Jihoon used to be one telling him how to improve.

Not when he's lost so completely before. 

“I think you’ll need more material to decide.”

Seokmin pushes his way through the crowd, right next to Soonyoung.

“Mansae freestyling 2014. Search that on YouTube, video number six. A direct copy of that cherography.”

Ah!

He remembers.  That day he was waiting for Seungkwan to be dismissed from Broadcasting Club. Facing the mirror and trying out different cheorographies while Seokmin practiced. How their music and singing were in the same tempo and therefore infinitely less annoying. 

“Nice moves. Not yours, of course?” Seokmin had asked. Soonyoung pointed to his phone as a reply.

“Referring is ethical. Plagiarising isn’t. I’ll put out ty choreography before stealing something.”

And amazingly, Seokmin had remembered. No wonder the moves looked familiar.

Joshua takes his laptop out from nowhere and searches the video up. Really, you can’t deny this. The moves are practically one for one. Even the facial expressions are identical.

Jihoon hasn’t changed either.

Strangely enough, that doesn’t make Soonyoung feel much better about himself. That doesn’t make him a winner.

The audience is rife with gossip. Oh god, it’s identical. The plagiarizer from last year was Jihoon? No way. So Seungkwan wasn’t blindly defending his friend? When Soonyoung staunchly defended himself he wasn’t lying? So Soonyoung didn’t just oust Jihoon for power? He only wanted to save the dance club?

All this while, Soonyoung was the good guy?

The audience vote is obvious. Not even Seungcheol putting one vote in for Jihoon changes anything.

An overwhelming victory.

But it isn’t his credit. It wasn’t Soonyoung that beat Jihoon. It was Seokmin.

Somehow that makes him feel very bitter. There’s no sweetness from the success. Nothing has changed. Soonyoung still isn’t the better dancer.

He’s still a loser. Someone who only knows how to ride on coattails and go with the flow others create.

The way Seokmin shrugs and diverts the attention straight back to Soonyoung makes him feel even worse. To him, winning is just that easy. Less time than watching one of those advertisements before your video starts playing. Someone who charges head first into whatever catches his fancy, consequences be damned.

Inferior. He’s always been the second best. A good loser, but never a winner.

Has Soonyoung ever won anything on his own strength? Maybe Jihoon is right. He is a coward.

Soonyoung avoids their gazes and slinks back to his friends. Latches onto Seungkwan’s sleeve and tugs at it.

“Let’s leave.”

He’s supposed to be happy. Seokmin was trying to help.

But for some twisted reason, losing might make Soonyoung happier.

At least it’ll be on his own strength.

Seokmin takes one look at Soonyoung's vacant stare and knows he's messed up. Big time. 

---

a/n: i apologise for the angst?? i promise more cheerful fluffy days ahead after they get this out of the way so stick with me ^-^ thank you for reading chapter after chapter so loyally :>>