"And a one...and a two... and a three... start."

Seungcheol’s P.O.V-
A bit after the sign-up sheet was posted, all of the competitors were called into the auditorium. While we were walking with Hoon and his band, Hyemi ran over to us and smiled. “Hyemi you’re signing up too?” She grinned at us and I didn’t miss how Hoon slightly turned his head to see her. We all sat down in our teams and waited for a teacher to come up and give us more information. Soon enough our vocal teacher came out and smiled at us before staring at Hoon with a rather shocked expression. Join the club.. “Well I am seeing some unexpected faces as well as new faces so welcome everyone! Let us just jump straight into what you all must do and what the rules are.” She smiled at us before sitting down and pulling out some paper. “Each team will have to perform ten songs. All must be your own songs. If we find out you sang someone else's song you will be removed from the competition immediately. You must come dressed well. That means… no masks. Will you be fine with that Hoon?” We all knew she was testing him but he still looked pretty annoyed. Hyemi was giving him a worried look but he simply nodded. So he is finally going to take his mask off… why does he wear it anyways? Fashion statement?? “We will also be notifying your families so that they can attend your singing.” In the corner of my eye I saw Hoon clench his fists. What is his deal? “Now.. back to the rules. After each round one team will be eliminated from the competition based on the audience's choice. The themes for each round will go like this so please pay attention. In the first and second round you can sing any style you would like. For the third and fourth round you will be expected to sing a pop song. Then it goes Rock Ballad, Acoustic, Ballad, y, Pop, and finally, y. That is all. Good luck to each and everyone of you… I am anticipating.” She stared straight at Hoon who rolled his eyes and got up. His band was walking ahead of us and Hyemi when a couple boys rushed over to him. His friends kept walking, leaving Hoon alone with the boys. Our curiosity got the best of us and soon we were right next to them. “Um… Hoon… I heard you signed up for the singing competition. G-Good luck! I’ll be cheering you on!” He bowed to the boy who returned the bow and was about to walk away when the younger pulled out what looked like a box of chocolates and held them out to the other. “H-Here…. I got them for you… think of it as a good luck gift! Also… I was wondering if you could maybe… watch my choreo for a song I made? Maybe you could give me some pointers?” I knew we were obviously creeping in on the boy's confession but what can I say? It was quite amusing. I mean.. Hoon is obviously straight. He honestly has every girl swooning over him, including Hyemi. “Is this chocolate?...” Hoon spoke with a rather soft tone which made the boy look up flustered. Heck even I got flustered. “D-Do you not like chocolate?? … my friends told me you didn’t like chocolate but I didn’t think they were telling the truth. AH.. I am so sorry Hoon I-” He was cut off by Hoon laughing. It was pretty y to be honest. He grabbed the gift and opened it, looking at the obviously home-made chocolates. “Thank you and yeah I can look over your dance. Just come find me okay?” He bowed to the tomato before walking away cooly. Hyemi was leaning against the wall giggling at the scene that had just occurred. “Yah… be glad. Hoon usually doesn’t accept dates like that. Have fun okay?” She gave a thumbs up to the grinning boy before dragging us away. “So he has male fans huh? They still do things like that even though they don’t have a chance?” Jun smiled awkwardly at the girl who stopped and looked at us with raised eyebrows. “Who said they don’t have a chance?” I frowned at her statement before stating the fact that he obviously was straighter than straight. He is totally into girls. I mean come on. The cafe? He was totally flirting with that girl. Hyemi only sighed and smiled. “Hoon is biual. So pretty much everyone has a chance. You know once one of our teachers had a scandal with him? He held him back after school and tried touching him. Of course… Hoon did end up breaking his arm. He may look frail but trust me.. he is very talented.” I was a bit surprised at her story. A teacher assaulted him? Come on people he isn’t that attractive. I mean yeah he has unique features but still.. “Ah.. Noona there was something I wanted to ask you. How come he always wears a mask? Like is there a reason?” Her smile slowly faded away and she slightly bit her lip before looking around to see if there were others around. “Hoon..he wears it to hide his smile. He doesn’t want to show anyone his smile. It is sort of a statement I guess. He claims certain people smile fake smiles… he said he doesn’t want to become like that… faking it.. so he wears the mask. Don’t worry there isn’t anything wrong with his face.” She giggled slightly before turning around and continuing to walk. He… those certain people that he was talking about… he meant us right? Idols?
Dino’s P.O.V-
I actually ended up walking away from the group a bit after Hoon left. I wanted to hang out with him. I realize I probably bug him but I don’t care. I just want to hang out with him. I finally found him and quickly opened the room but was shocked to see him changing. He slowly turned around before staring at me in shock and yelling at me to get out. I nodded my head and quickly opened the door, shutting it behind me. “His… his back…” I was shocked at what I saw. In the middle of his back was a large cut followed by smaller scars. What happened to him? My thoughts were cut off when the door opened and his hands grabbed me, dragging me in. He slammed the door shut before pushing me against the wall and getting close to my face. My heart was pounding heavily but it wasn’t like we were going to kiss. His mask is taking care of that! It is just.. he is so worked up. “Don’t you know how to knock?” He was gritting his teeth together while staring at me with those dark eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. “Can’t even say sorry? Yeah.. I’m not surprised. I guess it is in your nature. Don’t you dare say anything to anyone about what you saw. I will kill you if you do.” I was about to speak about him insulting me.. again… when the door opened and the rest of Seventeen came in. Of course they had to come in… when we were too close. We both turned our heads to the shocked boys before Hoon turned to me. I guess he realized how bad we looked. I mean.. he had me pinned against the wall and our faces were so close! He sighed heavily before letting me go and walking to the middle of the room, pulling out his headphones before beginning to dance. How can he just act like this didn’t just happen?! The rest of the guys were still staring at me with a shocked look. When I saw Hoon, I felt something. He was dancing rather ily… and was doing body rolls and hip s. In that moment I felt like a fangirl… so this is what we put them through huh? In one part, he ily stared at the mirror and practically rubbed his crotch. My god… Even the other guys were surprised at his y dance. We were all mesmerized by how his body moved around. I then heard a soft ring and looked to his jacket. I guess his phone is going off. I grabbed the phone and ended up looking at the title before frowning.. Hospital? Why is the hospital calling him? Is he okay? I felt nervous at the thought that something may be wrong with him. Is this why he is quitting dancing? Is he going to lose his ability to dance?! Soon enough I was having a panic attack but had to slap myself to get it together. I quickly tapped Hoon’s shoulder which made him stop. He stared at me with a bored expression before he noticed his phone going off. He quickly grabbed it before walking out of the room, leaving me and the stunned hyungs. “Dino… why were you guys so close? Did he try something with you?” Coups rushed over to me and began checking me to see if I was okay. I smiled at him and nodded before remembering the large mark on his back. “Hyung… the hospital called him. Why do you think they called him? Is something wrong with him? Is that the reason he is quitting dancing?” I was worried about my idol. If something was wrong with his body I wanted to know. Seungcheol was just about to speak when the door opened and Hoon came back in. He looked as if all his energy was drained. I felt worry build up and quickly rushed to his side. “Hyung.. do you need some water?” He raised his eyebrows at me before walking past me and back to the front of the room. He had just about started when the door opened again and his band walked in. I heard him groan in annoyance. It was obvious he wanted to practice in silence. “Hoonie!! Come on! We have to get started writing the songs we are going to use.” The obviously older one skipped over to him and pouted. They were all the opposite of him. He was the chic serious one while the others were dorks. “I already wrote the songs we are using. They are in my bag.” They all grinned at him before going to his bag. I simply stared in astonishment. He finished writing their songs already? When? We literally just found out about the themes! Unless…. he wrote them before? “Hoon you really shouldn’t smoke. It is bad for your health.” We all turned around to see one of them holding a pack of cigarettes. He simply rolled his eyes and continued dancing. “They aren’t mine.” The older scoffed at him before walking up to him. “Really? Then why do you have them? Are you making deliveries or something?” I stared at Hoon whose eye slightly twitched before he cleared his throat and turned back to the mirror. “I gave you the sheets. Now leave. I have to work.” I heard the older sigh before he signalled the rest to leave. Soon it was just us and Hoon. Seungcheol suggested we start practicing too. We still hadn’t gotten our dance perfected so we needed to hurry and practice. Once we all got settled, we heard the door open and shut rather loudly. Hoon groaned loudly before turning to the boy from before. “Ah… you’re here?” We all tried not to stare but it was so hard. Hoon was actually talking to someone. He called the boy over and told him to put the song on. It was a y song. Knock by Nasty Nasty. Of course he chose a song like this. Hoon pulled up a chair and told him to show him what he had so far. We all decided to watch too. I mean.. maybe we could learn a thing or to. The boys dancing was pretty sloppy. He was really basic. I nearly laughed when he kept tripping over his legs. Hoon just sat and watched him with focused eyes. He seemed to be getting a bit distressed. Who wouldn’t be? You’re failing this bad in front of this many people. He should just stop. He tried to do a move that was way out of his ability and ended up falling. Right into Hoons crotch. I have no clue how it is possible but he did it. Everything froze for what seemed like forever before the flustered boy quickly stood up and kept apologizing. Hoon didn’t say anything but stood up and walked dangerously close to the boy. What is he going to do? He stayed silent but turned him around and placed his hands on his waist. I noticed the boy slightly jump and wondered what the hell he was doing. “You are too tense. When you move make sure your hips are moving along with you. Don’t think. Just listen to your hips. Follow the movements they go.” He slowly began to move the boy around by the waist and I knew he was embarrassed. “This dance…. it is a couple dance correct? You shouldn’t try to do both parts at once. It will only end up like it did earlier… and you never know whose crotch you will land on next time.” I could hear the amusement in his voice as the boy turned to him in horror. “This doesn’t seem like your style of dancing. What dancing do you actually enjoy doing?” Hoon sat back down and stared at the boy who seemed to be nervous. “B-Ballroom…. ballroom dancing..” I honestly wanted to laugh. I KNOW. I am being a but… I’m jealous. He is dancing with my idol… “Ballroom dancing? Really?” Hoon raised his voice a bit and I knew he was smiling. The boy nodded slowly before looking down in shame. What happened next really screwed with me. Hoon got up and grabbed his chin, lifting it up gently. “Let’s dance then.” He let the blushing boy go before taking the CD out and putting in another. Soon enough music began to play. It was very formal. He held his hand out for the other to grab which he slowly did. What… is this a drama? Geez. Hoon pulled the others body close by the waist and soon enough their bodies began dancing together. He was definitely better than I would have guessed. Hoon was staring at the ground to make sure the other didn’t mess up but he… he just stared at Hoon with those eyes. His eyes were filled with love. Soon enough their dance came to an end and Hoon clapped at him. “You are very good. It was fun dancing with you.” He was about to walk away but the younger grabbed him and quickly pulled his mask down before pecking his lips and running out of the room. We couldn’t see his face since the others hands were blocking our view. Hoon quickly turned and covered his mouth with the mask before staring at the door in shock. I was also staring in shock. What just happened here? The door opened and Hyemi came in with a weird look on her face. “Hoon did you do something to that boy? He ran out of here so fast!” She walked over to the boy who was now rubbing the sides of his heads. “Noona he got kissed.” Vernon smirked at the shocked look on her face. “He kissed you?! Wow… that was your first kiss too.” I could feel jealousy boil up as I heard his first kiss was stolen. What is this? I’m straight...right? It would be bad for my group if..if.. if I started liking guys. “It was just a kiss without any meaning.” He plugged his headphones in and was about to start dancing when the door opened and his bandmates came in. Hoon groaned in annoyance and ripped his headphones out. “Aish! What?!” We were all taken for surprise at how his temper burst. “Hoon we need to practice the songs. All of us. Besides we need to make sure your voice is still the same.”
Hoon’s P.O.V-
I looked down at the floor. I am dreading singing…. especially if that means I get those feelings back. “I won’t sing until I have to.” I slightly glared at them but they were used to my attitude. Jin walked up to me and stared down at me. He was taller and older than me. I was the youngest out of the whole group. “I’m the leader of this group. I call the shots. You’re singing now.” He roughly grabbed my hand but I took it back. “I never said I was back in the group so you can't boss me around. I am only singing until the end of this stupid contest. That’s-” I was cut off my a sharp pain in the side of my head. My hand reached for it and I let out a soft hiss. They were all staring in worry now but I brushed it off and returned to normal. Still… what was that about? “Hoon are you okay? What’s wrong with your head?” Jin was practically examining my entire head now and it annoyed me. “Are you my mom? Get off me. I’m busy. Go away.” I practically pushed him away and plugged my headphones in. Of course.. I was interrupted AGAIN. My phone was going off. I quickly slid my hands into my pocket and was about to answer it when Jin grabbed it and answered it himself. I was too shocked at what happened to react. “Ah… why is the hospital calling you?” He stared at me in confusion but I simply groaned and grabbed the phone out of his hand. I apologized to them for what had just happened and asked if I could help them. It would be a waste of time leaving the room. I know Jin. He would simply follow around like a lost puppy. These days… instead of her calling it would just be the hospital with bad news. I felt my heart drop at what they told me. She coughed up blood. I asked if everything was okay but the lady just said she needed the surgery soon or else she would die. I told her to just do the surgery and I would pay them after. She seemed a bit suspicious but she knew me well enough to know… I wouldn’t break my promise. I quickly hung up and packed up. What the hell am I doing dancing? I should be out finding jobs… I need to get the money fast. The first round of the contest is tomorrow… Please just wait… I promise you will be fine. I bowed slightly to Hyemi who starred in worry. Once I left the school I began looking for jobs. There weren’t many jobs available but I did find one in a warehouse. I just had to move boxes for mail as well as other heavy things. The man was pretty desperate for new workers so he let me start right away. I was now moving boxes and had sweat trickling down my face. The only thing on my mind is her. I did this for about 5 more hours and finished about the same time the academy ended for the day. I was now walking to my second job at the cafe. The girls always welcomed me in with smiles on their faces. My boss said I smelt nasty so he wanted me to go wash up a bit. Thankfully I didn’t smell too bad… I rarely sweat and when I do… I don’t smell too bad. Once I got washed up I started brewing coffee and serving the girls. I heard the door open and welcomed them in but when I lifted my head I saw one of the nurses from the hospital. She motioned to a table and I knew something was up. I yelled at my boss that I was taking my break and handed my shift over to another worker. Once I sat down, I ignored the looks and whispers from the others. “Is something wrong? I heard… she coughed up some blood this morning?” She smiled softly at me and nodded. “Hoon… They are going to operate on her in nine days. Where are you going to get the money? I mean… after..” I looked away as she talked. I knew what she was saying. There would be no way for a high school student to make that much money fast. “I’m getting more jobs… and I signed up for a contest. If I win I get $10,000. Then.. then I plan on dropping out and getting some more jobs. I already got another one. It pays well…” She kept staring at me with those eyes. So much pity in those eyes… I hated it. I could feel tears swell up inside. “She heard you were participating in the contest. She wanted me to wish you good luck and… she wishes she could be there to hear you sing.” After saying that she got up and left. Tears were slowly dripping out of my eyes. I felt so useless… it should have been me. The cafe closed early due to some dumb reason so I was walking back to my apartment. I kept staring down at the ground as the tears left their mark on the concrete. All of a sudden an arm grabbed me and led me to an alley. I was too depressed and felt too weak to yank my arm back. “Well well well… look at the cute doll we found.” They tried to take my mask off but I pushed them away which earned a punch to the gut. I felt more pain that I should have and felt confused as to what was wrong. It didn’t take long to realize they were ripping my clothes. My shirt was ripped open and their hands began touching me. I glared at them and kicked one away but that obviously didn’t do much since they threw me down and started kicking me. One kicked my head which caused a sharp pain to hit me. I let out a yell and quickly held my head. They then grabbed some pipes and started beating me with them. They only stopped when I began coughing up small amounts of blood. That is when they left me alone. I knew if anyone found me they would take me to a hospital. I can’t have that. I don’t need to be in even more debt than I already am in. I used all the strength I had to pull myself together and walk. I limped my way through the crowds and knew I was at my breaking point. I was about to pass out. Just a bit more Hoon…
Seungcheol’s P.O.V-
We were all laughing as we were walking back to our dorms. That is when we noticed a body limping its way towards us. I felt my heart drop as I recognized the mask the boy was wearing. As soon as he reached us he slowly looked up and stared at us with those exhausted and tired eyes. He was beat up pretty bad. Purple practically covered his body and his shirt was ripped open, exposing his body. He groaned slightly and continued walking, slightly pushing us aside. That is when he suddenly stopped moving and brought his hand to the side of his head, before dropping into my arms. He was about to hit the floor but I quickly got to his side. He was passed out. We were about to take him to the hospital but once he somewhat regained his consciousness he practically begged us not to. In the end we took him to our dorms and snuck him in without our manager or anyone else noticing. We all placed him on the couch and Dino ran to get bandages and ointment. I then told everyone else to leave us. Once it was just me and him I started scolding him. How could he get into this? Why didn’t he ask for help? That is when I noticed he was crying. He looked terrible minus the scars. He looked as if his whole world was crashing down. Dino ran in with the ointment and passed them to me. I thanked him and told him to go to his room. He was about to protest him but I gave him a look that said ‘look you brat I am the leader so do as I say’. He sighed in defeat and practically stopped to his room. As I was treating the boy he didn’t respond or say anything to me. He simply stared up and let his tears fall down. Once I was done bandaging him I brought out a spare shirt and told him to change into it. He only threw it down and finally… finally… glared at me. I was expecting at least one glare and was a bit happy to get at least some emotion besides sorrow out of him. “I don’t need your .” I frowned at his language and sat down next to him. He was unstable that was for sure. “Hoon… I have been meaning to ask you. Why do you hate idols so much?” He scoffed at me and tried to get up and leave when I spoke up. “If you tell me I promise to leave you alone. I won’t bug you anymore. I promise. I just refuse to let you act like this without a reason.” He stopped walking and I knew he fell for my bait. I won’t bug him but there is nothing I can do to stop the others from bugging him. Slowly, he limped back onto the couch and sat down, taking in a deep breath. “They.. they ruined my life.” I sat back and folded my arms, giving him a look to go on. “My sister.. she was always a big fan of you guys. She dreamed of becoming an idol. She was so talented so there was no doubt she could do it. She was so passionate about singing and dancing.. I was happy for her. One day her favorite group was having a concert. I think they were called.. BTOB. My family was all driving to the concert when we ended up getting into an accident. It was pretty bad.” I had a bad feeling about this but still couldn’t understand why he hated us so much. “My parents didn’t make it. I was left with cuts and bruises and a large cut across my back but my sister… she was left temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. She couldn’t walk… She also had problems with her voice after it. About a week after we were admitted into the hospital, there were auditions to be an idol. She grabbed a wheelchair that was given to her and snuck out without anyone knowing. When I went to go get her… I heard that group talking about her. About how ugly her face was. About how she couldn’t really sing and sounded as if she was in pain. About even if she did ing make it.. she wouldn’t go far because of her face. They even made fun of how she was on a wheelchair. Just as I was about to hit them.. I heard one of them complaining about how bored and annoyed they were singing all the time and dancing all the time. There my sister was… so passionate about her dream that she even went to audition a week after an accident… only to have them talk about her like that. They were so tired of singing and my sister was struggling to keep her voice! They are so sick of dancing when my sister was in a wheelchair!” He stared at me with eyes full of emotion. So much hatred and sadness filled them. I felt bad… it made me regret all the times we complained about being worked too much. That we were sick of having to sing all the time. “She still can barely talk… a little bit after the incident I saw her crying in front of the TV. It wasn’t tears of happiness… it was sadness. She saw that same group singing half-assed like that. She wanted to sing so badly… I couldn’t bear to live her dream… I just couldn’t hurt her. So.. I quit singing for life. Since dancing wasn’t completely taken away from her.. I started up a channel on Youtube and danced for her. She enjoyed it and would send me songs to dance to. I promised I would help her once she got better… I would dance with her and make her happy. But now I find out she is going to die unless she gets surgeries that cost money I don’t have. That is why I need to win that contest. That is why I refuse to let you guys win. I need to win for her.”