"MINZY! Thats the FIFTH time! GET IT RIGHT OR JUST GET OUT!" the instructor roared at Minzy in the dance studio.

"So...Sorry...I'm...I'm just distract...distracted." Minzy huffed out while beads of sweat dripped down her forehead and perspiration soaked her shirt.

"You know what, just take another five, but this time come back actually ready." the instructor said before angrily walking out to grab some water.

Minzy slid down to the floor and pressed her soaked back against the dance room mirror. She shook her head in frustration hoping that the movement would get her brain to focus on dancing. Everything was so simple a week ago...

"The next battle tonight is between two top dancers. It's Bora vs. Minzy! Get ready for a hot match. " the announcer said building anticipation, " First up is Bora!"

After a slight pause to raise the curtain and dim the lights Bora came onto the stage. Her long red dress adorned with loose ruffles brushed against the floor as she slowly sauntered in. She wore her hair in a high elegant bun that rested on the top of her head, to top it off was a large crimson rose that matched her bold lipstick. The light shined against her face making her aura seem very alluring to the audience. The front of her dress was cut short enough to reveal her legs all the way to her upper thigh. When she had made her way to the center of the stage Bora made one elegant sweeping motion in the shape of an arc with her leg to display her vivid red high heels and started the routine. Her first song choice was slow and fit the mood of the stage. Though Bora looked gorgeous, slow songs didn't fit her style and it was blatantly showing.  Her movements were too harsh at times and not as fluid as expected when she did simple things such as stretch her arm out or dip her back towards the audience. Soon the music switched to a fast paced tango song and Bora released her hair from the bun and let it cascade down pass her shoulders and settle around her waist. She picked up the pace of her dance and did running leaps  across the floor. Before the audience could get into the interesting choreography the song had already ended and Bora had done her last arabesque jump returning to center stage. Minzy had remembered at first being intimated by the visually focused stage but she kept her mind alert even though there was some unfinished business left to settle.

"Beautiful! Now that we've seen Bora's great choreography lets have a word with her before the next performance." the host said as he joined Bora on center stage.

"How do you feel about the routine you did tonight?" he asked her

"I feel great." Bora said shaking out her dark hair

"Like you can beat your opponent? Do you think you'll win over Minzy tonight?" he goaded

"Well, of course I want to win. We'll just have to see what happens. I can't speak for Minzy, but I know I did my best " Bora replied with another wide smile to the audience

"Alright well good luck tonight. " the host finished.

After Bora had left the stage he turned towards the audience and announced Minzy to the stage. Minzy slowly walked up with the lights much dimmer than with Bora's stage; they were almost completely off.  She had her back towards the audience and her head low. At the loud blare of a jazzy soul filled trumpet note from the track playing the lights flashd on and Minzy spun around and faced the audience. Her inky black hair was tucked in to her black fedora neatly and all that was visible were a few wispy strands. Taking advantage of the momentary silence Minzy gave a wink at the cameraman. At the sound of the next trumpet blare Minzy did another quick spin and tossed her hat to the audience while simultaneously revealing her outfit. She was clad in a cropped button down ivory top that was tied at her waist; it was paired with elegant high waisted ebony slacks. On the next beat the song started and Minzy began her routine with a flick of her head that shook her edgy shoulder length hair out of her face and to the side. She had chosen a more dazzling routine to fit the exciting genre of the song. Minzy did intricate moves that incorporated her signature popping style along with powerful struts and vivacious turns done on pointe. On certain parts of the song when an instrument stood out Minzy took the opportunity to flash a smile towards the audience while giving off a confident aura through her strong gaze. The routine took a turn when the music slowed to an intimate R&B song. Minzy reverted to body waves and more of an interpretive dance style. As the song came to a close Minzy slowly turned her back towards the audience once again. On the last drag of the guitar on the track Minzy looked over her shoulder and winked right into the camera.

"Wow! Two great performances tonight!" the host said once Minzy had finished and both her and Bora stood on the stage. "But there can only be one winner. The judges will reveal their votes first then the audience voting will also be revealed"

Minzy remembered being so ecstatic when the results were released and breathing a sigh of relief. She felt as if she had conquered a mountain. But that feeling didn't last long as she soon remembered what she had left to do,  make things right with Taemin.Throughout the last couple of days Minzy noticed Taemin had been ignoring her like she expected he would. What she didn't understand was why he was so close to Sua all of a sudden. She knew they were friends but something was different. Whenever Minzy tried to make eye contact he would look away or start a conversation with Sua. After the match Minzy recalled spotting Taemin, sadly with Sua at his side, waiting backstage to watch the other matches. She built up her courage and had walked right up to Taemin. To her surprise he gave a small smile, but then walked away. Before she could go after him Sua stepped into her path.

"Excuse me" Minzy had said with an eye roll trying to move past Sua. Once again however Sua blocked her way

"I don't think so." Sua responded in a mocking tone, "Taemin doesn't feel like talking with you right now. And I mean it's not like you've made an effort to talk to him either these past few days."

"Look it's none of your business Sua ." Minzy had said getting frustrated

"But it is. At least now it is. Taemin is my friend and like I said he doesn't want to see you." Sua said tilting her head to glare at Minzy

"Who made you in charge of him!?" Minzy shouted

"I did of course. Look you had your chance and you blew it. But I guess I should thank you. You've made it much easier for me." she had smirked at the end of her sentence.

"What are you talking about?" Minzy questioned

"It's simple really. The rumors are out already but they're still a little mixed. Now you tell me...What makes more sense? Taemin dating an up and coming beautiful SM labelmate or Taemin dating a has been idol from a rival company?" Sua shrugged " And like I said you're the one who wanted some space. Now you have some. You should have seen poor Taemin when I found him. You basically crushed his heart because you can't take the heat. I'll be glad to take your place now since I can take a little teasing."

"Sua, " Minzy said through gritted teeth "What makes you think Taemin would automatically want you?"

" In due time Minzy" Sua smiled widely "He'll forget about you slowly, I mean he can't afford to be distracted in this competition, but don't worry he has me now."

"This isn't funny anymore! I don't know what your problem is. You don't even know me!" Minzy yelled again

"And I don't care! It's not fair that you get accepted automatically while I still have to prove myself to everyone" Sua blurted out her face turning a deep scarlet

"Whatever issues you have with your 'friends' aren't my fault Sua and you know it." Minzy said

"Do I? Hm guess I'll ask Taemin about that. " Sua said before walking off in the same direction as Taemin.

Minzy had been left completely baffled by the encounter. Ever since then she had been off her game. She didn't understand why Taemin would trust Sua all of a sudden or just ignore her. She tried calling him, but most of the time it just went to voicemail. Minzy figured he didn't have that much time to be around his phone, but she expected him to at least try and call her back. She knew she asked for space, but she didn't think he would forget about her so easily either... After a slight improvement from earlier Minzy ended her dance practice with the instructor and walked out. The weight of all her questions about Taemin was starting to hit Minzy and she felt like she was about to burst into tears. She picked up her pace and raced through the hallway determined to leave the building as soon as possible. She was looking at the ground pinching back her tears as her legs got faster and faster.

"OW! Want to watch where you're going?" a voice rang out as Minzy felt herself crash into somebody

"Sorry..." she said weakly as she rubbed her arm and looked up to see the voice .

"Oh hi..." Minzy said in a dejected tone when she saw Kai in front of her. She knew it was silly, but she placed some of the blame of her falling out with Taemin on him

"Hi..." Kai answered just as awkwardly

"Um could you  move please?" Minzy asked trying to squeeze by Kai

He simply stood for a second before taking her hand and pulling towards an empty corner behind a less popular practice room. Kai used his hand to support himself as he leaned against the wall and placed Minzy on the inside of him.

"Whats your problem?" Kai asked in an aggressive tone

"ME?" Minzy asked indignantly while slapping Kai's other hand off of her. "You're the one who dragged me over here."

"I mean why did you hurt Taemin? He really liked you" Kai said again

"Me? Look not like it's any of your business, but he was the one who told about our relationship . And I tried to talk to him, but his new guard dog Sua won't let me anywhere near him" Minzy admitted

Kai scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion "Sua? What does she have to do with anything? I'm talking about you ignoring him. He tells me every night how miserable he is that you just left him like that."

"It wasn't me! Yeah we fought but I tried to talk to him again and he doesn't want to."

"Of course he does, but he told me he heard from someone else that you wanted more space. Then he gets here and you make no effort to talk to him. I know it's not my business but I don't think it's fair of you to keep punishing Taemin. He actually cared about you and thought you were cool. Maybe he was wrong." Kai said harshly

"Listen" Minzy said starting to feel the tears sting at her eyes "I never said that. I mean I did at first...but he's been ignoring me! Anyway what does it matter? Looks like he's already moved on"

"Moved on? Is that what you meant by Sua? She's like a little sister to all of us " Kai stated "That's why you won't say sorry to Taemin!?"

"I should say sorry?" Minzy questioned "Kai I appreciate you coming to vouch for  Taemin but I'm telling you for the last time. I've tried to talk to him again and get back together but he..." Minzy couldn't finish as a tear slid down her cheek.

Kai took a step back and looked Minzy up and down "So you do care..."

Minzy could only nod. Suddenly she felt Kai's arm wrap around her shoulder.

"I guess I'm the one who should say sorry...I think there's been some miscommunication with  you guys. If you want I can try to help you out . I didn't mean to come off harshly I just wanted to understand why you were hurting him."

"I didn't mean to" Minzy said softly almost in a whisper

"Now I know that... and now we can work together to help Taemin know that" Kai said in a more cheery tone and giving Minzy's shoulder a squeeze

"Whatever" Minzy said starting to laugh a little

"Alright Plan A is-"

"EXPLAIN. NOW." an eerily calm yet strong voice rang out

Both Minzy and Kai turned towards the new voice in the conversation and came face to face with an angry Taemin who was glaring at Kai's arm that sat on Minzy's shoulder.

"Uhm...I..I-"

* Alright hello again, another long update. I noticed my past ones with early chapters were kinda short so I've been trying to make the newer ones a bit thicker. Anyway hope you're enjoying the story. For anyone who is confused or if I didn't write well enough I'll clarify one part of the story. Minzy had a flashback to her match with Bora and on that night she tried to make amends with Taemin and talk. But Sua had told Taemin earlier that Minzy wanted more space, and Minzy unintentionally confirmed it by ignoring Taemin to focus on her match with Bora. When it was over she tried to fix things but Taemin is still unsure if she really wants him so he's avoiding her. I just wanted to make sure I got this part of the story across to you guys because I felt like maybe I didn't address it well enough in the chapter. You can tell me. Oh and ok I  made the whole premise of this story on a dance survival show but I feel like I hadn't included many dance scenes so I took this chapter to go more into small detail and add more scenes of the characters dancing since it's towards the end of the competition. The last few chapters will also include more of these scenes but they will be even more detailed so you can all picture it better. I'm not really much of a dancer so please leave me comments about how I described the stages. I want to hear feedback about it and see if I did alright. Btw I'm thinking theres going to be only 2 or 3 chapter left to the story~ Anyway please comment and I'll try to update as quickly as possible.