for erykaleigh

Yuta exasperatedly takes large gulps of the water, panting as beads of sweat roll down on his face. Despite being winter, the SM Rookies trainees are working as hard as ever. The mirrors are so fogged to the point where they don’t even see themselves anymore. Though, without further ado, they still continue practicing. After all, tomorrow is their last SM Rookies show.

Yuta ignores the throbbing pain on his ankle, waving it away because he knows he’s had a handful of these instances. He’s just going to ice it later, after practice. Besides, he doesn’t want to disappoint his fans. The choreographer claps his hands, and he goes to his place. This time though, he feels like his ankle is more painful than ever. Don’t mind it, Nakamoto Yuta. Do you want to miss practice? Wait a little bit more. It’ll be okay. He thinks to himself, heaving heavy breaths.

‘0701’ starts to blast in the speakers, and he starts dancing. In the middle of the song, he feels like his ankle is burning. Yuta can’t hide his pained face, but he clenches his teeth to force down the discomfort. After another minute that seemed like another year, the song is finally done. He slumps down on the floor, silently groaning. Taeyong copies him, but he’s too tired to check up on his Japanese friend.

After pushing himself from the floor, Yuta forces himself to get ice from the freezer somewhere in the lounge room. When he presses the cold compress on his ankle, he feels a little better, but it’s still a bit painful.

The next day, everyone’s busy in preparing the last SM Rookies show. Doyoung rubs his hands together anxiously, all the while muttering random rubbish out of nervousness. “I’m so excited! But it’s our last show.” Jaehyun points out, and everybody agrees wistfully. Yuta is also nervous, but he’s so ready to show what he’s got. He glances at his ankle. It’s still a bit sore, but he hopes – no, he begs – that it’s going to last until the show is over.

Taeyong thumps his friend’s back, and Yuta snaps out of his thoughts. “Yuta-yah. Are you okay?” He asks. He puts on a smile and nods, “I’m fine, Taeyong. Let’s do our best.” The both of them slap their hands together for a high-five.

Soon after, they’re on the platform. Yuta can’t calm his nervous heart. Johnny whispers a little ‘fighting’ for everybody as a staff counts one to five. “It’s show time,” someone says, and as the platform raises, the members hear the fans’ screaming becoming louder by the second.

‘0701’ blasts in the auditorium, and the rookies start dancing. Yuta feels like his ankle is starting to become more painful as he continues executing the difficult steps of the dance. Thankfully, he holds out until the end of the song. Immediately though, ‘Bassbot’ blares out, and he has to bite his lip to force down the ache.

“Ouch.” He unconsciously whimpers, and before he knows it, he’s already lying on the floor, groaning in pain. “Yuta hyung!” Someone calls worriedly. His head is in a flurry. He can’t think or see straight. Everything seems to be in a blur. Yuta sees the staff immediately tend him, and strangely enough, all the noise around him is blocked. Nakamoto Yuta, you are one stupid guy. He thinks to himself be