dance the night away
Apartment Block 17
(aka. extracurricular pt.3)
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[ROCK DANCE STUDIO]
Today 6:07 PM
junhoe<3
> lmao mingyu was just as clumsy as we expected
> hes spilt a bazillion coffees and stepped on my toes like 10 times
me
> awwwwwww idk thts so cuteeee
junhoe<3
> what
me
> like hes so innocent
> so pure
> precious bean pole
junhoe<3
> oh yea true
> anyway what u up to?
> im so bored
> come visit me;)
me
> i cant rn im sorry :(
> remember how i said i wanted to join dance classes?
> before school starts
junhoe<3
> so u can like get a feel of korean-style dance or smth??
> yeh i rmb
me
> im at a dance studio now
> i saw a flyer in the lobby saying there are free dance classes here
junhoe<3
> oh damn, free???
> cool
> have fun<3
me
> hopefully!!!
> u too,
> have fun with mingyu ;0
“Where are the new ones?” a loud voice boomed from across the dance studio, echoing around the spacious area. The dancers in the room looked towards the door, where a grinning boy with faded blue hair was leaning against the frame.
Minghao felt completely out of place; not only was he the only foreigner in the room (not that he looked foreign since ‘all Asians look the same’, according to the foreign students back in his school in China), he was also a lot taller, skinnier, and probably older than most of the boys in the room. It didn’t seem to be a dance class for girls, as the room only contained around fifteen teenage boys.
Having only moved to South Korea a few months ago, Minghao had found it incredibly difficult to learn the Korean language and assimilate Korean culture in general. He had earned a scholarship-based exchange to study dance at Pledis University, having done martial arts and b-boying since he was a young child. He wasn’t entirely sure if dancing was similar in South Korea, so after stumbling upon a flyer on the advertisement board in the lobby of his apartment block, he decided to give dance classes a go before school started.
“Hey, Soonyoung! You’re late,” one of the boys tutted as he pointed to the clock, which read 6:10 PM.
“Sorry, I was getting some coffee,” the boy at the door, Soonyoung, apologised as he set his bag down and walked to the front of the studio.
“Did you get us some?” a young boy of around 12 years asked hopefully.
“You’re too young to be drinking coffee,” Soonyoung laughed, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Anyway, as I was saying, Hoseok was telling me that some new students just signed up!”
The boys in the room turned to look at Minghao and another tall boy who stood next to him, displaying a face of equal confusion. “Hi,” Minghao said quietly, feeling unnerved under their piercing stares.
“My name is Minghao. I’m an exchange student from China, so please take care of me,” he continued formally, bowing slightly. Following his cue, the other tall boy introduced himself as ‘Moonbin’. The boy had an infectious, crinkly eye smile that made Minghao feel relaxed in his presence. At least he wasn’t the only new bait in the room.
“Thanks for joining our family, Minghao, Moonbin!” Soonyoung said cheerfully. “My name is Soonyoung, and I’ll be the one running your classes. Well, most of the time. Sometimes I get Hoseok to fill in, but he’s not as good as me.”
A yell resounded from outside in protest at Soonyoung’s statement, and all the boys in the room chortled. “No one cares, Hoseok,” Soonyoung hollered teasingly.
After settling down somewhat, Soonyoung plugged his phone into the sound system and beckoned at Minghao and Moonbin to go to his side.
“Alright boys, let’s show the newbies what you’ve got,” he instructed his students.
Much to Minghao and Moonbin’s awe, the ragtag group of boys; all ranging in height, age, appearance and dancing style; performed with great confidence, gusto, and impeccable coordination. The music’s beat reverberated a little too loud for Minghao’s liking, but he decided he’d just have to get used to it. Minghao was relieved because the boys’ dance didn’t seem too far off the dances he learnt back in China.
Just as the music slowed down and the dance came to a close, the studio’s doors flung open abruptly, revealing a proud-looking teenage boy. Minghao’s eyebrows furrowed as he realised that he knew him, though a dance class was the last place he’d expect to meet the boy. He was Boo Seungkwan, a friendly, over-the-top high school student who lived in the same apartment block as Minghao. Also, someone that Junhui low-key hated in terms of his competitive nature (but that was really just Junhui’s way of classifying his friendships).
“I’m here!” Seungkwan strolled into the studio, proudly announcing his entrance in English. His round cheeks were slightly red and he seemed to be out of breath, though he looked as if he was desperately trying to hide it. Soonyoung paused the music and all the boys turned to him in confusion.
“Seungkwan, you said you’d be here on time,” Soonyoung tutted, standing up and greeting the new boy.
“Sorry, Hansol got his shirt stuck in the door, and-”
“I don’t even want to know,” Soonyoung interrupted. The dancers had broken their formation and were making their way over to Soonyoung and the intruder.
“Anyway,” Soonyoung continued, unfazed, “since you interrupted the boys’ performance, I might as well get you and the other two newbies up and warm.” The mischievous grin on his face was broadening by the second.
Upon noticing Minghao, Seungkwan approached him with a warm smile. Though they didn’t know each other particularly well, Seungkwan thought that Minghao wasn’t nearly as savage as Junhui was (but that was because he didn’t know Minghao. Not yet.)
Soonyoung’s version of a ‘warm-up’ left the three boys out of breath and ready to cry in about ten minutes. The other dancers, seemingly having gone through the exercise regime from hell multiple times to the point of immunity, laughed and patted their backs in sympathy. Minghao didn’t know how Soonyoung was still so energetic and bright.
Once they had somewhat caught their breaths, and assured Soonyoung that ‘yes, we’re very warm’, Seungkwan introduced himself to the class as ‘Boo Seungkwan from Jeju’. Some of the boys started murmuring something about a ‘Boonon’, but Minghao had no idea what they were talking about. Is it some Korean slang I’m not aware of?
The next two hours of the dance class were some of the most tiring (but fun) hours Minghao had experienced thus far in Korea. Soonyoung had singled the three newbies out and asked them to dance freestyle in front of the other boys. Though nerve-wracking, Minghao felt immense happiness when the boys threw an abundance of praise at him following his short display of b-boying. They were so welcoming and friendly that Minghao’s anxiousness was thrown out the window.
Seungkwan took to dancing ‘Catallena’ by Orange Caramel with great confidence, and the room erupted in cheers and laughs. Having a tough act to follow, Moonbin somehow managed to keep the girl group routines going by dancing to ‘Wiggle Wiggle’ by Hello Venus, which many boys hollered at teasingly.
The remainder of the lesson saw some of the older students taking the class while Soonyoung helped the three newbies with the steps to a dance routine the group had been learning for the past month. Minghao was absolutely thrilled with the complex routine; he loved being challenged.
Moonbin proved himself to be an incredibly talented dancer, despite his tall, model-like figure that would normally result in an awkward flailing of tangled limbs (which was partly why Minghao preferred b-boying, as he himself had quite a lanky figure). Seungkwan on the other hand, seemed to struggle at first with the quick steps, but Soonyoung was incredibly supportive and slowed things down in an effort to teach him.
Though Soonyoung had looked like a really bubbly, carefree individual, Minghao was surprised to see how serious and concentrated he looked while dancing. The way he moved, the precision in his skill and above all, his passion, was what Minghao came to admire most about the teenager.
Minghao collapsed to the floor soaked in sweat, as he weakly managed to catch a towel that was flung at him by Soonyoung. The boys arranged themselves into a circle of some sort, with Soonyoung sitting in the middle, on a popsicle he had seemingly stolen from the common fridge.
“Nice work as usual, everyone,” he grinned, slicking his sweat-ridden hair back. It seemed to be habit for the boys to have a small chat after each class.
“We should talk to our newbies more,” Soonyoung insisted, swivelling around to face the three out-of-breath boys. “I’m curious; what made you want to come to this class?”
“It was free,” Minghao admitted and smiled when Soonyoung shot him a look of false disappointment. Moonbin nodded in agreement and high-fived Minghao.
“I wanted to get better at dancing,” Seungkwan said quietly. Minghao had gotten to know Seungkwan as one who enjoyed attention, as well as matching greatly with Soonyoung and his beagle tendencies. It came as a surprise that he sounded so serious and slightly nervous about the fact that he wanted to improve his skills.
“I think you’re great, Seungkwan!” one of the younger boys piped up. “You’re really awkward, but I think it’s funny!” he added with a toothy smile.
“Thanks,” Seungkwan exhaled, and though he said it with a slight sarcastic tone, he looked noticeably happy afterwards. Minghao had admired his resolution throughout the lesson to improve; and seeing where he was at the start of the class, Minghao was surprised at how much the boy had improved over the course of two measly hours.
“I hope my classes will be more than just free sessions,” Soonyoung commented, looking pointedly at Minghao and Moonbin. “And I’m sure we can help you out, Seungkwan.”
Soonyoung clapped once and stood up with a groan. “Well, if that’s all for today, let’s all head home and eat dinner, shall we?”
“Thanks, hyung!” the class collectively yelled as they swarmed the blue-haired boy in hugs and handshakes. Minghao smiled at their friendly, family dynamics and infectious energy. He knew he made the right decision to try out the class.
“Thanks for running these classes, Soonyoung,” Minghao approached the older boy as the rest of the students disappeared outside, no doubt contributing to the noise pollution of the night. “I learned a lot, and it was really fun too!”
Soonyoung smiled and pulled Minghao into a hug. “When Hoseok told me I was getting some new students, I was ecstatic! You’re so talented, and your Korean is really good as well. I look forward to teaching you!”
Minghao smiled and bowed one last time for good measure, before leaving as Soonyoung stayed back to pack his things. He heard Soonyoung yell something behind him, but having not understood what he said, he decided it wasn’t important.
Moonbin caught a taxi on his way out, smiling one last time at them. Minghao waved back. Throwing on a thin jumper, he began walking back to Apartment Block 17 with Seungkwan, but was quickly halted by Soonyoung, who was yelling at them to wait for him as he struggled to carry his bags out of the building. Minghao jogged over to help, feeling slightly guilty that he had left him earlier; though he wasn’t entirely sure why Soonyoung would need so many bags in the first place.
“Where do you live?” Minghao asked, lifting one of Soonyoung’s shoulder bags onto his back.
“Same place as you do,” Soonyoung flashed him a smile. “I heard you’re starting at Pledis this semester.”
“Oh, how-”
“Seungkwan,” Soonyoung replied bluntly. Oh right, Junhui did say that Seungkwan was somewhat of a gossip queen.
“Anyway, I’m studying dance there as well! Though of course, I’m your senior. So don’t hesitate to come find me for help!” Seungkwan had appeared to help Soonyoung out with his bags, and the three began walking back home together.
“Thanks, I could definitely use the extra help,” Minghao smiled gratefully. “Do you know Mingyu? He’s also starting this semester as a freshman, so it’ll be great if you could help us both settle in.”
“Ah, Mingyu. The big clutz of a puppy. He’ll definitely need my help,” Soonyoung chuckled.
Minghao managed to get Soonyoung’s bags over to his apartment on the eighth floor in one piece, much to the gratefulness of both Soonyoung and his roommate, who had opened the door looking absolutely wrecked with fatigue.
“Don’t mind Jihoon. He always looks like that,” Soonyoung grinned, dodging a punch from his sleepy roommate.
“Oh hey, Seungkwan,” his roommate, Jihoon, greeted. “I’ve written a few different chord progressions like you asked. Do you want to check them out?”
“Wow, thanks! Sure, I’d love to,” Seungkwan entered the apartment excitedly, saying goodbye to Minghao. Minghao wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he decided to dismiss it, as all he wanted to do at the moment was see Junhui and go to sleep.
Hugging Soonyoung one last time, Minghao dragged himself to the elevator to return to his apartment. After blearily opening the door and hearing his footsteps echo throughout the empty space, he realised that Junhui hadn’t finished his shift at work yet.
“Why does he always have to work so late?” Minghao mumbled, collapsing onto the couch.
When Junhui finally did return at nearly half past ten, he smiled upon seeing Minghao passed out on the couch in an uncomfortable looking position, clutching tightly onto a pillow like a baby.
“Must’ve been a tough dance class,” Junhui laughed quietly, carrying Minghao to their bed after facing great difficulty in prying the boy from his beloved pillow.
a/n;
as much as i wanna start developing relationships i have no clue what im doing :)
i will try my best as always
but juggling so many relationships is getting weird lol
thanks for reading! <3
pt. 4 will be jihoon’s quest for a job lmao
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