A few days had passed ever since Seokmin’s promise to attend Soonyoung’s showcase, which meant only a couple days left until the actual showcase, and since that faithful day Soonyoung still showed up equally late to his lectures, except flashing Seokmin a bright smile while sliding into his seat. 

Waking up on the day of the showcase, Seokmin was surprised to realize anticipation coursed through his veins, fragile, yet still present. The work day flew by, and he shortly found himself after work hours, waving goodbye to his colleagues and headed towards the university’s stage room. Walking past the students, he noticed there weren’t a lot of people present, quite a few seats were empty. He frowned, taking a seat near the stage right before the lights dimmed.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the opening showcase for the Dance Club! I hope you enjoy the show!” a handsome student with a bit of an accent introduced the club members and himself before letting Soonyoung have center stage first.

Seokmin’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of his student. His otherwise messy hair was carefully styled to leave his forehead showing, and he wore tight black jeans filled with holes that hugged his muscled dancers’ legs perfectly, along with a simple white t-shirt that left his collarbone to be seen. Seokmin couldn’t make out what to think of it.

The music seeped into the room slowly, and the younger boy’s nervous expression shifted to concentration the moment he started moving his body. His lidded eyes held such a serious expression , as if he was gathering every ounce of energy in his entire being to be able to move fluidly, gracefully. It...it looked like art, Seokmin realized. Like someone had painted his movements with a brushstroke. Like the most beautiful piece of art Seokmin had ever seen.

The showcase ended fairly quickly, and Seokmin watched as Soonyoung bounded off the stage, greeting friends and accepting congratulations on the way to him.

“So” he panted “what did you think?” The sweat covering his forehead made small strands of hair stick to it, and he was obviously drunk with the euphoria of performing on stage.

“That was....seriously, Soonyoung, that was absolutely incredible.”

The younger’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes.” Seokmin answered firmly, “you’re so talented, you’ve probably worked so hard for this, it’s amazing.” Seokmin watched the most radiant smile overcome Soonyoung’s face.

“Thank you! I’m really glad you came.”

They stared at each other, and Seokmin pondered.

“Hey, you must be really tired, do you want to grab something to eat? My treat.” Seokmin hesitantly asked, and the words surprised the other.

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’m actually starving,” Soonyoung admitted, “I was too nervous to eat anything today.”

“Oh god, Soonyoung, it’s 4PM. That’s not healthy, you really need to eat. Come on, I know this great Chinese place!” Soonyoung went to change his sweaty clothes and awkwardly trailed behind his professor all the way to his car.

The silence in the car made Seokmin slightly uneasy, until he the CD player. His favorite album was still popped in.

“Oh my god, you listen to Arctic Monkeys?!” Soonyoung was basically jumping up and down in his seat like a little kid, much to Seokmin’s endearment.

“Yeah, why? You know them?”

“It’s my favorite band!!! I love them so much!” Soonyoung exclaimed.

“Oh, it’s my favorite band too!”

Seokmin smiled, not moving his eyes from the road.

“What else do you listen to?”

The two realized they had a lot in common music-wise during the ride, Soonyoung happily chatting along as Seokmin nodded and smiled. Soon they were inside, seated and ordering food. When the waiter left, silence filled the space between them again.

“How did you start dancing?” Seokmin’s head cocked to the side, staring curiously at the younger.

“Well, when I was a little kid I did Taekwondo. I was actually really good, I won a lot of medals in competitions, but I lost interest a bit, because of its so repetitive. Then I found dancing, and saw that I could add Taekwondo moves to it, y’know? Without it being boring, you can always find something new in dance.”

“So why are you here?”

“What?” Soonyoung looked taken aback.

“I mean here, at the college. Soonyoung, it’s obvious to me you should be pursuing this as a career instead.”

“Oh.” Soonyoung sighed softly. “Well, my parents don’t think it’s appropriate, and there’s really nothing I can do to change that. All I can do now is dedicate my time to the Dance Club, but it’s sort of affecting my schoolwork...as you can tell.” Soonyoung’s eyes fell as he stared down at the table, slightly dissapointed and embarassed. He hadn’t gotten the best grade on Seokmin’s last test, besides his other classes that were just as bad.

Seokmin watched Soonyoung’s face, and how the different emotions played on his features.

“I’ll help you.”

Soonyoung’s head flew up, and his eyes darted back and forth, searching for sincerity in his professor’s face.

“You mean that?”

“Yeah. You obviously need a little help, you can come over to my place this weekend for a couple hours. There’s not much I can help you with besides my own course, but I think that’s okay for now.”

Soonyoung’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re already pretending I’m not late for every one of your lectures. I can’t ask that much of you.”

Seokmin chuckled. “It’s fine. I believe in your talent, and I want to help you.” Soonyoung’s eyes lit up, then darkened again.

“What about your soulmate? I don’t wanna intrude. I don’t think I should.”

Seokmin snorted, unamused, and scrunched up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal his soulmate watch.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t met my soulmate, and I don’t think I ever will.” The younger’s mouth fell.

“Oh. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m home alone anyway, so company is fine.”

Soonyoung stopped, silent for a few heartbeats.

“Al..alright.”

Seokmin grinned back at him.

“I’m...really grateful for this. Thank you so much for being interested in what I do and offering to help me, it means so much to me.” Soonyoung’s voice was hoarse, sounding like he was close to tears. The older’s eyes softened.

“It’s my pleasure.” He responded softly, almost whispering, then cleared his throat. Soonyoung’s hand twitched for a moment, almost as if...he’d wanted to reach over to Seokmin’s hands.