You and Soonyoung auditioned into Pledis Entertainment after growing up together in your hometown, and you shared with him a common dream of debuting someday and becoming top stars in the industry. You complimented him in a way that you were more of a rapper-composer and him a dancer-vocalist, and you used to often joke about debuting in a co-ed group. You were younger than him by three years, and it came as no surprise when he debuted first. Nevertheless, he remained as your best friend, even more.

Having an idol boyfriend while still being a trainee might be a dream-come-true for most fans, but while there are definitely finer points to it, there are certainly some difficulties too--the most common being time constraints. While Pledis' dating ban on trainees and idols has been eased up a little a couple of years after you joined the company, both you and Soonyoung sometimes have too much on your plates that you would not see each other for weeks or months. You would have dance training, vocal training, and other skills development sessions, while he would be off to some other part of the world for concerts or fansigns. Down days are rare, and so whenever you have even a couple of hours together, the both of you will make the most of it.

One such occassion would be right after Going Seventeen promotions. There were no guestings and the fansigns and concerts were done with, and the members are given time to work on their album. Soonyoung was working on choreography one night after a recording session with Jihoon, and you were just done with your dance training for the day. Instead of going home, you made your way to their practice room.

No one else was there; everyone must have gone home since it was already very late--or very early in the morning, rather. The music was booming and Soonyoung was so absorbed into dancing that he barely heard the door creak when you came in. You quietly sat at one corner and watched him dance, and when he finished, you clapped for him to know that you were there. He turned around to the sound of your voice and smiled warmly when he saw you.

"Looking good,"  you said, complimenting him.

He strode toward you and took you into his arms. Your automatically wrapped your arms around his neck as he spun you around. The muscles on his arms were slippery and taut, and he smelled of dancer sweat--a smell that had slowly become endearing to you. You wrapped your arms around his body, and his heartbeat thumped quickly against your cheek.

"I missed you..." he muttered under his breath as he set you down, not once slacking his grip on you. "You smell so sweet."

You cringed and laughed. "That sounded so weird," you said and leaned away to look at his face. He had hints of bags under his eyes and his skin was kind of sallow. You didn't know if it was from the lighting, or from fatigue. Since the promotions are over, there was hardly any time for him to go out and enjoy the sun, and he usually kept to the practice room, choreographing his time away. You lifted your hand to his face and said, "Oppa, are you okay?" 

"Of course, because you're here," he said with such a huge smile that you couldn't help but smile along. He ran his fingers down your jaw that gave you shivers down your spine. "What about you? Are you tired?"

You shook your head. "It's been fun, though still tiring at times. But when I watch your performances, it's like I'm not tired at all, because I want to be able to stand up on that stage with you someday."

He made a face at you. "Your cheesy lines are getting better."

"I learned from the best," you said right back.

He laughed and ruffled your hair affectionately, then to your surprise he said: "You want to dance?"

"Aren't you tired? It's late, shouldn't you be getting home?"

He touched your nose with his finger delicately and said, "I'm okay, I just missed dnacing with you. Can you indulge me?"

You hesitated for a moment, then relented. Then he played Laughter, one of your favorite songs, and then he led you in a waltz.

That's the thing with Kwon Soonyoung. He knew his body so well and he always moves with the perfect grace of a professional dancer. Even someone with two left feet would be able to follow along a dance if he led them. You personally didn't know how to waltz very well, but he led you perfectly, moving as if you've practiced the dance for millions of hours. You let yourself get lost in the music and the dance for a while, until the song ended and you remembered that you had something you needed help with, and you told him so.

"Sure, anything for you. What is it?" he asked.

You rubbed your nape awkwardly and said softly, "A dance..."

He chuckled. "Alright, show me."

You nodded and faced the mirror to demonstrate a move you learned that afternoon. All throughout your session you couldn't seem to get the counting or the beat right, and worse was that it had three turns to it. When you got to the second turn, you twisted your ankle slightly and fell on the floor with a yelp.

Soonyoung rushed to your side and worriedly checked your foot. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but that always happens. Can you show me how to make the move more fluid?"

"We need to check your foot first though. Are you it doesn't hurt? You might get injured," he said. He helped you up and you found that your foot felt okay even as you put some weight on it. When Soonyoung was sure that you were fine, he tried out the move you showed and succeeded in one go--one, two, three turns perfected. You watched in awe and couldn't help but clap when he finished it with flourish.

"Was that how it is?" he asked, and you nodded. Then he gestured for you to stand next to him and he walked you through the move step by step. You got all of the parts right after a while of explaining, until you got to the turns. You spun once and prepped to spin the second time, but your foot hit the back of your knee and you fell forward. After a few more tries you still couldn't get it, and by then your foot was starting to hurt for real.

Another thing about Sooonyoung was that, when it came to dance, he was strict. He's strict on the guys during practice, but you felt that he was even more strict with you. It must have come from informally training with him before you auditioned with Pledis, but he would never let a move go  until the both of you were able to do it the way it should be done. At that time, when you couldn't get it after more than three tries, he started getting frustrated. His words became short, his voice sharp, and the way he held you while teaching the move firm and rather painful.

"Do it like this," he said. He wasn't raising his voice, but it sounded strained and bordering on impatient.

"I can't--"

"You can't say that you can't, or else you really won't be able to do it. 'I can do this', 'I'll do it', 'I like it'; you have to say these things instead."

At this you remembered their Seventeen project, and this was one thing the CEO told pre-debut Seventeen. Of course, it should apply to all the trainees as well. So you tried the move again--and failed again. At this point Soonyoung threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Why--"

"Never mind! I won't do it! I can't do it! I hate this!" you yelled before you could hear what seemed to be an insult from him. "My foot hurts and I'm tired. I'm going home!" But as you started walking away, your foot gave way and it throbbed so painfully that you couldn't stop another yell.

At once Soonyoung was at your side and examining your foot, then he scooped you up in a bridal carry. He placed you gently on the couch by the mirror and then went to another part of the room where a cabinet was placed. When he came back, he had cold compress and the kit, and he seemed to know very well where the first aid things were kept. It came to you suddenly that the members must have gotten injured a couple of times. When he knelt to attend to your foot, he said in a soft voice,

"I'm sorry, I was too strict, wasn't I?"

You gulped and said, "No, I was the one who kept messing up..."

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"A bit..."

He applied cold compress for a while, then bound it up securely with a bandage. When he finished, he took your hand in his. They were cold from the cold compress, but they were wide and they felt safe.

"Remember this: you're a talented trainee. You have a lot of potential. You're here for a reason, and you're going to make it to the end. Okay?"

You pursed your lips. No one believed in you more than Soonyoung did--even your parents were half-hearted when they allowed you to become an idol trainee. But Soonyoung felt like your biggest fan, and he was more than your best friend. He always had an encouraging word for you, and it sounded like he has often told himself what he keeps telling you. No one knows your struggles better than Soonyoung does, because he has gone through them too. You sometimes think that maybe he was just humoring you with his words, but then again, he has never lied to you. It's your unspoken promise to each other, to not keep anything from each other and to always tell the truth--even when it hurts.

"Thank you for believing in me," you said softly.

He smiled up at you, a smile that sent butterflies to your stomach. He leaned up and placed a soft kiss on your forehead. "You were there for me before anyone else was, and I will always believe in you."