Once out of the dorms it’s a five minute walk to campus, we make our way in and out of each building while Jinwoo gives a brief statement of what classes and other activities that are usually held inside. Every once and a while Myungjun corrects the shorter and Dongmin sometimes ends up correcting the both of them, but stays quiet for most of the makeshift tour.

In between walking to the next destination I get to talking with the tall acro student. I find out that Sanha’s actually a year younger than me; claiming that he skipped a grade and was able to apply to the school based on his recommendation letters from some fancy private dance academy he attended in his hometown.

Which first lead me to believe that Sanha was just another stuck up rich kid, but turns out the guy is so very painfully shy and awkward when it comes to new people. I also find out that the boy is loaded, but it wasn’t too surprising since he told me about his schooling situation.

“Are you both taking your freestyle class this year?” Jinwoo questions once we’ve made it into the building that apparently holds the costume and shoe department.

Everyone attending the school has to eventually take one semester of freestyle-when they take it is completely up to the student. In the class it helps others shine in particular dances that you are not taking credit classes for. Bassically to show off other talents that wouldn’t be useful to your core classes.

In other terms, it’s a blow off class.

Sanha nods his head eagerly, locks bouncing with the movement. “Yeah, I thought I should just get it out of the way.” I silently agree with a nod of my own. “Did you three take it already?” He questions quietly while pointing towards the the trio.

Myungjun’s face lights up like a christmas tree, hearing the question. “Yes! But-” He pulls himself away from his partner- much to the latters dismay, according to the noticeable pout- and claps a hand onto Dongmin’s shoulder, eye’s saying ‘we know something you don’t know’. “Dongmin here failed it last year, so he has to retake it.” The blonde chokes on a laugh once he’s called out the taller.

My eyes become saucers and I notice Sanha’s are the same, if not even more so.

“Stop telling people I failed.” Dongmin grits out with eerie calmness.

“Well, didn't you technically fail?” Jinwoo timidly questions while patting his boyfriends shaking back- the latter still choking through oncoming laughs.

The taller lets out a tired sigh and runs a hand through raven locks, seemingly becoming more frustrated with the turn of conversation. “Getting kicked out of the class doesn't count as failing-”

“You got kicked out?!” Sanha screeches in disbelief.

I wait for the exploding words to fall from Dongmin’s mouth, but they never come, instead he just quietly adds a ‘Yeah’ and moves his hands to the inside of his hoodie pocket.

The youngest nods his head in understanding and gives the cold hearted dancer a look of sympathy. “What’d you do?”

Myungjun doesn’t give Dongmin the chance to answer and lightly adds. “He kicked his dance partner in the shin for showing up late to their graded performance.” Jinwoo throws a hurried arm over the blonde’s shoulders and ushers him away from the second year, most likely afraid of the backlash.

My lips curl into a smirk. “So technically you got kicked out and you failed?” I slyly ask, pushing my chances.

He rolls his eyes and continues walking. “Just shut up, both of you.”

Sanha hikes his duffle up from where it’s slipping down his shoulder and strides to walk beside Dongmin, leaving me at the back of the walking group. “You kicked them in the shin?” He asks lightly. “How does doing that get you kicked out exactly?”

“I had my tap shoes on when I kicked him-”

This whole story finally hits me like a ton of bricks and I completely lose it.

“What th- hahaha!” my laughing is as subtle as Myungjun’s wheezing at this point, but my cares have been thrown out the window to the dancer’s disbelief

“-and I ended up fracturing the bone.” Dongmin continues even though his only true listener is the strange acro kid.

In between laughs I continue. “I’m not sure if I should be laughing at the fact that you decided to do your freestyle final tapping or the fact that you know how to tap!” I picture the entire scene in my head and understand why Myungjun finds the situation as hilarious as he does. “Oh my god! I can’t breath!”

My laugh continues on full force until a hard palm connects to the back of my shaking head. “Ow!” I rub the tender spot while making a pout towards a straight faced Dongmin.

“Told you to shut the fu-”

“Okay children, calm down.” Jinwoo hurriedly cuts in between Dongmin and I before the situation worsens and proceeds to steer the conversation about the next building we’re currently entering.

●●

After we’ve toured the whole campus, Dongmin leves first, claiming he needed to ‘warm up’ for his class, while Jinwoo and Myungjun continue to walk both Sanha and I to our first classes of the day, before heading to their own of course.

“Okay, here's Acro A1.” Jinwoo annonces once the four of us are stood in front of a large room that could be easily mistaken for a gymnasium.

“I already feel like we’re sending off our child!” Hopping on the balls of his feet and gripping onto Jinwoo tightly, Myungjun wistfully annonces to the corridor. Passerbys give him weird glances and I duck my head away from the embarrassing older, but he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered.

“Aww, you like me that much?!” The younger folds his hands and brings them close to his chest in a touched manner, eyes b with hopefulness.

Myungjun’s smile changes to one of fondness and he nods his head. “Of course!”

“D-does this mean I can have lunch with you guys today? I-I don’t really have any friends here…”

Lunch. I didn't really think about that; It would be nice to not have to eat by myself.

“Sure!” Jinwoo announces happily and quickly turns his attention towards me. “You wanna join as well, Moonbin?”

“Oh, um, yes.” I stutter helplessly at the sudden question. “Although, I don’t think Dongmin really takes a liking to me, he probably won’t like that very much.” I think of the older boy with a grain of salt, remembering all the nasty glances and muttered comments. I just don’t know how to read him yet.

Beside me, Myungjun snickers and places a gentle hand on my clothed shoulder. “Oh don’t worry about him. Dongmin’s all bark and no bite, he’ll warm up eventually!”

“Yeah, he’s like that to literally everyone, trust me.” Jinwoo finish encouragingly and I nod in understanding.

Some people just need a little more time and I hope that’s the case with this one- for now I’ll have to trust his close friends.

“I don’t think he’s too bad… It’s kind of charming…” Sanha ponders aloud and I quickly question the younger’s taste.

“Of course you do, you’re a ball of sunshine, now get to class!” Myungjun lightly pushes the younger, towards the open room. “People are already starting to warm up!” He then calls after him, for good measure, and smiles in content once Sanha has ran all the way inside.

I watch the lanky boy through the wide observation windows and take notice of how his personality does a complete one-eighty from just a few seconds ago. He’s closing himself back up.

“You’ve already adopted him, haven’t you?” Jinwoo asks his lover quietly, as if my ears were to not hear the question.

“Yep. He’s going to need it… Sanha is too pure for the cold world that this dance academy has in store for him. They’ll eat that boy alive.” Myungjun, since the first time I’ve met him, has now shown his age through the words spoken. The atmosphere suddenly becomes one of uneasiness and I clear my throat to remind the couple that I’m still here.

“You’re room is two doors down to the right.” Jinwoo answers in a quick manner. “You should go on ahead and warm up. Thirty minutes early is considered ‘on time’ for the Ballet Department.” He gives me a tight smile and I begin to walk.

“We’ll all meet back at the meal hall!” Myungjun’s naturally loud voice carries down the hall and I nod my head in understanding before giving a final wave to the pair as I enter my first class.

●●

I’ve shed the sweats and t-shirt, and I’m now on the floor clad in my black tights, ballet flats, and a white leotard. I begin tedious task of stretching out my legs and back while keeping my eyes on the wooden flooring and away from basically everybody else; I just know I’ll start to psych myself out if I see anyone doing some kind of bizarre pretzel stretch.

My ears pick up scattered conversations about diets and availability of certain practice rooms, but I do my best to tune out the useless chatter.

Clapping hands brings me out of my current thoughts. “Okay, okay, okay” I look towards the authoritative voice and watch as a tall man with a strong build and a clipboard in hand, walks into the studio.

“My name is Han Jungwook and I will be your instructor for the male ballet students and your instructor for the warm up period.” Mr. Han walks around the spacious room and moves in front of the wall of mirrors. I take this moment to finish rotating my right foot and stand up, the rest of the class has also paused their stretches and are now all facing the instructor.

“I’m going to call out everyone's name for attendance and then I will let you know who your partners are for this year. Remember, your partners have been preselected for you based on your audition, whether it was sent in or recorded at the live auditions, both have been evaluated.” He continues speaking while making eye contact with as many students as possible.

“The head of the auditioning department and many others have specifically placed each of you together; to strengthen your weakness all the way down to your agility. Being paired up is more than just being able to lift or trust the other, it’s about a true partnership and this is something you’ll have to grow to learn in this upcoming year.” He finishes with a hopeful lift in tone “Now, let's get started. Bae Seojun-”

I space out once the instructor begins roll call and I focus on observing the class. Most are huddled in their own little cliques and only a handful are by themselves, probably just like me. Alone. I could always saunter up and introduce myself to a group or a lone soul, in an attempt to become friends, but not one person in here seems to be even remotely approachable. In fact, everyone seems dead set on one goal.

Success.

Yes, they are bunched up in their little groups for now, but you can see the eagerness and thirst in their eyes and fidgeting feet; simply craving to be on the stage in front of thousands and thousands of people.

That’s why we’re all here, right?

“Moonbin?”

I lift my hand and say ‘here’ to make sure the instructor’s attention lands on me. The older man gives me a once over and continues on with calling out the list. It’s not much longer until he switches his papers and carries on to the partnering sheet.

I wait in anticipation.

Minutes pass and the room is practically all paired up- aside from a few girls and boys who have been abandoned by their groups- and are now scattered around the studio, deciding to interact and greet their new partners for the year.

As the list dwindles down I become more and more confused at something I didn’t even notice until now. The number of  boys and girls in this class are uneven.

“I want all of you to take this time to introduce yourselves to your partners and get to know one another a little better.” My eyes widen when I realize what's going on. “Moonbin and Park Minhyuk, come over here please.” The lone boy and I walk to where the teacher is in the middle of the studio. I pass up all the wondering eyes with my own confused pair.

“Your partners are actually no longer in the program.” Mr. Han begins quietly as if he is avoiding any unwanted attention that could be drawn towards the conversation.

The boy beside me mumbles out a ‘what?’ while I opt to scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

“Moonbin, due to an accident causing her achilles to snap, your partner is unable to participate. As for you Mr. Park, your partner actually dropped out.” The two of us stay silent, too shocked by the information.

Mr. Han lowers his tone even further and sets his face into an understanding mold. “Since this all happened on such short notice; The board told me to bypass your grading for this particular situation and grade you on individual studies instead, like maybe a solo to replace a duet. Or the other option they have presented to the both of you is, to pair up.”

Two boys pairing up? How-

“This is only possible due to the fact that during the physical, the board had decided that Minhyuk’s ankles seem to be quite weak for a male ballet dancer and Moonbin has very little pas de deux experience. So the two of you can use this opportunity to your advantages.” The instructor quickly explains.

“Both of you would be graded along with the class until the second year and you, Minhyuk, can strengthen those ankles of yours and Moonbin, you can get the practice you need.” He finishes in a chirpier tone then when he had started.

I look over to the other boy, curious as to what he thinks over the whole situation, because honestly it doesn’t seem too bad of an idea to me.

My eyes take a good look at the other student for the first time and wow.

The boy, Minhyuk, has a strong jaw, light brown eyes that have a sort of fire lit into his irises, and hair that’s a wavy brown, similar to Jinwoo’s. He’s average height, although definitely shorter then I am, with toned and defined arms crossed over his narrow chest. My eyes rake down his legs and holy , his thighs could probably crush my skull.

In conclusion, he’s quite breathtaking. A different kind of attractiveness from Dongmin; The taller being an untouchable beauty, where as Minhyuk is the exotic type that can definitely be touched, but there’ll be consequences.

A scoff from the shorter interrupts my, not so appropriate, thoughts. “Absolutely not.”

“We can totally partner together, you’re pretty small anyways!” Realizing what I had just said and I quickly correct myself, silently hoping the smaller dancer doesn't get offended.

“W-well not small, but I’m pretty sure I can lift you- uh… I mean pairing up wouldn't be difficult.” I mumble out the last part, but it’s too late, the quiet mummers of the other students that once was heard in the background, has stopped and is now replaced by laughter.

I look around and notice how mostly everyone is either bewildered or amused by my suggestion. The instructor though looks completely surprised and Minhyuk looks not only embarrassed, but also ready to murder me; Arms now by his sides and fists so tight his knuckles have become paperwhite, compared to his deeper skin tone.

“What makes you think I wanna partner with you, Gandalf?!”

“Gandalf?” Isn't that the tall dude from Lord of the Rings?

Mr. Han brings up his empty hand between Minhyuk and I. “Boys, both of you need to calm down, this is just a suggestion amongst the board. You don’t have to partner up.” His voices calmly.

“We will partner up.” I push further, because I need to improve on pas de deux, whether it’s with a boy or a girl.

“No we won’t!” The shorter grits out, stepping closer into my space.

I lift up my brows in challenge “What, you don’t know how to do pointe or something?”

“Of course I know how to do pointe! I just don’t see the reason why I have to partner up with you!” Minhyuk stares back at me with so much hostility that I begin to second guess my original thoughts about his looks.

This guy is way too hard headed.

To be fair, most boys don’t really have a background or any knowledge of pointe, so his answer throws me completely off guard.

The only reason I even know how to do it is because my dance teacher back home made me, saying ‘It might come in handy one day!’. Well it definitely won’t be coming in handy this time around because I’m almost positive Minhyuk will be the one wearing the pointe shoes, unless he wants the job of hoisting me up in the air, and I highly doubt he can do such a task- given our height differences and builds of course.

“Enough! I expect a direct answer from the both of you by the end of class.” Mr. Han says with absolute authority and in return I shrink back from Minhyuk while the latter turns around with heated footsteps and walks away.

“Now, everyone to the barre! I want to see the most breathtaking plies!”

I huff out a sigh and grudgingly help the other students set the barres into position. “Once warm up is over, girls please head to the room over to start your lesson with Mrs. Choi.”

Mr. Han’s instructions go in one ear and out the other.

Great.

●●

“Sehyoon, your supporting leg is about as straight as Elton John.” The instructors booming voice corrects a boy somewhere near the back of the class and I mentally shiver.

It’s hard to focus.

My warm up at the barre is sloppy and that’s putting it nicely. My plies are shaky compared to the machine of a girl, who’s in front of me, bending his supporting leg at ungodly angles and heights when we eventually switch over to fondue developpe.

But my eyes keep moving to a certain boy named Minhyuk.

He and I aren't positioned at the same barre, instead he’s one barre to the left of mine, giving me the perfect view for observation.

The shorter is precise and sharp, almost perfect, but the words ‘weak ankles’ scream in my head. Mr. Han wasn't lying when he stated the short comment. Minhyuk wavers every now and then, albeit only briefly; Dropping too early or swaying out of formation, it all shows and I hate that I feel bad for the shorter.

I mentally sigh at the thought of pairing up with him, the option doesn't even seem plausible towards Minhyuk. There’s gotta be a way to convince him before class is over. Maybe I can talk to him during transition when the girls are switching classes-

“Moonbin, was it?” I refocus my wandering gaze back to the girl in front of me, trying to seem like I wasn’t just spacing out. “You’re struggling at a barre exercise.” I almost falter my movements at his words. “At least control your bent feet for christ sake.” My knuckles are white where my hand grips the barre and I quickly correct my obvious error, previously pointed out. I then push all and any thoughts of Minhyuk out of my mind.

Remember why you’re here.

I may have been a one in a thousand in my hometown but here- here I’m just like everyone else, there are no, top students or head honchos, everyone at this school are on equal playing grounds.

We all have different end games, dreams, goals; this school will give us the credentials and the push to do amazing things if we complete our training. Hundreds of doors will automatically open and then it’s ultimately up to us what we so wish to do with these opportunities.

Most who finish will be picked up by ballet companies, others will be offered jobs at academies, few will go off to create their own studio, and a handful will become choreographers.

But first we all must go through the blood, sweat, and tears of training. The acceptance rate is thin, while the graduation rate is even smaller, but those who stay focused and determined can most likely pull through it all.

“Why does this look like a baby ballet class?!” The middle aged man stands at the front of the studio, arms crossed over his built chest in jugement. “You shouldn’t even be breaking a sweat.”

That’s bold of him to say, but then again he’s just spewing random insults- not really aimed to anyone specific- to make us work just a little harder then we normally would.

“Beautiful degage, Junhee.” He compliments a boy from the front and moves on to another row. “Next is ron de jambe.” After a few beats the piano switches tempo, continuing on to another move.

Mr. Han walks slowly down my row and I stay focused on my feet, legs, back, arms- everything, not wanting to be scolded again. The older man then turns his head from side to side, evaluating each dancer in passing, with trained and precise eyes. “Better, Moonbin.”

I mentally breath a sigh of relief.

He comments about a girls arm posture when the music’s tempo suddenly speeds up; piano keys twinkling along. “Moving on to grand battements.”

On the eighth count, I and everyone around me change to the last move.

My right leg swings effortlessly out and back in again, reaching the height of my lower chest and back down into first position at a quick pace. Forwards, side, backwards. Up and down.

It isn't long until I begin to feel the all too familiar burn in my upper thighs as I start to reach my limit, while sweat slowly drips down my temples and the back of my neck.

“Slowly now. Remember, the cool down is important. Work through the pain now so you won’t have to later on.” His voice has changed to one of a calmer tone as we reach the end of our warm up.

“Alright, thank you everyone! Boys grab some water and clear the barres, get ready for technique. Ladies please head over next door for you technical class. Remember pa de deux practice is on Tuesdays and Fridays.”

Multiple sighs of relief sound off throughout the room and I myself let out a quiet breath of relief.

I notice a couple of boys have already began to move the barres, so I opt to relax over by my duffle where I had tossed the bag earlier. The girls take their own belongings and head out the doors and I watch as a certain boy walks carefully towards me.

Here goes nothing.

~*this chapter has not been edited*~

HOLY MOLY ASTRO'S COMEBACK! <3 I listened to the whole album and it's just simply amazing *Cries tears of joy* Hope all of you liked and enjoyed the comback~

Thank you all for reading<3 comments and suggestions are always welcomed! Please let me know what you think of the story so far!!

Here are definitions for the dance positions I mentioned in this chapter ~~
*Pointe- a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes.
*Plies- a dancer bends the knees and straightens them again.
*Fondu Developpe- I can't really write it out so here's a video~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbYJCeiJDJE
*Barre- a stationary handrail that provides support for people during various types of exercise.
*Degage- pointing of the foot to an open position with an arched instep slightly off the floor.
*Ron de Jambe- I can't really write it out so here's a video~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGbzmvWpjnI
*Pas De Deux- a dance for two people, typically a man and a woman.