A/N: In all honesty, I have no idea where this story is going LOL. I have no idea about chronology anymore, either, and I'm just going with the flow. I was originally going to keep adding to this chapter, but I think I'll try and limit myself to about 2k from now on? For Perfect, I let myself go much longer since it was meant to be read as a oneshot, but for this project... I think it's going to be a few chapters longer than I expected, assuming I don't become impatient and just write some cuz I'm lowkey thirsty like that.

Once again, I wrote this one day on my phone, so please don't judge me too harshly... ^^" Also, I worked an extra shift at work yesterday until late, so I'm hella delirious right now and might have made some terrible mistakes and what not. 

Taeyong lies on the practice room floor in pure exhaustion as the slave-driving choreographer saunters out with the perfunctory call of '"You've worked hard today. Go home!"'

Oh god, Taeyong whimpers internally. I can't move. Everything hurtsー my waist, my legs, my back... Maybe I really am a grandpa... he thinks morosely.

Taeyong hears a muffled whimper, and he sits up tiredly to see a sweaty, worn out Yuta sitting with folded knees by his side. The Japanese boy's brows are a bit furrowed, and his chubby cheeks are adorably flushed. "Um, are you alright?" Taeyong asks shyly.

"I'm so tired," Yuta pants, "but it was fun. Everyone dances well... it makes me want to catch up quickly!" he finishes with a breathy chuckle.

For a moment, Taeyong considers reaching out to pat Yuta's shoulderー for comforting, good-natured reasons, of courseー but he decides against it. He instead ruffles his own hair. "You did so great despite it being your first time dancing the choreo," he says honestly. "You're loads better than Doyoungー"

Taeyong lets out a startled yelp as something collides with the back of his head roughly. He turns to see a balled up towel lying innocently behind him and an approaching Doyoung. "I heard you say my name, hyung," Doyoung seems to cackle as he swings another towel in hand back and forth, "so I thought you wanted me to give you a towel?"

you, too, Doyoung. Taeyong just rolls his eyes as the mocking bunny comes closer, but he is surprised when the younger boy passes him and bends down next to an apprehensive-looking Yuta. "Aigoo, hyung~" he expresses in a motherly tone, dabbing at Yuta's sweat as if he were a child. "For someone so cute, you're so messy~"

What is he playing at? Yuta and Taeyong think simultaneously in worry. Yuta seems to start sweating harder than before, and Taeyong shifts, preparing to pull Doyoung back in case he plans to do something suspicious to the new trainee.

However, Doyoung isn't the only one wanting to fuss over Yuta. Hansol wordlessly stalks over, sits down, and proceeds to help wipe Yuta's sweat with another towel. He and Doyoung share a smile that kind of rubs Taeyong the wrong way over Yuta's head as they work together to dry him off.

What the hell? The leader feels like he's making an ugly face as he watches Jaemin come over eagerly with a water bottle and begin to talk Yuta's ears off. Jaehyun and Ten, the epitomes of friendliness, come over for some action, too.

"Guys?" Taeyong croaks, but no one pays him any attention. 

Meanwhile, Yuta feels beyond unnerved. I wonder why some people fantasize about being surrounded by attractive foreigners. It's actually a really terrifying experienceー oh ing hell, am I getting caged in?! he screams internally.

For Taeyong, watching Yuta get gradually more smothered by his friends makes him feel many mixed emotionsー sympathy, concern, annoyance, a bit of humor and warmth... For one thing's sure, he's relieved that Yuta is well-liked and getting along well with the others.

Kind of. Maybe. Okay, scratch thatー Yuta is definitely too well-liked by the others, and maybe the 'getting along' part is a little one-sided since he seems basically done with everyone in the room, if his not-so-subtle eye rolls and sighs here and there are anything to go by. Anyway, things could've been worse, Taeyong wants to think. But somehow, he also feels the slightest bit...

"Hey, what're you sulking about, TY? Jealous? Tell hyung what's wrong~" A finger pokes between his furrowed brows, and Taeyong lightly swats it away.

"Don't be silly," he flatly whispers back to a smirking Johnny, who opts to sit next to him. "They shouldn't crowd him like that. I think he's freaking out inside," the leader confesses.

"There's never been a Japanese trainee before, so it's to be expected that everyone wants a piece of him. Foreign is hot," another voice comments in a deadpan whisper. "It's like the Ten situation all over again."

Taeyong squints judgmentally as Taeil squats down to join their little group. "Do you think Yuta is going to be anyone's soulmate, like how Ten ended up being Johnny-hyung's?"

Taeil half-smirks in a way that makes Taeyong suddenly feel self-conscious while Johnny just gives him a greasy wink. "Who knows?" they ask rhetorically.

A terrified scream from the other end of the practice room puts a halt to their conversation. The elders quickly turn to see a mischievous Donghyuck chasing a panicked Mark back and forth with an open water bottle and wildly swinging towel in hand. Jeno and Jisung are just playing rock-paper-scissors by the mirrors, looking up every now and then to watch the chaos.

Poor Mark. I wonder what that sweet boy did in a past life to deserve a bipolar soulmate like Donghyuck, Taeyong laments as he and the other two jump to their feet. He cracks his joints before moving to defuse the situation. He takes a step forward but finds himself looking back, feeling a certain pair of distressed eyes following him.

Please save me, too, Yuta's doe eyes seem to be pleading.

Don't worry, I'll come soon, Taeyong promises with a reassuring gaze before he swoops into action. "You stop that right now, Lee Donghyuck!"

"I'm just showing my love for Mark-hyungー"

"You're really not!"

Compared to earlier, dinner at the dorms is a relatively quiet affair. 

Well, it starts out relatively quiet before everything goes to utter .

Everyone is drained from practice. There