Section One: [F e l i x] Annex Anticipation

Going to Minho's annex with 3RACHA was the only thing on Felix's mind. The whole day. On his mind through his piano lesson. On his mind while listening to tracks on the subway. On his mind when waiting in the classroom for school to start because he was early. Mr. Sohn seemed to see that Felix played better in the morning, or so it seemed because Mr. Sohn was half awake, so they had decided to let Felix go to morning lessons and see how it turned out. Felix liked it that way because he was able to trick his mom into thinking that he was studying somewhere or going to a follow-up lesson later in the afternoon and into the evening, as usual, not having to go through the hassle of sneaking out like the night he met the trio.

Felix trudged through the day, making sure in his head that he told the trio to keep the annex a secret already, just as Minho had requested. Finally, at the end of the long school day, Felix got a text from Jisung to go drop by the 3RACHA studio first so that Felix can lead them to the secret annex. When Felix doorbelled, Chan opened the door grinning. He looked extremely tired, more than usual, but he still kept a smile on his face, which Felix looked up to and respected greatly. Felix knew that Chan was very hardworking through academics and producing music, and he had also been talking about getting a job at the cafe. Changbin had stepped out of the door first. Instead of a dark-colored hoodie, he wore a white long-sleeve shirt with a few letter graphics on the sleeves. He wore a hat, like he usually did outside, partially hiding his face to those taller than him and making Felix want to take the hat off to be able to look at Changbin's face. Jisung hopped out next, wearing a brown plaid flannel, smiling brightly. Chan closed the door behind him.

"So we're dancing today!" Jisung exclaimed. "And it's with Minho at that cool secret place, right?" Jisung's cheeks flushed pink. Changbin and Chan looked at each other when Jisung mentioned Minho. They had both heard Jisung talking about him before. Was Minho the person that Jisung's lyrics were about? "The whole aura of that is shining..."

"Yup!" Felix smiled. They continued walking until they reached the plaza. It was around 4 pm, and the plaza was somewhat crowded with parents running errands. Changbin tilted his head when he noticed that Felix turned in the direction of the department store. The fountain in the middle of the plaza relaxed Changbin, making him think it would be a nice backup thinking place for Friday nights when the school hallways were closed for the week. Felix watched as Jisung's eyes drifted toward a takoyaki stand near the parking lot as the four walked into the department store. Just as Minho had led Felix the first time, Felix led the trio straight past every display and towards the electronics section. Stopping at the CD section, Felix turned around and scanned the trio.

"Ok, we're here," Felix told them. Jisung's cheeks were still pink as Chan and Changbin looked towards the closed storage room door. 

"A storage room?" Changbin quietly questioned. 

Felix nodded. "Minho should be opening the door soon." Chan glanced at the CDs, looking specifically at one black mesh CD case. His was plastic, and it had just cracked, so he was looking at new ones. 

The door opened. Minho held the door open, beckoning the group in nervously. He waved to Felix and Jisung, making Jisung freeze up, and shook hands with Chan and Changbin as they introduced themselves. They also told Minho that they made up 3RACHA as a trio.

"Nice to meet you, Minho," Chan greeted as he looked over at Jisung, who was making it obvious that he liked Minho. Chan nudged Jisung before Minho could notice, and Jisung was able to look away and try to calm down a bit. 

"It's nice to meet you too, Chan and Changbin. 3RACHA, huh? That's awesome. Maybe if you guys could produce something that I can make choreography to one day, that would be pretty cool," Minho spoke, gesturing for them to put their bags next to his bundle which leaned on the leg of the table in the corner of the room. 

Minho walked toward the speakers in the opposite corner. "I guess I'll show you guys what I've been working on." Leaning toward Felix, he whispered, "It's the same one I showed you before, I just cleaned it up a bit." Starting the music, he once again energetically skipped to the center of the room as the trio and Felix sat down against the mirror, intrigued by Minho's movements. His movements were ever more flowing and sharp than before. Felix began to wonder how he improved the choreography so drastically in just a little time. As for Jisung, he seemed as though his heart stopped beating. Even though walking past the dance room on the way to the school library, he had never seen Minho dance this close and in the obvious knowledge that people were watching. Chan and Changbin looked focused as they followed the movements with their eyes. 

Minho had finished the choreography as the rest started clapping. Minho smiled. "Do you want to learn that one now or-"

"Yes!" Jisung exploded, making Chan burst out laughing. Minho proceeded to lead them in stretches.

Section Two: [S e u n g m i n] Research 

Hyunjin had invited Seungmin to research with him for the partner project at the school library. Seungmin said yes immediately, also stating that he didn't have any other activities after school. Actually, that was a lie. He had his weekly voice lesson after school, but he decided to tell his mom to cancel it for "a super duper important partner project meeting that is mandatory and cannot be missed". He would rather finish the project as soon as possible before having to go to the voice lesson. He also would rather be researching with the handsome, caring Hyunjin. Immediately after school, he and Hyunjin had planned to meet by the small tree planter outside the library. 

When Seungmin arrived, Hyunjin was already waiting outside by the planter. He was holding his folder, earbuds in. Seungmin walked over, heart pounding, as Hyunjin smiled and took out his earbuds.

"Hey, Seungmin!" Hyunjin bubbled. He wrapped his earbuds quickly and put them back in the small pocket of his backpack. 

"Hi, Hyunjin," Seungmin grinned shyly. 

The two began to walk towards the library as Hyunjin remembered what he had needed to ask the day before. "Did you finish that bento box from before?" 

"I finished like... half," Seungmin mumbled. Hyunjin stopped walking, prompting Seungmin to stop too.

Hyunjin playfully put crossed his arms and pouted cutely. "What did I tell you~" Seungmin blushed, seeing a new side of Hyunjin. Seungmin kept staring until Hyunjin continued. "Are you available to eat together after we research? I want to make sure you eat well~!" Hyunjin poked Seungmin's shoulder, making Seungmin turn red. Seungmin nodded to eating together, turning red from Hyunjin's sudden cuteness.

Hyunjin continued walking, as he seemed to return back to normal. "Good! Now let's finish this research and then we can eat!"

The two sat down at the table in the corner of the library. Hyunjin put his folder down as the two took out supplies from their backpacks. 

"Looks like by now we can spend two hours here at the most and then we can go eat," Hyunjin contemplated, already thinking about where to go for food. Seungmin silently cheered himself on to stay determined so that it would be easier for Hyunjin too. He pulled out his laptop and opened up the document for the assignment. Hyunjin took notes from the textbook as Seungmin formatted the document on the software. Seungmin would sneak glances at Hyunjin as he leaned towards the paper to write. His handwriting was so neat, and his determination was shown through the look of concentration on his face. Seungmin smiled a little bit. They continued that way for about twenty minutes.

Hyunjin leaned back in the chair, stretching. "Ah, I need a small break. Are you done formatting yet? We can type in these bullet points I have." Seungmin started typing from the notebook as Hyunjin tapped his fingers and watched. Seungmin continued typing before he noticed Hyunjin sigh annoyedly. A female student was approaching.

The girl went up to Hyunjin. "Hi- Can I, uh, sp-speak to you for a m-moment outside please?" Hyunjin quickly told Seungmin that he would be right back as he followed the girl outside by a tree. Seungmin tried sneaking glances through the window. The girl held out a small box with a ribbon towards Hyunjin, bowing down. Was she confessing? Seungmin quickly adjusted his seat. There was a pause between the two as he began to see the girl's face turn red. Hyunjin, on the other hand, seemed unfazed as he looked down at the girl. The girl looked back up and Seungmin saw Hyunjin shake his head no. Seungmin widened his eyes a little confused as Hyunjin seemed to be asked a question, looking clearly annoyed. The girl nodded as she turned red. Seungmin was only able to read the lips of the last part of the conversation.  I'm sorry, but I'm sick of what they're trying to do, Hyunjin spoke. No, it's fine. I'm so sorry about all of this, Seungmin saw the girl say. Seungmin was really confused now. This didn't really seem like a confession. He leaned back pretending to review what was typed as Hyunjin walked back in, sitting down. Hyunjin's face looked disappointed.

"Wait, what happened?" Seungmin asked as Hyunjin slumped back into the chair next to him.

"She confessed. But the thing is, it's not her feelings. I don't think she truly likes me, honestly. My parents keep sending her to confess and give me stuff but they just won't listen! I just feel really bad that they're making her do all of this because.. because..." Hyunjin trailed off. He trusted Seungmin, right? Yes, he did. "Because I'm gay." He was whispering frantically. "They're not accepting of that. They went as far as paying and forcing this poor girl to give me stuff in hopes for me to be straight. Don't they understand? That's not the way it works!"

Hyunjin took a minute to breathe a bit as Seungmin watched silently. "When I told them five months ago, I wanted them to understand. I thought they would understand. But now they're ashamed? I'm still the same person. The same boy who liked to sing and dance. The same boy who couldn't eat carrots, onions, and eggplants. The same boy who liked to eat at night, and the same boy who would oversleep. But they treat me like a monster who devoured their son and replaced him." 

Seungmin placed his hand on Hyunjin's back. "That's horrible, Hyunjin. But, you know, you aren't alone. I'll be here for you. I'll help you through this and I will do whatever I need to do to help make your parents accept you for who you are." Before Seungmin could say anything else, Hyunjin pulled Seungmin into a tight hug. Seungmin could feel Hyunjin's heart beat, and the hug. The hug was so warm.

Hyunjin pulled away smiling. "Thanks, Seungmin." Seungmin smiled back as the two began to work again. They took turns typing and writing until the project was about three-fourths done. The time passed quickly for the two were occupied. Before they knew it, two hours had already passed by. 

"You know what? I think Felix might know some part of this portion," Hyunjin stated. "Also because he just seems like a person that is easy to approach and to ask for help."

Seungmin agreed. "Yeah. Maybe I could call him about it while we wait for the food."

"Ah, it's time. Anywhere specific you want to eat Seungmin?" Hyunjin questioned as Seungmin lifted his head and closed the laptop. 

Seungmin shrugged, beginning to put his things back in his backpack. "Um, I'm not really sure. Anything you're craving?" 

"Hmm... ramen?" Hyunjin suggested, grinning when he saw Seungmin's expression light up. The two stood up, nudging each other and smiling.

Section Three: [F e l i x] Emergency

It was 6 pm, and Minho had finished running through all the moves of the choreography. Now they just needed to put all the sections together slowly and then work it up to speed. Felix was really having fun with it. The choreography was fresh yet the atmosphere of the dance studio was nostalgic for him. Looking over at Changbin, he could tell that he was enjoying it too. He was smiling between moves, cutely working out the footwork in the breaks where Minho would be checking the others individually. Jisung was trying his best, quickly improving and danced the part that he was best at when he felt Minho's gaze on him. Minho noticed his efforts and gave a thumbs up, smiling, and making Jisung blush and feel encouraged even more than he had before. 

On the other hand, Felix had noticed that Chan was a bit more quiet than usual. "Do you feel okay, Chan?"

Chan nodded, trying to smile a little bit. "I'm fine. This is fun, haha. Just a bit hungry." Changbin and Minho looked toward Chan. 

Jisung's stomach growled. "Maybe we should get something to eat. Ah! The takoyaki stand outside!" Felix nodded excitedly as Changbin hopped smiling. 

"I'll go get it," Chan told the rest, taking his wallet from his bag. "It's the stand right outside the department store, right?"

"Yeah, it's that stand. Are you sure though? I can go get it," Jisung walked toward his bag to get his wallet before Chan stopped him. 

"I'm fine, Jisung. I'll go get it. I'll be right back, guys," he insisted as he walked out of the room. Changbin walked toward his bag to get a water bottle as Felix looked down. 

"What do you guys think of the choreography? Easy? Difficult? Just right?" Minho asked, trying to fill up the silence of the room. 

Jisung was the first to answer. "It's a bit challenging for me, but that's what makes it fun." 

"The level was just right," Felix stated. 

Changbin closed his bag. "It was a little challenging in the first chorus but I think it's fine." Minho nodded, smiling. He enjoyed watching their improvement with his help. And, he didn't feel so alone for once. 

They zoned out for a bit before hearing a small thud on the wooden floor. The food! Jisung turned around excitedly to see the food in a plastic bag on the ground, before gasping sharply. Felix, Changbin, and Minho turned around, hearing a louder thud before processing what was happening. 

Chan had collapsed onto the floor, his body limp. All of them had rushed towards Chan. His skin was pale and cold, and his pulse was oddly slow. 

"Jisung! Felix! Someone! Go call for some help!" Jisung ran to his phone to call an ambulance as Changbin, Minho, and Felix carefully lifted Chan out of the storage. They didn't want anyone finding out about the annex, so they needed everyone out of the room before the ambulance came. They leaned Chan against the CD display case, hoping for the ambulance to come soon. 

Hurry.