“There's a choreography contest! Whoever wins gets their 1 minute choreography featured in the winter festival!!” Taemin told him excitedly as he came gliding down the hall with the grace of a fully fledged ballerina. Kai never understood what he was doing here. Taemin was more talented than all the dance teachers at this school combined. He could've just skipped school and gone professional right away. Kai was glad he didn't though. He and this school were the best things that had ever happened to him. He never imagined it was possible to have such a good friend. They were partners in crime, always breaking the rules and staying after hours to get in some more practice. He had never met anyone that was as interested in dancing as he was. Growing up, everyone had always treated him like he was weird or a total sissy-boy for wanting to become a ballerina.

“You wanna try and come up with something together?” Kai offered, getting butterflies just thinking about all the hours they would have to spend in the dance studio together, brainstorming ideas.

“I have a better idea” Taemin giggled with an ominous glint in his eye.

“Let's make a bet, the loser has to dress up like a girl, full make-up and everything, and do his choreography on the street. Oh! And we record it and post it online!” he nearly fell over, he laughed so hard.

“I don't know...” Kai said. It was obvious who the winner was going to be. It was not that he didn't believe in his own abilities, he was one hell of a dancer, but it was like being really smart and then being compared to Einstein. No one was as smart as Einstein.

“Come on, I need a challenge... I've just been coasting for the last two months. There's no one else worth competing with in this school.” he complained cutely. Kai went completely red. He thought he was a worthy competitor? That was the highest praise anyone could ever get. He almost got fooled into going along with it, when he realized they could just compete, without the bet, without him ending up on a street corner dressed up like a five dollar hooker. That was not how he liked to spend his days.

“Okay, I'll compete with you, but let's skip the bet.” Kai grinned hopefully.

“That's no fun!” Taemin pouted.

“I have the odds stacked against me, I might just as well start picking out dresses right now.” Kai complained, disheartened, seeing Taemin's pout and calling his bluff with a double-pout.

Taemin snorted. “What's got into you, scared of a little competition … although you would probably make a really cute girl.” he giggled, fluttering around the room, expressing through elegant dance moves how cute of a girl Kai would be.

“Okay, fine.. to sweeten the deal... if I win, you can dance the routine with me at the winter festival. Either way, you win.” Taemin shrugged absentmindedly, still dancing around the room, trying out random dance moves that came to his mind. Kai was going to have to bring his A-game if he was going to win. But Taemin was right, it was a win-win, and it was good to get a proper challenge for once, he too had been on autopilot these last couple of months, his classes failing to peek his interest. If he was going to be the best he could be, he must not shy from a challenge, no matter how much of a long shot it was.

“Okay! Let's do it!” he exclaimed with overflowing confidence and Taemin came flying into his arms, confirming the bet with a tight embrace. He always smelled so good. He didn't know what it was, for he had tried his cologne on once, but it didn't smell the same.

He was set on winning. There was no way he was going to dance in public dressed as a girl. Not a chance. He only had 2 weeks to come up with an amazing, creative dance routine that was unlike any other. He had to get started right away. His insides vibrated with anticipation. He couldn't wait to see what his brain would come up with.

“Where are you going?” Taemin asked when he was almost out the door, sounding surprised.

“Practice. You don't think I'm going to let you steal all my moves?!” he playfully stuck his tongue out at him. Taemin burst into laughter.

“We can't have that, now, can we.” Taemin chuckled, not taking him seriously at all, but clearly pleased that he was all in.

Kai collapsed on the floor. It was 4 AM. He had been practicing for hours. He was so drenched in sweat that it almost felt like he was lying in a puddle. Every muscle ached. He had come up with a few new moves, but none of them felt fresh enough. He wanted to do something outside the box, but that was easier said than done. To do it, he had to think of it first, but his head only reached the innermost edge of the box, refusing to go any further.

The morning light pried his eyes open, almost blinding him. For a moment he was completely disoriented, not having a clue where he was, but then he realized he must have fallen asleep on the floor of the dance studio. He still had his workout clothes on, shivering slightly as a gust of brisk morning air came through the window.

He wasn't sure how long he had just be sitting on the floor, staring into the void with a mong-expression, absentmindedly blinking his eyes. But then it hit him. The inspiration he had been looking for. Nature. The elements. That would be his theme. He was going to capture nature's movements in a never before seen choreography. Thank you, brain! What a of brilliance. And in order to do that, he needed to get out of this sterile, empty room and submerse himself into nature. The only problem was that he lived in a big city, full of concrete. But he was going to work with what he had. This was going to be epic! For the first time he really felt like he could win this.

For the next two weeks, he visited every patch of green the city had to offer. Alongside the river, he studied the water's movements, trying to capture its essence, going with the flow. He visited a camping site, attempting to borrow the fire's passion at their weekly Friday night bonfire, much to the other campers' amusement. They even asked for an encore. That was a good sign. A train and a boat later he arrived in Namu island, the island of trees. There he perfected his imitation of a tall tree dancing in the wind, letting the air play with its branches. This was pure gold. Best idea he had ever gotten. He was skipping all his classes, but they had nothing left to teach him anyway. Finally, he went to the rooftop of their school, choreographing an actual fight with the wind, putting the finishing touch on his routine. He was going to leave it up to the audience to choose who was the winner in this fight of all fights.

And then he trained. And he trained. And then he trained some more.

It was time. The day had finally arrived. These two weeks had at the same time flown by and been never ending. He was more nervous than he had planned to be. It was only a fun competition between friends, but he really, really, really didn't want to embarrass himself in public. He was not wearing a dress, and that was final. He had this. He had an amazing choreography and he had trained until his feet bled. He was ready.

“Next up is Kai with his routine 'One With Nature'.”

Water. Fire. Earth. Wind. He became them all. He could feel their force inside himself. He had never been so inside the movements before. He finished the final move perfectly, holding the position elegantly without moving an inch, waiting for the audience to start clapping.

There was silence.

The only sound in the auditorium was the roaring of his heart that was beating wildly in his chest. What happened? Had everyone left mid performance? Had he been performing for an empty theater? Or had the performance been so horrible that not one person could find it in themselves to start clapping? He tried to think as he caught his breath. His muscles were complaining from the strain of holding the position for so long. Should he just give up and run as fast as he could off the stage. He wasn't sure he could face the quiet disappointment of a whole theater of people.

He didn't understand what had gone wrong. He thought it was the best choreography he had ever composed. It brought him to another level both as a dancer and as a choreographer. Then, suddenly, after what felt like an eternity, the auditorium erupted with cheers. The breath he hadn't realized he was holding rushed out of his lungs, allowing him to breathe again. He released the position, faced the audience and took a bow. The cheers got louder and everyone got up out of their seats and gave him a standing ovation. Proudly, he bowed again, before tiptoeing off the stage, feeling like he was walking on clouds. He had succeeded.

“Wow!! That was amazing!!!!” Taemin came running towards him, jumping into his arms, his eyes beaming.

“Thanks.” Kai felt all the blood rush to his cheeks. A hundred, a thousand people could compliment him for a million years straight, and it still wouldn't compare to getting a genuine compliment from Taemin.

“Gotta go. Wish me luck.” Taemin chuckled and flew like a butterfly to the edge of the stage. He was up next.

Kai ran as fast he could to his seat, so he wouldn't miss a second of Taemin's performance. And for a minute straight his jaw was glued to the floor. There was no doubting it, Taemin was the Einstein of dance. His performance couldn't be put into words. It was life changing, mind boggling and heart wrenching, all at the same time. He felt elated to have the great honor to be able to call himself his friend, but his heart also started sinking with the burden of having to accept the punishment of the bet. Still, he ran backstage to be there to congratulate him. He couldn't be too upset at someone that had just changed the way he thought about dance.

They were both standing in the wing of the stage, holding hands, surrounded by the other contestants, waiting for the winner announcement.

“Good luck.” Taemin giggled brightly and gave him an encouraging wink. He was such a cutie. But it was obvious who was going to win. He tried to ignore the warring feelings inside him, focusing on Taemin's hand in his. No matter what, they were going to support each other.

“Ladies and gentlemen. As we thank all these extraordinary dancers for their hard work and effort, the judges have come to a conclusion.”

There was a drum roll.

“They have concluded that the support of these incredible artists, these rising stars in the art of dance, is more important than some competition. They have decided to give all the contestants a chance to perform at the winter festival. They thought it a crime to rob the world of the opportunity to see even one of tonight's performances.”

They were all ushered on stage to receive flowers and a certificate of participation. Kai was elated. Even though it was unfair that Taemin hadn't gotten credit for what was clearly the best performance, he couldn't but rejoice in the fact that he was off the hook. No dress for him. No public humiliation. Today was a good day.

“So when should we do it?” Taemin said as he stepped out of the locker room shower, still rubbing his hair dry with the towel.

“Do what?” Kai asked as he put his T-shirt on.

“Neither of us won.” Taemin smiled. The smile gave Kai a bad feeling in his gut.

“Yeah. Nobody won.” he peered at him, trying to figure out where he was going with this, hoping that it wasn't where he thought this was going.

“Exactly. Everybody lost. Including us. So we both need to accept the consequences.” Taemin grinned. How was he finding this amusing when he was also going to have to do it?

“The bet is void, nobody won.” Kai iterated, frustrated.

“No, the bet only states that the winner is exempt from punishment. There is no winner. We both have to be punished.” Taemin chuckled excitedly. He couldn't believe he was finding this so funny. It was like he wanted to do this.

Kai pouted. He couldn't believe how unfair Taemin was being. Why had he agreed to go along with this bet in the first place? He mentally kicked himself. Idiot.

After sulking for two whole days and doing everything to try and change Taemin's mind, without success, he just decided to accept his fate and instead he was going to be the most amazing pretend girl ever to perform on the street. If he was going to do this, he was going to do this right. Girly-Kai was going to be spectacular, he vowed.