The lineup of boys at the audition was enormous. They waited in the line patiently as it slowly s into the room. Soonyoung looked great, dressed neatly in an oversized white shirt and black pants, his dark hair smooth and shiny and healthy looking. He wore minimal makeup and glowed with the radiance of youth and good health. Junhui was dressed more fashionably in black ripped jeans and a white tank, his white hair wild and loose, his eyes heavily rimmed with a smoky shadow. He looked more like a model than an idol or a dancer.

They had helped Minghao out with some of their things. He wore his own faded and ripped jeans and his well worn Converse. Over the top he wore a black tank of Junhui’s and a white shirt similar to Soonyoung’s left open and ed. He had attempted to cover his bruised face with the absolute last scrape of his makeup and Junhui had lent him a black liner to enhance his eyes. The three of them looked like a real group, like they belonged together, and for the first time in a long time Minghao felt like he was a part of something.

His shivering came and went but he hadn’t thrown up again. His head pounded despite the painkillers Soonyoung had given him and he wanted nothing more than to sleep. It was cold and goosebumps pricked all over his skin and the other two boys, warm in their winter coats, stood close to him to try and block the wind. Finally they moved inside and it was better and they all began to warm up their muscles in the foyer of the building.

Minghao followed Soonyoung’s lead as they stretched. He stretched his legs and arms, but his back was sore and so were his ribs, and he couldn’t move as well as he wanted to. Junhui and Soonyoung tried to give him an idea of what they had planned for the audition but they didn’t have time or space to rehearse anything with him. They decided to do their routine as planned and Minghao would just improv as best as he could.

As they stepped into the room Minghao was taken back to the day before when a hollow shell of a boy stood in front of a similar panel and half heartedly moved his body. But today had a different feeling. He stood in between Junhui and Soonyoung and when the beat started and the other two began to move he felt himself come to life. He wasn’t as strong in his body as he used to be but he felt a strength and a power in his mind and his heart that he thought he lost forever.

He glanced to the