One week.

That’s all they had left of the deal. The expiry date was almost up.

Seokmin was miserable and desperately hoped Joshua would want to extend the deal. He wasn’t sure he would now that he had Jeonghan’s number. The blond man didn’t seem like he was going to give up his boyfriend any time soon but Joshua was constantly telling Seokmin he wasn’t after commitment anyway. It was all a part of the deal. He wanted fun and freedom and excitement, definitely not commitment, and it made Seokmin feel achingly sad. Joshua was so loving, he could tell he had a big heart, and he’d been such an amazing pretend boyfriend. So great that Seokmin wished it was real. That he hoped it was real no matter how delusional his hoped and dreams were.

He slowly dressed in his expensive active wear that Joshua had bought him and inspected himself in the mirror. He left his hair loose and hinging against his forehead but then, on a whim, he grabbed a headband and used it to push his hair back a bit. He’d never had the confidence to even try something like this before but he was going to have to try something. He needed to be more confident, ier, more of what Joshua wanted. He was running out of time.

He walked out of his room and found a note attached to the refrigerator door. It said ‘call-backs posted this afternoon’ and Seokmin’s stomach churned. Even though he was only a first year he was hopeful of getting a call back for a minor part. Maybe even one of the second tier characters. He’d really love to play one of the comedic roles, Sonny or one of the other T Birds, but he tried not to get his hopes up too high. No good could come of having high expectations; it was a surefire road to disappointment. He’d be lucky to even get a part as an extra.

After Seokmin ate an apple and drank some water he grabbed his bag, walked out of the dorms and across the dew covered grass towards the dance practice rooms. He was dreading dance class less and less lately. Ever since he sorted out his feelings for Soonyoung and happily relegated them to platonic he didn’t feel so nervous around him and it was showing in his confidence in class. If he could get some extra help from Soonyoung he would fly through the rest of the course. He might even come back next semester. He smiled to himself as he swung his bag over his back and admired the sparkling dampness of the grass in the morning sun.

“Hey,” Seungkwan said as he crept up next to him. “Hi,” Seokmin said as he looked over to see Hansol appear on his other side. “What’s up?” They both looked sullen and serious at him and Seokmin’s stomach quickly sank. Maybe they’d already seen the call back lists? Maybe something else was wrong? They stared at him before Seungkwan grabbed him by both hands and stopped him from walking. “Seokmin,” Seungkwan said slowly as he stared at the older boy, “just remember we love you and we are here for you. No matter what. Okay?” “Ah, okay, you’re kind of freak