"You've got such a soft heart, Seulgi. That'll destroy you one day." Moonbyul told her once.

Seulgi didn't really think that was a problem on its own.

Especially because she was never in the face of the public unlike her idol friends.

But clearly...

Being a soft-hearted person and sharing the same space with Bae Irene was Seulgi's biggest problem.

That woman was the devil on earth.

The way she looked at the dancers, the way she looked at the make-up artists, the way she looked at photographers and fashion-stylists...her eyes were always judgemental and demeaning, looking at them like roaches from the suburbs.

Seulgi hated that.

Seulgi wanted to punch Irene's face every time the idol wrinkled her nose in disgust after a rehearsal was called it finished.

The idol singer was clearly just following the protocols of what was considered professional on her behalf, but she was definitely not liking the dance crew SM arranged for her solo comeback.

Seulgi was one of the main dancers of Century Dance, a very high on-demand dance crew for K-pop artists throughout Korea. Their crew finished at third place on a very popular dance competition show, and their overall image and concept pleased the eyes of Lee Soo Man, who rushed to hire them for a couple of projects for their artists.

Seulgi's biggest dream was to take part in a Girls Generation's comeback, or anything around Taeyeon, her favorite idol. Even Shinee’s or NCT's comebacks would be a very rewarding experience.

But no.

She had to be part of Irene's solo comeback.

That person who was not a good singer, not a good rapper, not even the best dancer in her own group, and the only redeeming thing she had on her behalf was her face.

Bae Joohyun, or Irene, her stage name, was the most popular member of SM’s girl group Red Velvet, consisting of 4 members. The group had a solid fanbase and discography which allowed them to experiment with their sound and comebacks more freely than the majority of girl groups.

Seulgi had always been fond of those sorts of groups. She loved working with Mamamoo, Chungha and Sunmi, artists who weren’t afraid to show their different colors. Century Dance managed to secure a couple of dance hits for all those teams, and Seulgi herself was personally friends with Mamamoo’s Moonbyul and Lee Sunmi, idols whom she had developed great chemistry and companionship with. In fact they were such great friends that they had no problem receiving Selgi in their own flat. And every time they’d be in trouble, they used to give each other a call and dinner together somewhere in Seoul.

When Seulgi’s dance group was hired to work with SM, she thought that the same could happen to Bae Irene.

Oh how utterly wrong she was.

~~*~~

“Mind you arm. I don’t want you to touch me.” Irene said it to her back-up dancer, Cherry, the frontman dancer of Seulgi’s team.

“What? But in this part, I’m supposed to half-turn you around, to show your waist silhouette. How am I supposed to do that if I can’t touch you?”

“You don’t need to touch me at rehearsals. You are all sweaty and dirty.” Irene said, all smuggly distasteful. “Just fake the movement. The only time it matters is when we are performing on the stage. Till then, just keep your distance.” All the other dancers exchanged looks with one another.

“If we don’t rehearse the moves how we are supposed to, we might get it wrong when performing live.” The dancer pointed it out.

The idol just looked at her as if the dancer was unworthy of listening to. “Do I really need to say it twice?” She asked her, her voice raising her tone. “I don’t want you touching me. Or any of these dances that you’re bringing here.” The dancer just lowered her head and face. “You should be lucky you guys aren’t dancing in a completely different room than mine in the first place.”

“You can’t put us in a different practice room when we are your team of back-up dances for your solo project!” Cherry retorted. “Makes no sense!”

“Oh, you wanna bet?” The idol grimaced her nose, disgusted with what she just heard. “All I need to do is tell Lee Soo Man-Sennim that you are not as good as you showed yourself to be. And boom. You’re out of the game. Dancer.”

Seulgi felt her heart setting it in fire.

How dare she.

She spoke of them as if they were useless and disposable.

As if they were below her just because they were dancers and she was an idol.

Idiot.

Idols are nothing without dancers.

Seulgi was about to confront that stupid singer, but she felt Jay-Lee hold her hand. “Don’t, Seulgi.” Her friend whispered, “Don’t even dare. One wrong word and our reputation will be drowned to the gutter.”

Seulgi knew Jay-Lee was right.

They were there to collaborate with Bae Irene for a solo comeback project. Not to stir up some drama in the K-pop community as an over-the-line dance studio.

One wrong move, one wrong word and Idols could end your career in just a blink of an eye.

Seulgi just sighed trying to not let the attitude of Irene take the worst of hers.

“Mind you arm. I don’t want you to touch me, do you understand, back-up dancer?” Cherry just clenched her fists. “Do you understand?” Irene asked, raising her voice colder and drier.

“Yes.”

“Good. Now let’s get back to our positions.”

~~*~~

"1 and 2, and 3 and 4..." Cherry was leading the counting of the steps, making sure everyone in the room was moving right to the beat as one.

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