one day i woke up and realized that i've been trying various genres in my stories, but somehow, slice of live never was a part of them. so, here we are^^ it's probably the simplest and, yes, very ordinary story, but i really hope you'll find something beautiful in this ordinary and will have some good time reading it just like i did while writing it :) be healthy and happy, always♥

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Having a crush on a guy from the university’s sports team was such a cliché; if someone told Hyukjae he’d end up being one of those people, the guy would definitely laugh into that person’s face.

But Lee Donghae was special.

Not only because he couldn’t be associated with just one team as he’s been joining literally everyone who asked. Basketball? Okay. Football? Not a problem. Tennis? Sounds interesting. Dance club?

…

Hyukjae honestly didn’t know what Donghae thought about the dance club when he’s got an offer. Moreover, he didn’t really know who offered him to join. He, Hyukjae, was the one who was in charge of this club despite being on his third year (it felt a bit awkward to order his seniors around at first, but he’s gotten used to it pretty fast), and he didn’t remember inviting him. It’s just that one day the guy appeared and everyone seemed so happy to have him around, so Hyukjae just… agreed.

Clubs were for everyone, after all. Not to mention that they had a separate class for those who treated dances as hobby only and didn’t plan to participate in any competitions or whatsoever.

Yet, somehow… Donghae was good. Really good.

It didn’t take more than two classes for Shindong – the one who was in charge for the classes with newbies – to call for Hyukjae and tell him he definitely needs to see how that guy dances. Donghae was doing surprisingly well for a newbie. A part of the job of head of any club was to see the potential – the talent hidden in someone that could be put into use. And both Shindong and Hyukjae saw that the guy who just joined them definitely had some.

“Maybe it’s too early to talk about it,” Shindong whispered all while the newbies were mastering some moves, “but he catches everything really fast. Look, it’s his second day, but he can combine those moves and show decent results already. I know only one person who was getting everything as fast as him.”

Shindong looked at him, all while Hyukjae was watching the guy with his arms crossed and lips pursed. Donghae was good, but… Hyukjae was a bit skeptical still.

“I did it without any preparations. You know that I never did dancing before I came here. About him – I’m not sure,” he said, knowing way too well that his friend meant he was the one who was as good as Donghae. Even better, Hyukjae hoped. The guy’s moves still were a bit clumsy and even too jerky, and he only prayed he didn’t look like this on his first class.

He probably didn’t. Because of all the sports Donghae’s been doing, he was quite muscular, which wasn’t bad at all (no one asked, but Hyukjae actually liked how the guy looked), but was probably too much for dancing, at least for the type they were doing here. Hyukjae knew it too well – the more buff you are, the harder it is to move smoothly. He had that period in his life when he wanted to look like a cool guy with lots of muscles and everything, but the guy had to give up on that idea fast because he noticed he couldn’t dance as easily as before once his arms and chest became buff. Again, it wasn’t bad and he could keep dancing still. He just learned that having less muscles is better for this type of activity, at least for him.

Donghae won’t give up on his muscles, most likely. He needed strong arms for basketball and tennis, strong legs for football (if Hyukjae understood the concepts of training for those right). It didn’t look like Donghae was ready to drop any of those clubs (he’d do it way earlier if it was too much, but here he was on his second year of university, still doing all of them), more like he’d drop dances since it’s something new for him.

Hyukjae didn’t believe Donghae would stay.

But yes.

Lee Donghae was special.

“He didn’t do it before as well,” Shindong added, noticing he caught the guy’s interest. “That’s why I called for you. See? He’s really good for someone who’s dancing for the second time in his life.”

“Him dancing for the second time in his life is the exact reason why I think it’s too early to judge,” Hyukjae snorted and, surprisingly, that’s when Donghae looked at them.

He couldn’t hear the two, so there was no way he’d do that because of Hyukjae’s words, however, even a mere glance at the guys’ direction was enough for Donghae to… blush.

To blush and turn around quickly, all just to make sure it was his back facing the seniors now. Hyukjae couldn’t help but widened his eyes.

“Is he always like that?” he asked.

“Uhm, no?” Shindong tilted his head and eyed his friend. “Maybe it’s because of you?”

“And what did I do for him to react this way?”

Shindong couldn’t reply, but the answer to that question was found pretty soon. At the end of the class, to be precise.

Hyukjae couldn’t come to a certain conclusion and promised to think about whether to offer Donghae to join the group of so-called professionals – those who could dance at different festivals or even go for competitions when the university needed them. The senior could admit that sports guy – that’s how he called Donghae in his head – was really good for that, but he still wasn’t sure whether there was a point to bother since the guy was busy with way too many clubs already.

But Donghae seemed to not mind it.

Once the class ended and Hyukjae took his phone out to text someone, the sports guy approached him and called, “H-Hyukjae… ssi? Uhm… Dear Lee Hyukjae-ssi?”

The senior stopped texting and looked up, tilting his head slightly; all while watching the excited, yet shy junior approaching him. Once noticing he managed to grab the guy’s attention, Donghae ran faster, however, that looked more like jumping than him running.

Just like a bunny, Hyukjae thought.

“Was the ‘dear’ part too much?” the junior asked once he came closer, chuckling sheepishly. “I… I wasn’t sure how to address you, so I used the words I usually write when emailing my professors, so…”

“Don’t know whether I should be honored I look smart enough to be taken as a professor or start worrying because I’m well-aware all of our professors are at least 50,” Hyukjae said and stood up, offering a smile.

That made Donghae chuckle.

“You look very, very good,” he said, and it was obvious he didn’t think much before blurting those words out. “Ah, I mean… You shouldn’t be worried about anything, you look good, really… Not like I was staring! Well, maybe a little… But only because you were staring, too! Ah, you probably did it because you were evaluating my skills, while my excuse is… It is…” Donghae widened his eyes and looked right into Hyukjae’s ones. “I didn’t come up with any excuse of why I was staring at you, sorry.”

And that’s when the senior’s heart skipped a beat for the first time because of that guy.

Hyukjae wasn’t the one who valued cuteness. If the person is cute – cool. But it’s okay if they aren’t. He wasn’t a fan of cute things either, just like cuteness wasn’t the quality he was looking for in his partner. But Donghae was just… too cute. So cute it actually hurt.

But Hyukjae was a strong guy, so he managed to not dwell into those feelings and ask calmly, “Did you come here to tell me you were staring at me or there’s something else you wanted?”

“There’s something else!” Donghae announced and grabbed the wristband on his right hand, playing with it out of nervousness. Not like Hyukjae was paying attention, but, if he’s not mistaken, the guy always had one on his right hand. “I actually… came here to ask why were you staring at me.” Their eyes met again, and Donghae’s ones were so bright and shiny; the senior thought he never saw such eyes before. There was a mix of curiosity and something one could call mischievousness in them – a wonderful combination that only people who were raised by being slightly spoiled by their parents had. Not like Donghae looked like a naughty kid, more like… he looked like a kid that was very loved. And that was beautiful. “Is it what I think it is? Was I good, so that you came here to check whether I’m suitable for joining your team of pros?”

Well, that guy was pretty straightforward, wasn’t he?

Hyukjae put one of his hands on hip and said, “That’s exactly why I was staring at you.”

Donghae’s eyes sparkled, and it seemed like there were both happiness and disappointment in his gaze. As if… as if he was happy his skills were noticed, but he also wished his senior had another reason to stare at him.

“So… do you think I’m good enough? For joining your team and everything.”

“Well… you are, but I don’t really think it’s a good idea.”

Donghae’s eyes widened, “What? But why?”

“First, it’s a bit too early to talk about it.” Hyukjae eyed him from head to toes and shook his head. “You move good, I admit, but we need to see more of what you’re actually able to do, that’s why you’ll need to come here often. But you have other clubs to attend.” The junior opened his mouth to say something, however, the guy didn’t give him a chance to do so and continued, “Which is a second problem. I’m not sure how you mange that many clubs already – not to mention you do play among the pros in football and basketball teams already – but we train a lot. Like, a lot. Maybe it won’t be a problem, considering you’re a fast learner, but what if we will need you in our team, but you’ll have overlapping schedules? Something like a football game with another university or something. Even if those won’t be on the same day, you just won’t be able to give your everything to the dance team, which… Let’s be honest, it’s not good. And lastly, your style…”

Donghae, whose face kept becoming paler and paler the more Hyukjae spoke, turned into a ghost once he heard the last sentence.

“W-what about my style?” he asked, and that’s when the senior realized he didn’t word it well.

“Nothing at all; I actually think that you look good in anything,” Hyukjae was fast to reply. “But you do know that we tend to dye our hair for performances in order to look bright if it suits the concept, right? Sometimes it’s not a temporary dye, and yes, we all do it when needed. Not like I think it’ll be a problem for a football player to have pink hair, but I’ve never seen you doing that before. Again, it wouldn’t be a problem if it was the only issue, but… don’t you think there are too many of ‘it wouldn’t be a problem if’s?”

Donghae pursed his lips and even started biting his lower one, all while looking at his own shoes, deep in thoughts.

His senior sighed, “I’d gladly invite you to join our team, but it’d be unfair towards you first and foremost. You don’t have to sign up for so many troubles because of us.”

The guy looked up at him and whispered, “But I… really liked dancing. And…” he broke off. “And dancing. Yes, dancing.”

Hyukjae smiled. Cute. Yes, that guy was cute.

“You can keep coming here, I won’t forbid you. Everything I told you only applies to the team of professionals – that’s why that team exists, after all. But everyone can dance, at whatever time they please.”

“Will you teach us? Sometimes.”

The senior’s smile turned gentle, “I’m afraid I can’t. Too busy with the team of professionals.”

“Oh.”

It was clear as day Donghae wasn’t happy with that reply, but Hyukjae honestly didn’t know what he could tell him.

“Maybe we’ll get to meet here one day though,” was all he came up with. “If you’ll still be interested in this club.”

He was about to tell him goodbye and leave – the guy still needed to warm up before the training with the professionals – but that’s when Donghae suddenly asked, “Why were you staring at me before?”

Hyukjae tilted his head, “Excuse me?”

“You… you know I’ve never been dyeing my hair before. You know all the clubs I’m in. You were staring at me today because you had to evaluate me, but I didn’t try to join your club before, so there was no reason for you to stare. Maybe you didn’t ‘stare’ but… why did you remember all of that?”

“Ah,” the senior let out and smiled. “Well, you’re pretty famous for doing so many sports. You’re good at studying as well, everyone wonders whether you have more hours in a day than us, ordinary people.”

“That’s it?”

Hyukjae chuckled. It was so obvious what the guy was asking for.

“Will you hit me if I tell you that you’re cute?”

Donghae’s eyes widened; his cheeks reddened im