Onew

            First thing in the morning, I woke up and went to find Taemin. He was sitting in his room, lacing up. I blinked back in surprise. Our maknae rarely woke up this early. He smiled at me. “Hyung, we’re going to go dancing today aren’t we?”

            I nodded. “Yeah, thanks for remembering.”

            The entire time, I couldn’t help but pray that hopefully I would be okay and not defeated by someone virtually four years younger than me. Taemin hopped out and looked at me. “Er, Hyung, you should wear your practice clothes but also bring something fancier for when we’re performing.”

            I looked at him. “Are we going to be competing or performing?”

            “We’re going to be competing but you still need to look good.”

            I groaned. “How in the world do you expect me to ever defeat you?”

            The maknae grinned. “That’s why you have to learn well!”

            When we got there, he took us to a back room and immediately started explaining that even though I would be following directions on a screen, I also had to remember to maintain my balance and fluidity at all times.

            I nodded, a little daunted. This seems so difficult. Taemin hopped onto the stage to demonstrate. The screen lit up and immediately once the music began, he started to hit the right places. He followed the arrows and jumped with a grace that I knew I would have difficulty mastering. When he finished, he was barely sweating nor was he really out of breath.

            “Your turn! I’m going to put on a slower song for you okay?”

            The beat started and I began to step. I got lost a bit and had to look down to see if I was stepping on the right thing. I missed a couple of arrows that way. “Look up! Posture needs to be if not straight, then at least keep your head up! You don’t want to look like a gorilla, hovering. Try again!”

            And so I went again. This was difficult. I learned to master following the directions but the speed became faster and once more, I was a bit lost. Taemin was patient and demonstrated with me. He showed me the different styles I could try. He even suggested how to look cool.

            When we were finally taking a break, I looked at him. “How in the world do you manage to get all the girls’ attentions?” I was absolutely miffed. Yes, Taemin was exceptionally good looking, but he was still young.

            He stared at me over his banana milk, looking every bit like the innocent child he was. “That’s not hard, Hyung! It’s all because I’m cute too. You need to act cute when you’re not fierce. Let the adorableness shine.”

            I nodded to myself and when it was time for the competition, I made sure that I had my mind on focus. Genie walked in and I gulped. The rest of the members assembled and they all stared at us, waiting. Taemin gave me a thumbs up and I started to dance.

            The music came on and I began to follow Taemin’s instructions, trying not to hear the bravos coming from his side.

Genie

            I fell a little more in love as I watched his face contort with concentration. He was moving with ease and even though his score wasn’t as high as Taemin’s I knew he was trying his best. His motions were fluid and I clapped.

            The song came to an end and he barely lost. Onew looked disappointed but I sent Yoogeun ahead to give him a hug. “Go tell appa that he did a good job.”

            Yoogeun toddled over and touched Onew’s face. “Appa, I liked your cute motions,” he said. Onew beamed and my heart glowed.

            He had been indeed cute. He was pouting and moving his arms in adorable ways. He looked at me and I waved happily. “Good job, Onew- oppa! I’m so proud of you.”

            “But I lost,” he said.

            I hugged him and saw his face go red. “It doesn’t matter. It was the effort that mattered.” 

Two years on AFF.

I'm grateful to you all ♥

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