The sun was starting to fade and Seomin could see glimpses of stars behind the glare of the city's lights as she stared out the window from the dance studio. She had arrived fifteen minutes earlier to change and do extra stretching. It had been awhile since Seomin had done anything extremely physical. After grade ten, Seomin didn’t sign up for fitness in high school. The thought of dancing in front of others frightened her as the minutes ticked by. Dance was never her forte. How was she ever going to dance in front of others? Seomin was only glad that Donghae had put her in a beginner’s class. Yet, Seomin had a feeling she wouldn’t be staying for long. Her training would be different from others. Donghae seemed to do what he pleased and nobody, not even the people at the top, questioned his strategies.

Students began to stream through the door, the instructor at the heels of their feet. She was young, not yet 25. Seomin was in awe at her slender yet toned body. Would dance practice do the same for her? Seomin gulped as her teacher turned around, putting her wavy dark brown hair into a ponytail, her sharp green eyes examining the fresh meat of the company. “As new trainees, you’ve been put together in this intensive class. Some of you will succeed while some of you will fail. Every day that you wake up the next day after class writhing in pain, know that you’ve succeeded,” her teacher warned.

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“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 again!” she shouted over the music. Beads of sweat dripped down Seomin's body as she followed the exercise once again. Such a “simple” routine had taken its toll on Seomin's class. In two hours, their teacher had already expected them to master the basic moves into one routine. “Move with passion, not with those dead faces. We’re not zombies!” Seomin glanced at her peers expressions in the front mirror. They indeed did look like zombies.

At last, class was dismissed. Seomin slid down the back wall, her breath hot and heavy, as she downed four water bottles. She watched the last few students leave and noticed it was already 10pm. Donghae would be here to p