AHH I AM SO NERVOUS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER. I feel like I completely butchered the ending! :( Anywhoooo, happy reading! :)

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“Mommy! Look at me!”

I turned to face my daughter, one of the two things I loved more than myself… and then some.

“Yes sweetie?” I asked, smiling. She grinned broadly; one of her top teeth was missing.

“I want to show you a dance!” she said, jumping up and down with the kind of energy that could only be produced by a 5 year old.

“Woah woah woah woah kiddo! Slow down!” I said, placing my hands on top of her shoulder. I stooped down to her level.

“Mommy! Watch!” she said as she ran to the living room. I let out a sigh and followed her. This better be good, because I’ve got a turkey on the stove that’s in dire need of stuffing before my husband dearest gets home from “work”.

Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry

Looks like she found my old albums.

I I I Fell

Oh man, how long has it been since that song came out?

For you for you for you I fell

Ten…fifteen years? Has it really been that long? Can’t be! I looked at Miri, my daughter, again. WOW! She could dance as well as any of those idiots did during The Good Days when this song came out. 2009 had been a good year. Pre-debut had been good days. He made my life as an idol more and more bearable.

2004-SM Entertainment

Hyoyeon’s POV

“We’re moving you up!”

Oh thank goodness. Finally. When? Now? Oh dear god, please say that you want me to move right away and start practicing this instant.

“You’re going to be joining the boys!”

OH DEAR HEAVENS! HAVE YOU FINALLY LISTENED TO MY PRAYERS!? WILL YOU BE FOREVER RIDDING ME OF THOSE RIDICULOUS-what SM calls-Y DANCES!? Honestly, they just make us look like es. I gasped.

“Foreshadowing perhaps?” I whispered to myself.

“Great!” I said to my former choreographer, trying to hide my excitement. This was going to be great! I can finally be taken seriously! Maybe I’ll even get to be the main dancer when I debut!

“Look, I’m warning you! The boys’ class is tough, really tough. You won’t be receiving special treatment just because you’re a girl, understand?” said my cho-ex choreographer.

“I wouldn’t expect myself to be treated differently,” I replied coolly. And I really didn’t. I had heard rumors about the boys’ dance class, but I’d always shrugged them off. They can’t be as tough as the weight loss training hour that the girls have. THOSE were brutal.

“Good. Keep that attitude, ok? You start first thing tomorrow,” said my ex choreographer. With a gruff nod, he left. I pinched myself.

Oh yes, this was totally happening.

…ouch.

----------------------------------------Next day, first day at the boys’ dance class-----------------------------------

Wow. Were there really that many boys in the company!?

I stood in the doorway, examining each and every one of them.

“Oh my god. This can’t get any better!” I whispered to myself.

“AHEM!” said a voice behind me.

Seriously? Can’t you see I’m busy with something?

“NO, I can’t. I’ve got a stalker right in front of me,” said the voice.

Did I say that out loud?

“Yeah, you did.”

I turned around slowly; a nervous smile plastered to my mouth, and came face to face with…the choreographer. Great. Wow Hyoyeon. So TYPICAL OF YOU. It’s just like YOU to get into your new choreographer’s bad graces on THE FIRST DAY. Way. To. Go. Really, if stupidity was in the Olympics you’d win a gold medal. Korea would be proud of you! I opened my mouth, thinking of something to say. Nothing legible came to mind. I closed my mouth again.

“Ohhh! Wait wait wait! Are YOU the new girl joining the boys!?” he said, an evil smirk playing on his face. I didn’t like him already. Behind me I heard all the activity grind to a halt.

“Girl?”

“Did he really say girl!?”

“What does she look like?”

“Is she the one standing in the doorway?”

“Arghh! Turn around so we can see your face!”

I closed my eyes. This had to be the worst way to get introduced to a class full of boys. Gahhh!

The choreographer placed both his hands on my shoulders and swiveled me around to face the boys, as if I was a doll. Somehow, the thought infuriated me. My blood boiled, but it was probably better not to say anything in front of him anymore.

“Boys! I’m sure you’re very very excited to meet our newest trainee!” he said. Something about the tone of his voice…it just sent shivers down my spine.

“Actually, I’ve been a trainee since I was in grade 5. I’ll be joining the boys’ class because I’d rather learn real dancing than show off my assets in a vulgar manner,” I chimed in. I bit my tongue. Arghhh! Hyoyeon! STUPID STUPID STUPID! I mentally kicked myself. I felt the choreographer’s grip on my shoulders tighten.

“I like her,” said one of the guys with a tone of finality. The voice came from the far back corner.

The choreographer pushed me into the room roughly. I stumbled forwards and almost fell flat on my face.

“THE ROUTINE FROM YESTERDAY! FROM THE TOP!” he barked. At his words, a hip-hop style beat played in the room. The boys magically straightened themselves up into rows and started dancing in sync with each other. I stood and gaped at them.

“Are you some sort of princess? Do you need a special invitation to go join them? Do you need instructions to be repeated??” barked one of the assistant choreographers. I grit my teeth and joined the boys.

I looked at the mirror in front of us and tried to make the best of what I could understand of their routine. It was fairly simple, nothing I couldn’t do.

Pop. Lock. Turn.

It felt amazing. This was where I belonged.

You are fierce Hyo; you’re as good as any of the boys here. I reminded myself.

Suddenly, the music stopped. I could tell that all of the assistant choreographers were impressed at how quickly I’d grasped and mimicked the routine. The head choreographer-the same one I had bumped into- kept his poker face. If he was impressed by me at all, he didn’t let it show.

“We’re going to play ‘Last Man Standing’,” he said absentmindedly, inspecting his fingernails.

All the boys groaned. What in the world was ‘Last Man Standing’? And wow, how ist! I bet he said “man” just to piss me off. I glared at him pointedly.

“Hey! Bae! Give them their routine!” shouted the head choreographer.

“Y-yes senior instructor Uhm!” stammered one of the assistants, Bae I suppose. Bae came over and stood in front of us. He gave the person near the stereo a hand signal. Music pounded through every surface of the studio, some old H.O.T. song that my mother adored. 

“Five…six…five, six, seven, eight,” counted off Bae. He started moving to the beat of the music. The boys around me mimicked his actions and I followed their lead.

Pop. Lock. Twist. Turn. Twist. Jump.

I kept my eyes on Bae and soon enough, the entire practice studio melted away. It was as if I was back in my bedroom, dancing to the music I would play on my stereo until my mom would yell at me to turn down “that garbage kids are listening to nowadays”. And then the assistant choreographer did a dance move that brought me back to reality. IT. WAS. AMAZING. Bae launched himself towards the ground and jerked as if he was having a graceful seizure, but a seizure so intense that it would make him jump 10 inches into the air. He landed flat on his back and looked at the ceiling lights. The boys and I mimicked his action. I turned myself inwards and launched myself towards the ground. I tried my best to recreate the moves that Bae did.

Yes.

As I lay on the ground, staring at the same expanse of ceiling as Bae and trying to control my breathing, I took a look around me. Every. Single. Boy. All of them. They were all clutching some part of their body in pain. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. I absentmindedly wiped at them. Head Instructor Uhm clapped loudly. I quickly stood up.

“Well done,” he said. He looked at me and gave me a smile so small that I thought I had imagined it. Then he looked to me left. There was another boy, someone else who had also nailed the last move. He smiled. That’s odd, you can see his gums.

“Well done Hyukjae, you’ve definitely improved since last time,” said Head Instructor Uhm. Hyukjae beamed. He turned to look at me and smiled. That smile! It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It was so pure and innocent, like a child’s. I hesitantly returned it and his grew bigger, causing mine to do the same.

“Hyoyeon, right? I’ve heard of you! You’re a really good dancer! You could give us a run for our money!” he said, gesturing towards the rest of the boys in the room who were still wincing in pain. I blushed. Oh get a grip on yourself Hyoyeon, it’s just a boy. You’ve talked to other boy trainees before, you can do this.

“Th-th-thanks,” I stuttered. Articulate, Hyoyeon. Really…nice going. He smacked my shoulder and walked off to help a few of the guys up. I stared after him, clutching my shoulder on the spot he touched.

“Looks like we’ve got some competition!” he said to one of his friends, smiling. There it is…that smile again. Get a grip on yourself Hyoyeon. It’s just a boy.

It’s just a boy.

It’s just a boy.

It was like a mantra to me. I would say this every time I would get distracted by a boy during my training. But somehow, it didn’t work this time around. 

Soooo good....bad? D: I'm super nervous! Please leave a comment! Don't forget to subscribe! :)