“No, you got it wrong. Raise your voice. You’re singing, not speaking!”

“Repeat that verse again. Do you want to be forced into learning the basics all over again?”

“I asked you to hit a high note, not scream. Repeat it again!”

Jungkook cleared his throat, holding back a cough. He bowed his head slightly at his vocal teacher before resuming his singing, doing it carefully and meticulously this time round. His eyes fluttered closed as he sang his heart out, with the tiniest bit of hope in his heart that he would be praised for at least trying, or at least be told that he’d done his best.

It was all false hope though, when his vocal teacher interrupted his singing once more, scolding him for his lack of vibrato. By the time he got out of the vocal lesson, he was in tears.

Jungkook was tired of all the bull that he gets from all of his teachers, be it about dancing, singing or education. A soft disappointed sigh escaped his lips and he bit his bottom lip, wiping the tears away as he trudged to the restroom.

“You’re late by five minutes.” That was the first thing his dance instructor said when Jungkook entered the dance studio. The harsh words made Jungkook freeze, and he stood rooted to the spot. He forced himself to stay calm, rolling his hands into fists before bowing to him, all the while muttering out an apology.

His dance instructor shook his head in distaste, not liking Jungkook’s tardiness. Jungkook knew that quite well, and he could only place the blame on himself. “It’s not the first time you are late, Jeon Jungkook.”

Jungkook looked down at the floor, fidgeting slightly. “I’m sorry, ssaem.”

It ended up with Jungkook having to start his dance lesson without warming up. Jungkook was reluctant about it because he knew that his body was going to have to suffer the consequences, but he agreed wordlessly. It wasn’t like he had a choice anyway.

A few hours had passed by, and though his dance lesson has ended and his instructor has left, Jungkook remained there, dancing his heart out. To Jungkook, dancing is more than just a physical activity. It helped release the negative emotions in him and it made him feel like he has a control over it.

Unlike life, which can be unpredictable at all times, dance is not. Dancing is a beautiful form of art where you can control over your movements, you can choose and decide how you’re going to move your body to the rhythm. Jungkook felt dominant when it comes to dancing, because he feels like he is good at it.

Jungkook watched his movements as he moved through the reflection in the mirror, and he paused everytime he felt like he got it wrong. He would shake his head in disappointment before starting the dance routine all over again. It was not until his phone rang that he finally stopped.

“Jungkook?”

“Yes, mom?” Jungkook’s breathing was out of place. It was irregular, too fast and he was breathing quite heavily. To put simply, Jungkook felt lightheaded.

“Jungkook, it’s dinnertime dear. Why are you not home yet?”

“I don’t think I’m coming home tonight, mom. I’ll stay overnight in the dance studio.”

Before his mother could reply and tell him that he may not spend the night in the dance studio, Jungkook quickly hung up. Placing a hand over his chest to feel the fast pace of his heartbeat, he tried to calm himself down.
 

Jungkook’s body ached all over when he woke up the next morning. He struggled to open his eyes as the blinding lights of the dance studio shone into his eyes.

Tick tock. He raised his hand to glance at the wrist watch, his eyes widening in alarm. He quickly got up to his feet, with much struggle and a hea