breathe # minsung

44

the next day minho packed his dance bag and carpooled to the jyp building with hyunjin who'd also picked up felix.

"can we practice a little less today? we've been going nonstop all week," seungmin complains, tossing his belongings on the dance studio floor and flopping onto the sofa. hyunjin groans, slumping down beside his friend, "for once, i agree withs seung," he huffs.

felix places a hand on his hip, "you guys are actually so lazy! we have less than two weeks to perfect everything, and minho is still sort of behind, we need to practice as much as possible!" he scolds.

minhos cheeks dust pink, had he been so behind that it caused his friends to suffer more? was he not trying hard enough?

"i don't want to make you guys have to work harder because of me! i can practice on my own," he smiles weakly from where he was standing. hyunjin gives him a thankful look, "see? min's fine."

"if you were struggling that much, you'd want help too jin," the other blonde sighs. the eldest knits his brows together and bites the inside of his cheek, was he really doing that bad? in his eyes he only needed to fix a small piece of the dance but felixs words completely changed his viewpoint. was he butchering the entire dance and making an embarrassment of himself? were his friends judging him?

all these negatives thoughts flooded his mind making him feel insecure and vulnerable. everything from last night reappeared as well. was he really this much of a burden to the people around him? were his friends going to grow tired of him like his family had?

"how about this, three hours of practice and then we can have an hour long lunch, sound good?" felix compromises. "only if lunch consists of bulgogi, i've really been craving it," hyunjin drools at the thought, rubbing against his torso. seungmin scoffs, "whatever."

"minho? that sound good to you?"

the eldest jumps at the mention of his name, quickly nodding his head, "uh yeah, i'll probably skip, i need to practice more."

hyunjin furrows his brows, "you're not doing that bad though, yeah you could improve but honestly, it's really fine." i could improve? "right! i mean, it's not like you're doing horrible, everyone has struggles every now and then, especially with dance," felix nods.

i'm really doing that bad?

minho produces an airy laugh to hide the hurt feeling in his gut. he felt as though he could throw up. he knew his friends meant well but why did it hurt so bad? why did it make him feel so small and weak?

the entire three hours were absolute hell for the eldest. all he could hear were his friends constantly correcting him and telling him to adjust the smallest things. he couldn't focus nor could he keep up with them. they were all over the place in such small amounts of time. and though he partook in choregraphing the dance he felt zero confidence, the dance felt foreign; as if he'd never learned it.

"sharper minho."

"faster."

"too sloppy."

"that's not the right move."

"you're not in sync."

when the music faded out the purple haired boy dropped instantly, gasping for air. he couldn't breathe. "min what's up with you? it seems like you've been out of it these past few days, like you're lacking in everything."

that was the final straw.

the boy on the floor let out a loud wail, gripping at his own hair. his friends watched in utter shock as he got up and stormed out of the room, unsure of what happened or what to do.