Friends with benefits - ATEEZ Yunwoo

2

Jung Wooyoung*

"Where's your energy, Woo?" Seonghwa grumbled when I did the dance wrong again and we had to stop the music because of me. Everyone groaned in annoyance, while I half-apologized again.

My back was hurting like hell and it was all the fault of the boy in front of me. Yesterday Yunho somehow had a fight with his girlfriend and instead of walking around somewhere, he came to me and we did it all night. Later his girlfriend called him and told him to come back blah blah blah. They argued on the phone and at some point, Yunho left again.

"Let's take a short break," said Hongjoong and left the room. "You'll manage the dance, don't worry," said San and patted me on the shoulder.

The others obviously took this amateur dance group a little too seriously. But somehow it was understandable why.

For many of us, this university was just a stepping stone, because we all wanted to make a career somehow. Not in a normal job, no. We wanted to become famous faces. To have some kind of status like a Kpop idol. But the industry wasn't very secure and the chances of success were slim. And if music didn't work out, at least we had a degree from this university.

At the moment, we were rehearsing for a local competition with a prize money of 14,000,000 won. This competition was very important for everyone. Not because of the money, even though it was a nice sum. But it was important for them and me to get closer to our dream.

The dream of turning our hobby into our job. None of the 8 of us could ever imagine a job in an ordinary office where every day was like the next.

It used to be my dream to become a dancer. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for that dream, but I still wanted to be on stage. My mother made me go to university because she also thought that I would never make it anyway. Like me, the others here also had their dreams.

Hongjoong and Mingi wanted to go into the music industry and produce songs. Seonghwa was more interested in fashion and Yeosang wanted to be a dancer like me. Jongho and San, on the other hand, were talented singers and that was their dream. Yunho, on the other hand, was the only one who wanted to pursue an acting career.

We all had our dreams that were shattered by reality. This in turn brought us all together and we decided to form a small group together.

Sighing, I sat down on the floor and reached for my water bottle. As I still hadn't answered San, he sat down next to me and looked at me with concern. "Do you still feel as sick as you did yesterday? Why don't you go home?" He put his arm around my shoulder and I felt his warmth against me. I felt a little better and even had to grin slightly. "It's all right, I'm better. I just didn't sleep well," I lied and nodded weakly.

"OMG WHAT?!" screamed Mingi and picked up Yunho's phone. San and I looked at both boys and Yunho had a big grin on his face. "You're shortlisted!" said Yeosang, who joined Mingi in looking at Yunho's phone.

"What's going on, guys?" asked San, standing up as I remained seated. "I've made it to the next round! For the audition I applied for!" Yunho was overjoyed, which is why San gave him a big hug. The other boys were also happy and began to ask him about the audition.

Yunho had applied for one of the Kdramas last month and it looked like he might have made it. I scratched the back of my head slightly and didn't know whether to congratulate him or not. I still didn't know exactly how to act in front of him, because I was always afraid that the others would find something out.

But I felt really stupid just sitting there, so I got up and walked over to the group. "Congratulations!" I laughed and got a quick smile from Yunho. "Thanks," he just said and turned back to the others. "The audition is tomorrow! I can't wait!" Everyone was happy for him, and after this good news, we continued rehearsing for about two hours. This time I had my momentum again and I was better than before.