Rising Star

The Date

You're woken up by gentle hands shaking you. Groggily you mumble a protest and try to cuddle deeper into the warmth surrounding you. You hear a chuckle.

"Hey, good girl. If you don't pry yourself out from between those two, you're going to be late for practice," Lee Know's amused voice finally penetrates your mind and you open your eyes. The man in question is standing over you, that damn smirk on his face again.

"Why didn't my alarm go off?" you groan as you extricate yourself from the two heavenly bodies you were in between. Hyunjin had once again wrapped his arms around you while gripping your chest with his long fingers, so it took a minute. Lee Know holds up your phone to show it was dead.

"You must've been too busy to plug it in," he said as he grinned. You winced a little as you moved. His eyes were instantly interested. "Very busy, from the looks of it."

"Maybe I'll tell you about it sometime," you grin as you get dressed and head towards the bathroom to brush your teeth and get ready. 

Lee Know's eyes sparkle. It seemed like you were the only two awake right now. The doors to the other rooms were closed. Lee Know already had a cup of coffee ready for you in the kitchen. It seemed like he'd already picked up on how you did your morning routine. You smile to yourself as you watch him getting breakfast ready for the others in the house before he left. This was the side that you had to really be paying attention to see. Lee Know was a caregiver when it came to people he cared about. Your heart did one of its famous flip flops as you watched him. He glances up at you.

"What are you smiling about?" he asks as he finishes up and puts everything in the fridge. All the guys would have to do was cook it.

"You. You really are a sweet guy, you know that?" you say as you come around the counter and kiss his cheek.

"Don't tell anyone. I have an image to uphold," he chuckles as his ears turn red. Embarrassed Lee Know was absolutely adorable. You both grab your bags and head out to the main building to the dance studio. The rest of the group greeted you both as you come in.

"We didn't know you were coming today," Hajoon said from the back as he comes forward.

"I wanted to see if you needed any help with anything," Lee Know answers with a shrug.

"We'd appreciate any feedback you could give us," Jiyoo says with a smile. Everyone nods in agreement.

"Ok, show me what you got," Lee Know says as he takes a position in front of the mirrors on the floor. He was all business right now, his sharp eyes ready to analyze everything. 

The group took their places after warming up. You hit the button, moving quickly to your position before the music begins. Everyone moves through the choreo as the music starts, focus clear on their faces as you watch both yourself and them in the mirror. You see only a few mistakes, including your own. Once the song ends, Lee Know stands and waits for you to stop the player before he asks who wrote the choreo. Hajoon and Jiyoo raise their hands. He has them step up front with him.

"Did you see anything that can be improved?" he asks the two of them first. They both hesitate. "Don't hesitate. You want to be the best, you have to be harder than that. Be up front. You can do that without being a jerk. Tell them what you saw, then I'll put in my input. You guys know how this is supposed to look, help them."

Hajoon nodded and started talking about what he'd seen. Emboldened, Jiyoo began adding what she saw and what could be improved or changed. Everything they said was what you'd noticed. Lee Know nodded his agreement with their assessment.

"You guys are talented. You lack confidence. Come out swinging or you won't make it. You've got this. Do it again," he says as he retakes his position. Moving over, you hit the button for the music again. There's a new fire in the faces of your band mates as you watch everyone go through the dance again.