There is a name on his wrist, stark against his skin.
The black characters are clear and unmistakable: Choi Yeonjun.
Soobin swears.
All idols wear soulbands around their wrists to hide their soulmate's name: as idols there's an expectation to be sin...
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"Something isn't working," their dance instructor says the next day, lips pursed.
Soobin bites back the urge to say her unrealistic expectations of just what choreography the human body is capable of. He's too busy trying to get his lungs to remember how to breathe.
Beomgyu and Taehyun have collapsed on the floor, arms and legs akimbo. Kai is still standing, but he's slumped back against the mirror. Only Yeonjun looks relatively alive, hands on his hips as he catches his breath. He's been extremely focused today, in full serious!hyung mode.
Having resigned himself to being attracted to Yeonjun, Soobin's been finding new ways to manage it all morning, like avoiding looking at him at all, and making sure he's never alone with him.
It's been going pretty well, he thinks, he could totally do this for the rest of his life, or however long it takes for his unrequited soulmark to fade.
And then Yeonjun asks, "Why don't we switch it up?"
Their instructor folds her arms. At an impressive 160cm, she's easily the most terrifying person in the room. The fact that Yeonjun is confident enough to suggest a change - and she's willing to listen - says something about the amount of respect they have for each other.
"What are you thinking?"
"Soobin knows Beomgyu's part."
As one, every head in the room swivels towards him. Bent over at the waist with his hands on his thighs as he tries to get his breath back, Soobin thinks now would be a nice time for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.
It doesn't. He glares up through his hair at Yeonjun. Just what is he up to?
"Does he now?" The instructor sizes Soobin up, lips still pursed, unconvinced.
"We've practised it a few times," Yeonjun says, like it's a perfectly normal thing to drop into conversation.
The others, predictably, erupt.
"When?!"
"Have you been having secret dance practices without us?!"
"Why weren't we invited?!"
"Yeonjun-hyung never invites me to secret dance practices."
"Is this true?" she asks Soobin.
He pushes up from his thighs to buy a few seconds to think. It's not always clear how management will react when they take matters into their own hands. "Yeah. Once or twice."
"Hmm." Her head tilts to the side.
"He can do it."
Why is Yeonjun pushing this? He can't possibly think it's a good idea. Soobin got the moves wrong far more often than he got them right, that fateful night in the dance studio.
