Black Rose ~ A Taemin Fic Pt. 2

Chapter 13

"Girl, you light the fire," Baekhyun sings, the English flowing from his tongue like air, the high note adding to the energetic atmosphere. I throw my arm down, stepping once than twice. The moves are playing in my head like a symphony: in time and tune with the beat.

"Let's go down to the amusement park. Let me show you the true me."

'Pump pump, pull 2, 3, 4, and hair toss.' When the director shouts cut, I drop my flares arms, not bothering to glance past the other dancers to Baekhyun in the front or Soyeon directly beside him.

"Good, thank you everyone! We're going to move to the carousel now," Booms the voice from the loud megaphone. I nod to myself, accepting the water from the stagehand before another hurries to fix my French braids; they seem to have gotten tasseled in the intense choreo.

Soyeon whips over to Baekhyun, indulging him in minimal conversation while he opens his shirt further for air. I roll my eyes at the two and decide to instead follow the others and camera crew as they make their way to the next set.

We've been filming for this music video all morning, using the bits of late morning to get all the shots for the beginning and verses. Now that it's high noon with blue sky for as far as the eye can see, we're filming the choruses and ending.

He's going for a fun, energetic feel to the song with lyrics meant for that of a lover in the pockets of night. I can't quite complain though; ever since talking to Taemin, things have been feeling ... not better but...different.

Different as in he didn't mention Sohyun's call. Different as in I haven't thought much further on the idol thing. Different as in I think I'm living a quarter life crisis and am in desperate need of new surroundings or else I will fall off the face of the earth.

Different as in Baekhyun keeps nagging me with his mood swings as if he wasn't threatening me a week ago. "You seem...better," he says as if on cue. His breathing is still jagged; he must've ran to catch up to me.

"Of course," I pull a smile. "My husband's lying to me. His best friend is lying to me. There's a bitch trying to sabotage me. And I'm thinking of not being a backup dancer anymore."

"Wait what? Yuki, stop," he puts a hand on my shoulder, pulling me to the side and away from the others. I barely allow myself to look up at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

I glance to the right where everyone is stationing. "I dunno. I want to see if I can become an idol and perform with Taemin exclusively." I over enunciate the end, glaring at Sohyun as I do so.

Baekhyun releases a sigh as he follows me eyes. "You two are the same, y'know." I whip my head back to him, confusion covering most of my face. "Not her. Taemin. You both want to be the best. You both do this thing where your careers aren't enough for you, so you do everything in your power to be better than the person sitting next to you."

His tone irks me. I find better interest in my press-ons. "It's better than getting everything handed to you. Did you get it handed to you, Baekhyun?" I fold my lips in as he looks to the ground. "Did you not work to be here? Something," I swallow incoming emotions, "something isn't right about her." I point subtly to her and her black braids that reach down to her elbows. 'I knew I shouldn't have cut my hair.' "It's a fucking jungle out here, and I'm not gonna let her or anyone, for that matter, push me down now."

After a few seconds of waiting for his response, his lips crack into a soft smile. His beige shirt is still half-buttoned, white cargo pants adorned with chains and buttons that jiggle when he walks, jewelry that gleams in the sunlight and sweat. Nothing about this man screams any of what he's telling me right now.