The Second Chance of A Suicidal Idol

Fire (6)

Joon-woo looked in the mirror of his apartment.

Kite rested on his shoulder, judging Joon-woo's wet, stringy hair and slouched body. Joon-woo was exhausted. Despite listening to Ryeo Hyun's advice, cutting his practice short for the sake of... his body? Joon-woo didn't exactly remember what the man had told him. He just knew he had hurt Ryeo Hyun.

Joon-woo had made his Hyung admit to a hard time in his life. Joon-woo had reminded Ryeo Hyun of a hard time in his life. He had no intentions to do such a thing, as more blindsided with the fact Joon-woo was once Jung Ha-rin, both beloved and hated in her career. Joon-woo was Jung Ha-rin, who grew able to live with 3 hours of sleep, just 1,000 calories of food, and intense 24/7 schedules.

But what weighed most on his mind, is that today he and Team One would perform 'Fire'. They would perform 'Fire' with the expectation of doing it well, thanks to the appearance of lead dancer of Winner Mi Yong. They would perform in front of Misa, who had asked and expected Joon-woo to improve.

But with the hours of missed practice, could he really do as she wanted? Could he truly actually do the talents of his team justice? The thoughts weighed his mind in intervals of 20lbs.

Kite watched the sight of Joon-woo with a blank face.

"Kite, do you think I'll do okay?" Joon-woo asked, anxiously picking at his skin.

Kite tilted his head, "I think you'll do fine, I don't know why you're stressing so much." It replied, juxtaposed with Joon-woo's jittery nature.

"Fine?" Joon-woo asked, sensitive to the word.

"Great." Kite correctly, "You'll do great. You worked too hard to not do anything less." It reassured.

Joon-woo shook his head, still unconvinced. "Not hard enough..." He murmured, the hours of missed practice crossing his mind, "God, Kite– couldn't you give me a body that actually knew how to dance?" He joked.

"That's not in my control." Kite shrugged, a bit snappy, Joon-woo caught.

"Well would you tell the person in control, God, if he exists, to do better next time?" Joon-woo asked, anxiety present even in his joking state.

Kite rolled his eyes, "I'll be sure to pass on the message." It replied sarcastically.

–+–

Joon-woo wore blue skinny jeans and a faux leather jacket over a white t-shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror of the backstage and frowned, as Joon-woo's visuals definitely didn't suit this look. It highlighted just how slim his legs were and with the way the jeans puddled at his ankles he looked even shorter.

Next to him stood his team, Team One. They all were grouped up, chatting about their worries and Joon-woo stood away, aloof.

During the span of their teaming, Joon-woo had never gotten close with his team. He knew he was just burrowing himself in a corner of evil editing, but it didn't really faze him. The only thing he was really focused on was his dancing. Improving each move and Joon-woo's lacking physique.

But he truly hadn't realized how much he isolated himself until now. Until he watched them discuss, Mi Yong in the middle, giving them some speech about doing well and believing in oneself. Until he watched his teammates gather and realized he was really never part of the team in the first place.

When he turned around, he spotted Ryeo Hyun's team. He spotted them huddled together and laughing about something, as their faces were red with laughter. Decked out in modern street wear they smiled, decked out in modern street wear they genuinely got along.