✔ || Distract Me

Chapter 22

Jeongguk sunk against the wall of the dance studio, his head leaning back. His heart was slowly calming down, as were his ragged breaths, and he wiped at his soaked forehead with the back of his hand. Hoseok came over and offered him a water bottle, which he gladly accepted. "Thanks, hyung," he said after taking a swig.

He handed the bottle back and Hoseok sipped at it thoughtfully. "What do you think, Kookie?"

Jeongguk shrugged, "It'll be fine once we figure out the leg part. There has to be an easier way for that, you know?"

Hoseok nodded, resting his hand on his hip. Jimin came over to stand with them so the dance line could actually do something productive on their break, and Jeongguk pushed himself to his feet with a tired groan. Namjoon and Seokjin were across the studio, trying to figure the dance out together, and Taehyung and Yoongi were leaning against each other's backs on the floor, Yoongi's head rolling back to rest on Taehyung's shoulder. Jeongguk worried that Taehyung's wounds could be irritated from the pressure, but the older boy shot him a reassuring, albeit small, smile. Advanced healing, right. Jeongguk turned back to his conversation with Jimin and Hoseok.

"What if, instead of -" Jimin dropped into one of the steps, his arms up in front of him and his legs spread "- and then going to this -" he flipped his arms around and brought his feet together "- we just shortened it and, instead of landing, we just keep weight on one foot and just sort of roll into it?"

Hoseok tried it and hummed, "It's definitely easier."

"But it doesn't really have the same impact, visually speaking," Jeongguk crossed his arms over his chest.

"And it will look kind of weird with the timing," Jimin added, deflating. "Sorry, guys, I thought I had it."

Hoseok patted his back affectionately, "No problem, Chimchim, any idea is a good idea at this point." He lowered his voice, "Between us three, I'm getting a little frustrated. It's not like this is the 'Fire' choreography."

Jimin and Jeongguk offered tired chuckles, wincing at the memories of dancing the exact same move over and over for hours at a time until even Jeongguk had tears in his eyes when they were finally finished.

The choreography they were learning wasn't even for a song that was for sure going to be on the album they were working on. Jeongguk prayed that it would be, simply so he wouldn't punch the wall over the wasted hours learning this god-forsaken dance. The song had a melody that Taehyung helped create, so Jeongguk tried really hard not to hate it. And of course he didn't, not really, but at the moment, his thighs were burning and he was ready to scream out of frustration, and if he couldn't take it out on a physical object, he'd take it out on the music.

"Ready to try again, guys?" Hoseok sighed.

The younger dancers nodded mutely and Hoseok clapped his hands, stepping away from their huddle. "Ready to get back at it, everyone?"

Taehyung gently lifted his shoulder, coaxing Yoongi awake, and Namjoon and Seokjin ended their conversation and joined the rest. Once everyone had their places, the coordinator turned on the track.

Jeongguk sighed and forced himself to get lost in the melody, to feel how Taehyung's fingers formed and massaged the notes until they were perfect, and gradually he was able to ignore the burning in his legs and abs. When he had to freeze for two measures with his center of gravity obnoxiously off-kilter, his torso folded back so that his head hung upside down with his arms stretched towards the sky - a pose that had made him crack his head against the floor too many times to count today alone - he somehow found that the muscles in his abdomen constricted until they held him tightly upright, rigid in the position until it was time to jerk up and twist around. He let his body take over for his brain until the part he, Jimin, and Hoseok had been worried about. The move was just too big for such a short amount of time, and there was a loud thud. Jeongguk lowered his leg until both feet rested on the ground and blinked down at the pile of Namjoon that was now underneath him. The leader slapped a hand over his face, "I'm sorry, guys."