Dancing King

Chapter 16

It's supposed to snow where I live. Snow. In late April. SNOW.

As you can tell, I'm not amused.

Ooooo a thousand reads! Thanks everybody! To celebrate, here's the next chapter.

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Junmyeon's POV

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"Lay!" I gasped, my hands flying up to cover my mouth. He turned behind him, and Kai and Taemin stepped out of the shadows. Taemin simply frowned, but Kai looked plenty pissed. When his gaze landed on me, it softened, but only slightly. I turned behind me. To Sehun and Baekhyun. Sehun, despite being taller than his brother, acted like he was trying to hide behind him. Baekhyun had his arms out, like he was shielding the younger boy.

"Don't blame them," I blurted. Three intense sets of eyes swung to me, and it took a lot of willpower not to shrink back under them. "They didn't have any idea what I had planned," I continued. "Baek even tried to talk me out of it. So if you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Not them."

"Jun..." Baek said quietly, and when I turned to look again his eyes were impossibility wide. Sehun looked as nonplussed as ever, but he also hadn't moved from his place behind his brother. "Don't," Baekhyun added. But I shook my head. I would not let them be punished for my misdeeds. I turned back to Lay, Kai, and Taemin, who were huddled in a weird triangle formation, whispering to themselves.

"Baekhyun, Sehun, can we have a word with Junmyeon?" Kai finally asked. Baekhyun looked like he wanted to heavily protest, but once again I shook my head, pointing to the stairs leading to the outside world. Now that we'd been caught, a lot was at stake. I knew Sehun was in the talks of joining after Christmas break. I didn't want us to jeopardize that. Sehun took the hint, grabbing Baekhyun and dragging him out of the tunnel. That left me with three very angry dancers. I hung my head.

"Look Junmyeon," Lay began, his gaze flicking up momentarily to the hat on my head. "We don't mind if you're down here. Obviously. I was down here with you last week. But this is unacceptable. What if something got broken? What if you had gotten hurt? And besides, most of this stuff belongs to someone in the crew in some way. A lot of us worked and saved to supply this place with everything we saw for to have. The idea of having someone down here, tampering with it, was not a happy one." I kept my head ducked, my shoulders sagging with each thing he said.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I knew it was dumb. It's just..." I paused. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it. Whatever you have planned, I accept." I heard a deep sigh in front of me.

"We've decided," Kai stepped in, sweeping an arm out to Taemin and Lay. "That since nothing is broken it won't be bad. But you still need to be punished. Let this be a lesson Junmyeon." I shivered at the way he said my name. "And don't let it happen again. At least not without our permission. We aren't heartless. You are welcome to use this space, as long as we know about it." I nodded along. "And you're sure Baekhyun and Sehun didn't plan this with you?" he asked. Another shake of my head.

"No, they didn't," I replied. "It was all my doing. Please. It's Sehun's dream to join your ranks. It's all he's talked about every Friday night since the first time I snuck them down here. Please don't let my stupid decision be the factor that gets him kicked out. He'll be crushed." Kai turned back to Lay and Taemin, both of whom shrugged.

"Alright," Kai said at last, turning back to face me. "Just you then." He paused, tilting his head to the side like he was studying me. "Sorry Jun. Two weeks banned from the tunnel, starting during our return." My gaze shot back up.

"But..." I began to protest. Then stopped. Two weeks of being banned. I wouldn't be able to come down with Yixing. I'd miss the special performances. I would miss the initiations of some new recruits. For the first Saturdays in four years, my nights would not be spent down here. It was damn near enough to drive me to my knees, but I had to remember I did it to myself. I was the one who decided to sneak down here and mess with their stuff. I would be the one to feel the consequences. "Alright," I said at last, bowing low. "Sorry again." I scooped my hat off the floor, holding it tightly in my fist, willing away the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I calmly walked passed them, but once my feet hit the stairs I bolted. I heard Baekhyun and Sehun shouting behind me, running after. But all I could think about was how I screwed up. How disappointed Lay looked. I'd let him down.