Dancing King

Chapter 27

I'm tired but also not so I guess I don't know what I am lol. It was a taxing couple days. I'm just glad to relax a little.

Hello to all my new followers. Hello to all the people who read but don't interact with me (I'm guilty of this too guys I will speed read and then do nothing). Hello to the people who comment all the time (saranghaebunnymyeon, imcalledamyy7, and abeautywjourney I'm looking at you guys).
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Yixing's POV

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I donned my mask and beanie for the millionth time, weaving my way through alleyways so familiar I could walk them with my eyes closed. As with any time I made my way to this part of town, my footsteps became a little lighter and my spirits rose. This was my element. My happy place. Classes had finally resumed, but even they couldn't put a damper on my good mood. There was so much to prepare for in a short amount of time.

I descended the stairs slowly, feeling the bass bounce off the walls. I trailed my fingers over signatures carefully etched in the bricks. The graduating recruits, immortalizing ourselves in this space for quite some time. I emerged at the bottom into a busy, different world. Hoseok and Jongin appeared to already be here, working with our initiates.

"Come on Changmin," Jongin said, gently hauling the boy to his feet. Changmin's shoulders shook slightly, and I realized he'd been crying. "Hey, it's okay," Jongin assured, cupping the smaller boy's chin in his hands and forcing him to meet his gaze. "From the top okay? You're doing great. Don't give up."

"Alright Kai hyung," he sniffed, swiping at his eyes. I let them be, practicing the routine Changmin picked out for his first test. Hoseok was working with Chan and Soonyoung, both of whom danced in sync to an imaginary song. I scanned the small crowd. So many bodies packed into one small place. The tunnel teamed with life today.

"Lay hyung?" I turned to see curious eyes boring into me. Ones I knew quite well by now. Oh Sehun, Baekhyun's little half brother and a friend of my boyfriend. "Can you watch me?" he asked quietly. "I think my footwork is off, but I can't quite tell."

"Of course Sehun," I told him. He tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows bunching together in confusion. I prayed the puzzle didn't fit together. "I will watch in a few minutes okay?" I continued. "I need to see how Taemin is doing with Minhyuk and Moonbin. And Luhan with Hyunjin." He nodded, floating off towards a quiet corner. I breathed out, my tense muscles relaxing. He would figure out soon enough if he didn't already know, but he would also be sworn to secrecy just like the rest of the crew. I picked my way over to Taemin, who was watching Minhyuk do some admittedly impressive twists and turns.

"Don't land so hard," he instructed suddenly. Minhyuk jerked, pulled from his haze. He nodded, attempting the spin again, this time landing lightly to keep going. "Much better," Taemin praised. "You are both doing very well so far. I can't imagine you will be turned away." Excited murmurs from the two boys in front of us. "Keep practicing you two," he added, shooing them off. "Don't forget your tests start Saturday." He turned to me. "Hey Lay, what's up?"

"Just checking on things," I answered. "It looks like you have things well under control." He nodded.

"Whoever's call it was to have the younger ones come and have one on one practices is a genius," he replied. I inclined my head. Hoseok thought of it, as he did for a lot of things here. Seriously we would be so lost without him. We also knew what it was like to be young, slightly inexperienced, and a little frightened. This would get them used to the happenings of the tunnel without the crowd. "How come Hyunwoo, Shin Hoseok, and Hakyeon aren't here?" he asked, turning to eye me. "Hakyeon has the first round of votes after all."

"He's got dance experience," I responded. "Background in ballet with contemporary in years six and seven. Freestyle in his spare time. That kid is good. And Hyunwoo and Shin Hoseok both are on the school dance team. They just like this idea better. It's part of the reason we approached the younger ones first. That way they can get a feel for it before we throw them in."