Get Cool (stray kids au)

☀️

The moment the three boys walked into the specific dance studio they needed to be in, the nerves hit them like bricks. There were about twenty other guys standing and waiting around. Once the three walked in, everyone's eyes were glued to them. It was scary to say the least.

"Hey, where's J? I thought he would be here by now?" Minho quietly asks Jisung. The younger merely shrugs, not wanting to give away anything.

There was some loud whispering coming from a group of six guys who were on the other side of the room. It was pretty obvious that they were talking about the three late comers, but it was hard to make out what they were saying. Their faces, however, were a dead giveaway that it wasn't something pleasant.

Felix was beginning to regret coming, since his anxiety was starting to get really bad and all he wanted to do was go home and hide in his blankets.

"Hey, just ignore them. They're just jealous because of how cool we look. Besides, we should focus on this audition and doing our best!" Jisung speaks softly to the other. Felix was grateful for that.

A staff member called attention to the group and everyone gathered towards the middle. It was mainly an introduction to everything and what was going to happen here on out. They also made the group promise to keep things on the down low so that meant if they caught anyone mentioning what was happening outside of this while it was still going on, then they were kicked out immediately. No one wanted that.

After that whole lecture, they were introduced to who would be in charge of teaching different choreography, who would teach vocal lessons, and if you were lucky, who would get to rap. It was a reminder that this was still a competition, since at the very end, they were going to test us on how well we can perform.

When the choreographer entered the room, Minho couldn't help but gasp lightly to himself. He completely forgot the fact that his own choreographer also taught Stray Kids. This was going to be difficult and he knew it.

Minho was never on the best terms with his choreographer and it seemed like anything he did was never good enough. It's mainly why he stayed in the back a majority of the time, even though he would still get called out.

He just hoped that when the dance lessons began, he could prove his worth and show that he belonged in Stray Kids instead of just a back up dancer.

After a while of being taught different techniques for dancing, Minho noticed the tall dude from earlier, along with his friends, who seemed to be struggling and falling behind. It almost made him satisfied that karma was getting them. He watched as Felix did the movements so gracefully and filled with strength. Minho was almost jealous, but he was also proud that he could call him a friend of his. They could dominate this group with their dancing alone and that motivated him even further.

Their break finally arrived and a bunch of groans could be heard from some of the other guys when they finished. Did they not realize that this was only the easy part? Minho laughed to himself, thinking about how they were in for a rude awakening if they couldn't even do the dancing.

"Min, you wanna come with Lix and I for a bathroom break?" Jisung asks, the three of them were taking sips from their water bottles.

"Minho, can I have a word?" Minho turns to find his choreographer walking over to them.

With a quick wave to his friends, he nods and follows the instructor out of the room for a moment.

"You know, Minho, I was really surprised to see you here," he begins, making Minho's nerves go crazy. "I'm also really proud that someone from the group took this opportunity to advance. Even more proud that it's you."

Minho looked at him with wide eyes. He was proud of Minho?

"You have way more potential than everyone in that room combined, but you need to see that in order to succeed." The instructor looks at him with determination behind his expression. "Anyways, though, I wanted to let you know that just because I know you personally, doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you."

With that, his instructor walks back into the room, leaving Minho a bit confused. Motivation grew in him, however. His instructor was rooting for him this entire time, but it was disguised by always getting called out and reprimanded for mistakes. He took this opportunity to focus on succeeding and making sure he got out of this as an idol. Not a back up dancer.