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#07 | elimination of dancers "oh, please. speak for yourself"
my love mine all mine • mitski "could it shine down here with you?"
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"Careful, Jungwon! Wouldn't want a repeat of the Yeseul jacket incident, would we?" Riki teased with a mischievous grin. Rina and Kazuha couldn't contain their laughter, while Yeseul shot Riki a sharp glare, arms crossed in annoyance. Dance practice with Nishimura Riki was proving to be quite the ordeal. As Yeseul and Riki bantered like siblings, Jungwon chuckled, thoroughly entertained by his best friend Yeseul's playful argument with Riki.
"Alright, water break is over," Mrs. Song announced, and the twenty students shuffled back to their respective positions in the dance room. "Five, six, seven, eight!" With the music cue, they launched into their routine. Ms. Song's voice carried over the music, giving instructions, "Kaori, more energy!" she called out, directing her attention to the struggling girl.
Kaori's difficulty with the steps elicited suppressed chuckles from Riki and his friends. However, Riki's focus soon shifted, drawn inexorably to Rina. His fascination with her grew as he watched her dance through the reflection in the large studio mirrors. The way she moved, her grace and poise, captured his attention more than any choreographed routine ever could.
Even though Riki was too proud to admit it, Rina was flawless.
Suddenly, Rina caught Riki's gaze through the mirrored walls of the dance room, her eyebrows arching in silent confusion. As the music shifted into a slower tempo and the dance movements became more relaxed, Riki feigned being oblivious to her gaze and swiftly averting his eyes elsewhere. With the music winding down to a stop, the panting of the dancers filled the room in a quiet symphony of exhaustion. Ms. Song's voice cut through the air, breaking the post-dance reverie. "Alright, nice work, everyone. I'm pleased with our progress. However, there are a few students who've been lagging lately," she announced. "Unfortunately, I'll need to remove those students from the dance team. They won't have the opportunity to perform at the school's tenth-anniversary event in front of our CEO."
The dance room fell into a hushed stillness, each dancer's heart pounding with apprehension, dreading the possibility of being among those removed from the team. "I will now be announcing the names of those who will no longer be part of the dance team," Ms. Song declared, taking out a black diary and scanning its pages quietly. The tension in the room grew palpable.
"Takahashi Kaori," she announced first. Rina couldn't help but feel a twinge of relief; Kaori's incessant pestering had grated on her nerves since day one. "What?" Kaori spluttered in disbelief. "Me?" "Yes, Kaori," Ms. Song confirmed gently. "While you have potential, you're too slow and confused compared to the other dancers on the team" "This can't be happening!" Kaori protested. "I─ I'm better than all of you!" Eye rolls and suppressed snickers rippled through the room, prompting Riki to interject with an exasperated eye roll of his own. "Oh, please. Speak for yourself," he muttered. As Kaori's protests escalated into insults hurled at Riki, Ms. Song's patience wore thin. "Silence!" she commanded, her voice cutting through Kaori's hollering like a whip.
The room fell into a tense silence, Rina's nerves fluttering as she awaited the fate of her spot on the dance team. "Five more students will be leaving the team," Ms. Song continued, her voice carrying a weight that seemed to hang in the air. "Kim Yooyeon," she declared after a few seconds, and Rina's heart sank for her fellow dancer, "You did well, Yooyeon," Ms. Song offered consolingly, "Just needed more practice and I'm sorry to say but your movements were becoming a bit sloppy." Yooyeon nodded solemnly, determination etched on her face. "I'll try harder next time," she said, bowing politely.
As Ms. Song continued, Rina's anxiety peaked. She had made a small mistake in the choreography earlier. What if Ms. Song had noticed? "Park Junseok," Ms. Song announced next, and Rina couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy's crestfallen expression. As Junseok received his feedback, Rina's mind raced with worry, the weight of uncertainty pressing down on her shoulders.
"It's okay," a gentle voice whispered from beside her, "You'll get selected, I know you will", Riki reassured with a soft smile. Rina felt her cheeks flush as she returned his smile. "Thanks, Riki. I'm sure you'll make the cut too." As Ms. Song continued, Rina's nerves were on edge, hoping she wouldn't be among those removed. With each name called, the tension in the room grew, "And the last student is...", Ms. Song paused for dramatic effect, "Kwon Jihye." A sigh of relief escaped Rina's lips. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Jihye, who had been a stellar dancer and an inspiration to the team.
"Congratulations to the rest of you, you all are going to perform for the school's tenth-anniversary event," Ms. Song announced with a smile, "I will be taking the names of the selected students to avoid any confusion ─ Nishimura Riki, Miyawaki Rina, Lee Heeseung, Park Jay, Shim Jake, Kim Sunoo, Yang Jungwon, Min Yeseul, Nakamura Kazuha, Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin, Choi Beomgyu, Kang Taehyun, and Huening Kai".
Applause filled the room for the selected students. The six students who hadn't been selected offered warm smiles and congratulations to the fourteen dancers who had made the cut. However, Kaori's sour expression stood out like a sore thumb, which didn't go unnoticed by the others.
After dance practice, Kazuha conversed with Ms. Song, so Rina decided to give them some privacy and waited patiently for Kazuha to finish so they could go back home. Meanwhile, Riki took the opportunity to approach Rina from behind with a grin, "Told you you'd get selected," he chuckled. Rina jumped slightly, startled by his sudden appearance. "Jeez, Riki, you scared me," she replied with a playful scowl. Riki chuckled apologetically, "Sorry about that. I was just killing time." "Thanks for your reassurance earlier, though," Rina said sincerely, "I thought I was going to have a panic attack when Ms. Song was announcing the names of the students who were going to be removed from the dance team", she admitted with a chuckle.
Riki chuckled, "You were sweating over nothing! Seriously, Rina, you're an amazing dancer, believe me. You just don't see it yet". "Thanks, Riki..." Rina's voice softened, sincerity evident in her eyes. Suddenly realizing their prolonged eye contact, Riki cleared his throat, "So, um... about the group project with me, Leeseo, and Jungwon...did Leeseo tell you about it?". "O-Oh, yeah," Rina's cheeks tinged with pink as she averted her gaze from his lips, "I'll be honest, I had no clue Leeseo decided we'd work together with you and Jungwon." "Me too!" Riki exclaimed, feeling the tension ease slightly, "Jungwon just walked up to me and mentioned it out of nowhere!"
"Likewise," Rina admitted, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Anyways," Riki continued, "I've arranged for us to work at my place for the project on Thursday. I checked with Leeseo and Jungwon, and they're on board. Just need your confirmation."
"Thursday? Yeah, I can come over to your house after school", Rina nodded after thinking for a while, "You just need to send me your address". "Oh...yeah. I'll uh, send it to you through Instagram DMs?", Riki's blush deepened. "Y-Yeah, we both follow each other", Rina nodded, her heartbeat increasing rapidly.
"Anyways, I think Kazuha is done talking to Ms. Song. I'll, uh, see you tomorrow?" Rina asked, a hint of uncertainty in her tone."Yeah, see you," Riki replied with a soft smile before turning to leave. After Riki had left, Kazuha approached Rina with a grin. "Having a chat with loverboy? What were you two talking about?" she teased."A... a group project," Rina stuttered, it seemed that she was still feeling a bit dazed from Riki's presence."Okay, let's head home now," Kazuha chuckled, linking her arm with Rina's as they walked back to their apartment.
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author's note ᯓ★
my best friend got a jake photocard from her crush for her birthday and won't stop teasing me about not having one 😔😔 (in a playful way, ofc)
istg, that girl is blind asf ─ if someone bought ME a jake photocard, i would automatically think that they like me ngl. because i don't talk THAT much about myself and when i do, i mostly get talked over so i'd be quite surprised if someone knew that i stan enhypen and bias sunjaeki 😐😐
