Jelly Pop [Zerobaseone 10th Member]

BOYS PLANET - Emotions

The sun stood high upon the winter sky, a small breeze blew over the frozen ground, birdsong played lightly, and the 99 trainees were gathered in the same aulia in the same lines as the day before, but the atmosphere made the room seem different. The previous anticipation and somewhat exhaustion had turned into feelings of struggle and frustration.

All around the room were trainees. Heavy breathing echoed as they tried to memorise this new choreography that they had been given just a couple minutes before. Seo Junghee was one of those struggling trainees.

Junghee was a strong and talented dancer, but he'd never been good at memorising choreography quickly, and especially not when he hadn't slept well or was overwhelmed. This time it happened to be because of both causes. But he wasn't alone. A lot of K Group's All Stars seemed to be struggling as well. Not just the All Stars, although they caught Junghee's eyes the most.

To know that he wasn't alone in his struggles made Junghee feel a newfound confidence. And soon after, with a little bit of willpower, the choreography felt like it had been made for him. Or that's at least how it felt from Junghee's perspective.

With both surprise and security, as well as him being pleased with himself, Junghee sat down for a quick breather. This accomplishment made him feel sense of empowerment that could increase the happiness of anyone. Other trainees looked to have noticed the change in their friend's mood as some came up to ask him for advice and help with the choreography, and Junghee gladly helped.

Just as he had finished teaching some of G Group's Zero Star trainees, a unknown finger tapped his shoulder.

"Junghee?" The voice asked unsurely.

That voice. Junghee knew it so well. He'd heard it so many times during the past years; Junghee's brother, Junho, insisted that this exact person had to be invited to every single holiday event at the Seo family's house. Of course there were times were the voice was unable to, since he'd been busy acting or doing other schedules, but he always had to be invited either way. You could say that Junghee had 2 older brothers at this point.

Junghee faced the voice with a big smile.

"It's actually you!" Kim Jiwoong said chuckling, "I was unsure during the Star Level Test, but Junghee, it's you!"

Just before the eighteen year old was able to answer, the star master Baek Kooyoung entered the room and announced that he would be watching each star group individually. Jiwoong quickly made his way back to the K Group 3 Stars, but not before Junghee could give him a friendly smile and a look telling him to talk later.

The dance evaluation went really well for most G Groups. Every group received some sort of compliment or praise, which caused an obvious raise in the mood of most trainees. Junghee was proud of those who he had helped and of those who really tried their best to improve.

On the other hand, K Group's enthusiasm seemed to only decline after multiple words of criticism was uttered by Baek Kooyoung.

The vocal evaluation started and end quicker than Junghee had expected and the trainees were being evaluated in their respective star levels in different practice rooms.

Junghee would have lied if he said that he wasn't a tiny bit nervous when Choi Younghoon stepped into the practice room. His nerves only grew larger as the one on one coaching started, but against his initial beliefs, Junghee only really received good criticism.

Later that evening, each trainee got a chance to call a loved one. Junghee was a papa's boy, he loved his father to an extent that couldn't be explained. His father was his first role model, his father was his biggest supporter and inspiration. Junghee really loved his dad, so it was no surprise when an elderly man's voice escaped the mobile device.

"Pa!" Junghee shouted excitedly into the phone.

"Junghee!" The voice answered, equally as excited as Junghee himself.

The call went on for a while before staff signaled to Junghee that he had to end it.

"Pa, I have to go now, but take care of Ma and Sooie and the cats, love you!"

"I will. Do well now, tschüss!"

And with that the call ended.

Junghee was hit with a wave of emotions. He hadn't realised how much he actually missed his family until this moment. Tears started building up in his eyes, and soon they started pouring. He stood there for a couple minutes as the tears kept falling, creating rivers on his face.

After some time it was time for Junghee to leave the room as another contestant had to have their time to call their loved ones. With that information, he wiped his tears and left, speed walking down the corridor to the room he shared with his three roommates. Luckily, no one was in the room, so no one would see Junghee's tear stained eyes. He wouldn't let his pride fall because of something this small, but he couldn't bare being seen in this state.

He slumped down against one of the two metal bunk beds, and the salty water escaped from his face for a second time, now even more than before. Soon loud sobs filled the cramped space with no plan on stopping.

The eighteen year old sat there for what felt like hours, but no matter how hard he tried to calm down, he just couldn't. This was the first time in a long time that Seo Junghee has felt this upset, and even cried for that matter.

But his plans on being left alone would soon be broken as one of K Group's contestants slowly revealed themselves in the doorway. Apparently, Junghee's sobs had been loud enough to be heard through the door.

Junghee however did not seem to notice the new presence around him before the other male carefully wrapped their arms around the Starship trainee. Before he could even react to the new touch, he had been pulled into a much needed hug. The embrace felt warm and calming to the distressed boy.

The pair sat there, on the uncomfortable floor, until Junghee had finally been able to find a stable breathing pattern and calmed down. He now looked up to see who's soft arms he had been holding onto for the past 20 minutes or so.

With still blurry vision, Junghee was only able to see some of his prominent features. The K Group contestant was smiling slightly, revealing his slight rounder cheeks. The smile felt welcoming and sincere. Junghee could also make out that the other was wearing the same colour shirt as him, 3 star.

As his vision cleared, more features became visible. The boy had brown hair, clear skin and pink lips. He was really pretty. He was Sung Hanbin.

Hanbin had left a big impression on Junghee during the Initial Star Level Test with his dance battle against Lip J, and his performance of ONF's Beautiful Beautiful. To summarise it, Hanbin was extremely talented.

"Are you feeling better?" The older broke the long lasting silence. Junghee answered with a nod, afraid that he wouldn't be able to talk normally due to the previous events, "That's good."

Silence fell over the pair again, but now it was Junghee's time to break it.

"Please don't tell anyone about this," he said, referring to the recent incident, "Especially not Jiwoong."

"I won't, don't worry."

A smile grew on Junghee's lips. He felt a sense of home again. Hanbin's presence felt like home.

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a/n: the chapter is done, and longer than expected! but i'm not 100% satisfied so i might change it up a bit when i get out of this "slump".
anyways, i hope you liked it. anyways, STEAM PASTEL BY LUN8!!!