Trainee

What happens at NB2 (Part 1)

"Toast! To the completion of XO Beat's debut song, and the start to an iconic era of Kpop!" JYP cheered as he raised his glass. 

Those at the table raised their glasses in unison with a loud shout and threw back their drinks. 

Mark, JB and Jinyoung were the only ones drinking-drinking from Got7, and no one from Twice or XO Beat were recommended to take a sip. However, 2pm and Miss A, both highly encouraged to join in the gathering, were throwing back drinks as if it were the simplest of tasks. 

"Girls, I would like to express my most sincere feeling of pride. You girls have been together s a group for only a short period, and yet you're going to debut within the next few months. Of course, I still don't quite comprehend why you girls did this all in less than a year." Livi shot a questioning glance at JYP, but he slyly avoided eye contact. Livi huffed and continued. "Sitting with you all now, I wish you all the success that you world can offer you and more."

Jin reached across the table and grabbed Livi's hand to give it a thankful squeeze.

I need a gangsta~

To love me better~

Kehlani's 'Gangsta' started blasting, and Min Seo's eyes lit up. She swayed and grooved in her seat, mumbling along to the song.

Yugyeom nudged Jackson and Youngjae. Once he got their attention, he inconspicuously turned their gaze to Min Seo, who was still smiling to herself and jamming. 

Jackson and Youngjae breathed a peaceful sigh and marveled, mindlessly mimicking her movement patterns. 

Yugyeom snickered as he watched Jackson and Youngjae before pulling their attention back. With his eyes, Youngjae trailed a line from Min Seo to a young man at the bar who was staring lustfully at Min Seo. Jackson and Youngjae followed the path, and the young man turned out to be Junhoe from IKON, who, coincidentally, was known for his generous interaction with girls at clubs. (A/N: Please don't come at me. This is just drama that I remember.) 

A bitter instinct swelled within Jackson and Youngjae. They looked at Min Seo, still dancing and obviously to the hungry eyes of Junhoe and now a few other eyes from different boys in different groups known for their "pure, innocent" image. 

Jackson and Youngjae looked at one another, and for once, for just a moment, they agreed to share their attention.

Youngjae tapped on the table space in front of Min Seo so that she would catch his eye contact.

She looked up at him and smiled wide, the gold in her makeup and dress shimmering, and the whites of her eyes glistening under the dimly lit hanging lights above. For a moment, all of Got7 let out a sigh of appreciation for Min Seo's being.

Jackson snapped back into reality and tapped Min Seo hand lightly. She looked at him, and he jokingly wiggled his eyebrows at her. He gestured to the dance floor and mouthed, "wanna dance?"

The song had changed to Caroline and already the idols in the club were feeling the music. Min Seo glanced at the mob of dancing bodies on the dance floor, looked back at Jackson and agreed.

Jackson grinned and took her hand from across the table and walked around the table to stand in front of her, followed by Youngjae. They helped her up and stood on either side of her as they walked to the floor.

Don't wanna talk it out,

Can we f*** it out?

Min Seo got into the beat and millyrocked and just enjoyed the moment. Jackson was next to her hittin' the folks and dabbing and swaying, while Youngjae was on her other side bobbing slightly. As Min Seo danced, Jackson and Youngjae stole glances at Junhoe and the others who had their eyes on Min Seo. They were still watching her, but they worked hard to avoid the protective eyes of Jackson and Youngjae while Min Seo danced obliviously. 

"Youngjae oppa!" A pretty voice called out within the crowd. Youngjae whipped around to see Doteon of I.O.I looking up at him. "Can I steal you for a dance? I'm a huge fan!"

Youngjae shrugged shyly, and Doyeon immediately grabbed Youngjae and whisked him away before Min Seo could object. 

Min Seo moved lazily as she focused on Youngjae and Doyeon. Youngjae even seemed to be enjoying himself with Doyeon, maybe even more than he did while dancing with Min Seo. Jackson tried to ignore Min Seo's disappointment, but he could only brush it off for so long.

He grabbed her shoulder and spun her so that she only saw him, but she kept her eyes straight, as if looking through Jackson. 

"Do you want to sit back down?"

A slow Tory Lanez started up, and some idols were pairing up; a sight Min Seo never expected from idols that she had imagined to never interact with those of the other gender. Min Seo caught sight of Doyeon gripping Youngjae by the neck and swaying with him.

The sight took a sharp, airy scoff out of Min Seo. She turned away and looked at Jackson, who had no idea what Min Seo just saw.  He waited for her to speak, but with an irritated expression she wrapped her arms around Jackson the way Doyeon had done to Youngjae. 

Jackson accidentally flinched against this unusual skinship, but slowly relaxed and reciprocated the touch by holding Min Seo's waist so delicately that she could barely feel it. Jackson hadn't held Min Seo like that since their time choreographing for the showcase, and he didn't imagine being able to hold her so close again; the situation felt so foreign.

They swayed through Jhene Aiko's "The Worst", and "I Know" by Big Sean was playing afterwards. Towards the middle of "I Know", Min Seo skillfully shifted Jackson so that she was able to get a clear view of Youngjae and Doyeon. Doyeon was still swaying to the music, but she was doing it much differently than before.

She had her back to Youngjae, but still close enough that they were technically dancing together. Doyeon was grinding to the beat in the air in front of Youngjae; but Yougnjae was naive and somewhat oblivious to what was actually happening. So seeing Doyeon dance, Youngjae just smiled innocently and grabbed Doyeon's hand. He spun her around and she faced him again. 

Youngjae's blatant naivety wasn't something that Min Seo could blame him for, which frustrated her even more. 

Min Seo flew off the dancefloor leaving Jackson confused and somewhat hurt. Min Seo went back to the booth that everyone had congregated at and laid her head on a free spot on the table.

No one spoke or patted her back or made a noise. Min Seo lifted her head and brushed back an lose pieces of hair from her face.

Other than her, the booth was without a single person. The entire group of JYP members was gone.

Min Seo's breathing picked up in a panic. She grabbed her phone, ready to call someone, anyone, when she saw a message from Jin from about 10 minutes ago.

Jin: Min Seo! I danced and talked with Hobie, isn't that wonderful? And apparently Tommy and Solar have A LOT of chemistry. They were flirting the entire time we were here. Anyway, most of the adults got a bit carried away with the drinks and got a bit tipsy, so we needed to take them home; especially JYP and Livi. Sorry we forgot you. Everyone was grabbing drunk people and kind of ran out before counting heads. Everyone's sleepy now, since it's 1:30 a.m. But Jackson and Youngjae should still be there, so trust them to take you home. Love you, Min Seo sweetheart~