my heart needs to breathe / changkyun

01

—♡—

soojin could feel sweat pouring from her face, the thin towels they were given for practice doing almost nothing to cool her down.

"you look like a ghost, soojin-ssi," jiwon pointed out, laying on his stomach with his feet swinging around wildly, his hands propping him up so he could get a good look at his friend.

the girl only glared at him, body aching too badly to think of a witty comeback. but jiwon knew her look clearly meant 'fuck you', which made him laugh in turn.

before the older idiot could start speaking again, their mutual friend, hana, plopped down between them, a wicked smile playing on her full lips.

"did you guys hear that the director is picking background dancers soon?" she questioned, almost bouncing as she spoke.

soojin and jiwon shared a confused glance and shook their heads robotically, genuinely unaware.

"for..?" jiwon left the question open ended, hoping she would fill in the details.

hana looked at the pair like they had two heads each, but answered quickly out of pure excitement, "monsta x!"

the older boy nearly fell over when she informed them, making soojin tilt her head at him, eyebrow raised.

"i take it you're a fan, jiwon-ssi?" hana asked, the bright smile she brought over never leaving her heart shaped face.

he almost looked offended before responding, "of course, they are only the best boy group of this generation," he spoke as if it was obvious, "m'not only saying it because we are under the same company, either. their talent is unprecedented!"

soojin simply watched the two have an utter meltdown over their sunbaes, to which the blonde just yawned, checking the time on her phone.

"well, practice is over and i'm going to eat the two of you if i don't pack up my things now."

jiwon grabbed onto soojin's arm before she could stand, noticing how quiet she got at the mention of the idol group.

"the hell do you need-" "soojin-ssi..do you like monsta x?" she was cut off, the practice room somehow becoming darker as he practically interrogated her.

honestly, she had nothing against them. she could fuck with most of their comebacks, but would she call herself a fan? probably not.

"they're okay, why are you holding onto me like your life depends on it?" she asked, snatching her arm away and dusting it off as if she had been violated.

she got to her feet and grabbed her water bottle and phone, keys already in her bag.

"gosh, you're so composed. i would die if they picked me to go on tour, i already know almost all of their discography. who is your bias, hana-ssi? mine is hyungwon, have you see his motherfucking lips-"

soojin could only endure so much before jiwon's voice was just a distant memory, her mind set on food.

the starship building wasn't the easiest to navigate, soojin knew the three main floors that pertained to her the most.

first floor was the cafeteria, her personal favorite, the second floor was mainly for non-idols, backup singers, dancers and production, and the third floor—although the building had about ten in total, belonged to the idols.

at least that's what she was told by her production friend, minseol, who frequented the third floor often enough to have a vague idea.

it truly didn't matter to soojin as she hurriedly pressed the elevator button, wondering what was on the menu for tonight.

when the doors separated, her eyes widened in surprise at how packed the small space was. she bowed before speaking,

"oh, sorry. i'll take the next one," she muttered apologetically, knowing exactly who stood before her.

a bright and bubbly looking boy, who she remembered to be minhyuk, shook his head and stepped forward, holding the elevator door.

"nonsense, there is enough room for one more! we are all going to the same place," he all but giggled, waving her inside.

the rest of the group, it seemed like all seven were squished in there, hummed in a agreement. it would just make everything awkward if she refused the kind gesture.

hoping she didn't smell disgusting, soojin stepped inside and saw that the first floor was already lit up, however what was only a few seconds felt like hours.

she caught her reflection in the shiny elevator doors, almost scaring herself. her long, blonde, and obviously dyed hair was frizzy, the minimal makeup she applied earlier that morning shifted, jesus, she looked like a raccoon.

does she know how to make an impression or what?

before the doors slid open, she accidentally bumped into the person standing next to her, opposite minhyuk.

she muttered a curse word under her breath and bowed as an apology, being saved by the ding of the elevator. the young girl all but scurried off to the cafeteria, leaving changkyun to simply laugh at how skittish and shy she seemed.

this small interaction left soojin sitting at one of the rounded tables the cafeteria offered, chugging back water and stuffing her face with pork, thinking to herself,

i hope to god they don't pick me to dance with them.

—♡—

this was rough lol but i love the idea so i'm writing this b*tch!!!!! 🤪