november rolls around a week later and hoseok's been stressed out more than ever about his dance audition for college. yoongi noticed that the boy would head straight to the dance studio after school and would spend the entire day there, practicing his routine until he could hardly stand anymore. then he would go and do it all over again the next day, which honestly made yoongi worried.
"jung, i need to speak with you." yoongi beckons hoseok over to his desk after the bell rings, signaling the end of his lecture.
confused, the brunette makes his way to yoongi's desk as the rest of the class clears out of the room, "yes, mr. min?"
"you're going to the studio after school right?" yoongi lowers his voice, watching hoseok nod, eyebrows still furrowed in confusion.
"how about you cut it a couple hours short and i pick you up afterwards? treat you to a nice dinner at my place or something? you've been so stressed out seok, that's not good for your mental health. i also don't want you to put a physical strain on your body, you need to know when to take a break and relax. you've been practicing non-stop since last week, so let me take care of you tonight, okay?"
"but i.." hoseok stops, taking his lower lip between his teeth contemplatively, "fine.."
"good boy, see you at six then." yoongi smirks, watching hoseok walk away with a blush on his cheeks.
***
hoseok knew he was pushing himself too hard, but he couldn't help it. his audition had to be perfect, even if it meant his body would be sore all over, he needed to make sure his routine was absolutely flawless.
he's been waiting for the chance to audition to his dream school, he had practiced dance for years and it would finally come to fruition. he just had to make sure he nailed every step, no matter how much he wanted to collapse in exhaustion.
his mind floats back to what yoongi said earlier, about knowing when to relax and when to take a break, but he just couldn't. luckily for him, three people from the board of admissions were in town to give informational presentations at his school. he reached out to them about auditioning live for them instead of sending in an audition tape and they agreed to meet with him tomorrow at the dance studio.
tomorrow...
hoseok's entire future would depend on tomorrow.
hoseok suddenly felt sick to his stomach. running to the bathroom, he turns on the sink and splashes his face with cold water a couple times until he calms down.
griping the edge of the sink, he looks at himself in the mirror, noticing some of the bruises on his arms from practicing too hard. maybe he should relax tonight so he's in tip top shape tomorrow.
with a sigh, hoseok walks out the bathroom and almost jumps when he sees yoongi standing there in the studio.
"yoongi? what are you doing here?" hoseok frowns, he wasn't supposed to meet with the older until six o'clock.
"it's going on six thirty, seok." yoongi crosses his arms, watching hoseok gasp in realization.
"shit! sorry, i didn't mean to make you wait, i got so caught up in-"
"it's fine, only makes us even then." yoongi smiles, "if you're done, we can head to my place now."
"right, let me just pack up my things." hoseok smiles back before heading over to his dance bag which was sitting beside a fairly new digital piano at the back of the room.
"this is.." yoongi's voice fades as he walks over to the piano, brushing his fingers across the black and white keys.
"oh this? yeah, someone else who uses the room besides me is trying to make a new routine that incorporates someone playing the piano for them. it's actually pretty neat!" hoseok zips up his bag before turning to yoongi, "do you want to play it?"
"am i allowed to?" yoongi looks up at hoseok with a giddy feeling rising in his chest, he hasn't played the instrument in so long.
"of course you can, silly." hoseok giggles, watching yoongi hurriedly sit down on the bench and test out a few keys.
"would you like to dance for me?" yoongi pauses from playing.
"all you had to do was ask, yoon." hoseok winks and goes to the middle of the dance floor.
yoongi starts off with a simple melody, watching in awe as hoseok closes his eyes and slowly lets himself move to the beat. he always thinks the boy looks pretty, but he looks even prettier while dancing. his beautiful golden skin was glistening from the sweat he worked up from practice, pieces of his brown, curly hair fell into his face as he danced. as yoongi's melody started to get more complex, the more hoseok adapted. he would twist his flexible body, almost like he had no bones as he turned and leapt across the floor.
hoseok was in the zone. all the stress that had been built up seemed to release as soon as yoongi's fingers glided across the keys, creating such a beautiful and angelic sound he hasn't heard before. yoongi's playing was something special, it left you wondering what he'd do next. it was impossible to believe that all of this was improvisation, that yoongi made this up on the spot, yet here he is- creating a masterpiece right before him. hoseok's body found itself moving easily to the intricate rhythm, and it almost seemed like he danced for an entire decade until he hears yoongi's playing slowly come to a stop.
"hoseok-"
"yoongi-"
they laugh softly at the same time, as if they knew what each other was going to say.
hoseok goes to sit down next to yoongi on the bench, resting his head on the other's shoulder while intertwining their hands together.
"can i ask you something personal?" hoseok whispers, stroking the knuckles of yoongi's tattooed hand.
"you can ask me anything, seok." yoongi hums, looking at the piano in front of him.
"why did you end up teaching sex ed instead of music? you told me you were a musical prodigy, and proved it, but you're here instead.. why?"
"ahh, it's a long story. are you sure you want to listen?"
"i'll always listen to you."
"except for when you're being a brat." yoongi chuckles as hoseok hits his arm and looks up at him with a pout.
"i'm being serious, 'gi.."
"fine, fine, stop pouting baby." yoongi strokes hoseok's cheek with his free hand, brushing his thumb across the boy's heart shaped lips that soon curled up into a smile. yoongi decides then that smiles look best on hoseok. he'll have to keep it that way, even though his pouts were just as cute.
"well.." yoongi tilts his head back a bit, staring at the ceiling above them, "i've always loved music. even growing up, people acknowledged that and would call me a prodigy, that's where i got the name from. i loved playing the piano in middle school and it wasn't until i was in high school that a teacher told me i had perfect pitch. she even encouraged me to pursue music in college. unfortunately, my mom got sick so i had to take a gap year to work for paying off her hospital bills. i ended up getting a music internship and the guy i was working under gave me a full ride to college. i wouldn't have to pay for housing, books- nothing. my mom started to get better at the time too so she told me to take the opportunity and i did. it was my dream to get my phd in education after my undergrad which i also did, and then.. i wanted to become a music professor at the julie fine arts institute. however, my mom had a recurrence in her cancer on the day of my job interview, so i packed up my bags and left new york city to take care of her. i couldn't find any teaching positions for music open but your school was desperate for a sex ed teacher. they offered to pay me so i took it, which is why i'm here now."
"is that why you..?" hoseok starts off and yoongi finishes for him.
"yeah." yoongi nods, "you have so much potential, hoseok. in all my years of schooling, i've never seen someone as talented as you."
"you're just saying that.."
"i'm not. you know i'm not that type of person, hoseok. i genuinely think you'd thrive at the julie institute, but i wouldn't be mad if you did go to acadia. that's your dream school after all."
hoseok stays quiet, still processing yoongi's past and why the older offered him to apply to another school. yoongi was one of the few people who believed in him.
"i'm gonna record my audition tomorrow and send it to the other schools."
"are you sure?"
"yeah.. i'm sure." hoseok nods, squeezing yoongi's hand for reassurance.
yoongi leans down to kiss his forehead, "you'll do amazing, baby. now how about we head back to my place? i'll make you a nice dinner and even give you a massage."
"a massage?" hoseok giggles, "since when were you a masseuse?"
"i'm not but i'll become one for you tonight. i even bought the good shit for you, oils and lotions- everything."
"thank you, yoongi." hoseok smiles at the other gratefully.
"anything for you, baby doll. now let's get going."
***
hoseok was nervous.
he got to the dance studio hours early to practice his routine before the board of admissions came. yoongi kept checking in on him through text, making sure the boy wasn't overworking himself before the actual audition.
time was slowly trickling down until it reached three o'clock and the admissions team walked into the studio. hoseok greeted them cheerfully, thanking them for coming. he had already set up everything and even helped them set up their own camera that they'd use to re-evaluate his audition.
"you can start whenever you're ready, mr. jung."
hoseok takes a deep breath before nodding and cueing the music. he gets into position and starts his routine as soon as he hears the song he chose play. it was a hip hop track, the genre he's best at dancing to. he could feel the admission team's eyes trained on him, unable to look away as he hit every beat with perfect precision. he felt exhilarated when he heard their hums of approval whenever he would do a trick he added into his routine. it encouraged him to push harder, hoseok felt like he was on top of the world for the whole four minutes until the song ends.
the music fades out, leaving hoseok's heavy breathing the only thing to be heard in the room. he looks at the team with wary eyes only to see them smiling back at him, starting to applaud.
"that was very impressive, mr. jung."
"we'll be sure to look over your audition again with the rest of the admissions team."
"you did a great job, mr. jung. we'll reach out to you again regarding our decision."
as soon as they leave, hoseok lets out an excited squeal and runs to his phone to call yoongi.
"hoseok? what happ-"
"they loved it yoongi! you should've seen the look on their faces!"
"i'm so proud of you, baby, i knew you could do it!"
"now that i'm done can we please cuddle together and watch movies for the rest of the day? i'm exhausted."
"sure baby, i'll be there to pick you up soon."
hoseok thinks, maybe yoongi's massage did work after all.
***
thank you sm for all of the votes! comments are appreciated as well <3