Ch.27
"It's one, two, three, AND four. Remember the 'and'!" Hoseok shouted. He was mainly shouting at Namjoon and Yoongi who were dancing behind him. The two boys were panting and questioning if they were being verbally abused.
Hoseok was going through the dance counts he planned for the song the two rappers were working on. It was a little more choreograph heavy than the two rappers anticipated. They were sweating in their school uniforms profusely. Namjoon was begging for a break but was already grabbing his water bottle and sitting down. All of you were outside near the field. Since you guys didn't have a proper dance space, you guys improvised with using the open space out here. There were also large windows that acted as mirrors so Hoseok could see every little mistake his friends made. It's a good thing you weren't a rapper or else you would have to learn this.
Currently, you were sitting on the sidelines as they ran through it again. The boys and you had eaten lunch quickly. There was no time for slacking. They had to get themselves used to working together before they audition for the contest. The preteens could already dance really well and their teamwork was smooth. It left Hoseok impressed but working with his rap team was a little rougher than he wished. Namjoon took a long time to memorize the choreography. Hoseok also kept yelling the word 'stiff' at him. Yoongi was a different story for the dancer. It's not like Yoongi was a bad dancer. He was surprisingly good at it. He was only a bit lazy and hardly ever went full out.
"Stop marking the dance, Yoongi." Hoseok narrowed his eyes on the delinquent through the window. Yoongi sighed heavily, removing his uniform blazer.
"I'm not...doing whatever you just said." Yoongi rolled his shoulders before cracking his neck.
"Okay. I think I got it!" Namjoon set down his water excitedly. He stared at his reflection through the window before mumbling the counts under his breath. One, two, three, four. "L-Like that?"
"Namjoon...do you really know how to count?" Hoseok's hands began to tremble as he raised them near Namjoon's neck. The president only furrowed his brows, not understanding his friend's question. Yoongi pulled Hoseok away before things completely went out of hand.
You only shook your head at the circus show. While they practiced, you've been in touch with the owners of Midnight Measure and the MC. You've been telling them about letting a new rookie group perform. Normally, the boys could have performed during an open mic night and that would have been fine. The only difference you wanted was for people to know they were going to perform. You wanted some sort of hype around them rolling around. RM, Suga, and J-Hope. Hoseok decided he was going to use his dance nickname as his rapper one too. He felt it showed where he came from. He also wanted to bring a hopeful side to the rappers.
At the moment, Namjoon and Yoongi looked like they were suffering because of Hoseok. It was going to be alright. Even with Namjoon and Yoongi struggling, they got the moves down perfectly in the end. You finished typing out an email to Midnight Measure. It was going to be like a mini concert. A test run for the boys to see if they were ready to audition for the contest. The email was long, saying you would like them to do some slight advertisement. You would create a poster and the boys would provide their music. All you needed from Midnight Measure was their stage and for the boys to practice a bit on it before they perform.
Midnight Measure was slightly interested in the offer. You'd be lying if you said you weren't surprised. Turns out the MC is a fan of Yoongi and Namjoon. He's taken a liking to their material. He's impressed with their age too. It's a good thing he's a co-owner. Another thing that worked out in your favor was your connection to Yoongi's fanboys. It seemed like everything ran on connections. The fanboys were well respected and promised to do the promoting at Midnight Measure. Most of the work would be getting done for them in the end. They were going to have a hard time saying no to this. Hopefully things go as planned.
"Ten minutes before lunch ends," You shouted. You were keeping your eye on the time so Hoseok could put all his focus on teaching the two the dance. Hoseok thanked you before yelling at the boys to take it from the top. No mistakes allowed this time. This put a lot of pressure on them, but you had faith in them. Pressing play for the demo music, you watched the three stand in their formation. The demo was only a minute long yet the choreography was a lot. It was amazing to watch, but it was completely killer to the two inexperienced rappers. They finished without making any mistakes though.
"H-Hoseok, we have a problem." Namjoon closed his eyes, panting heavily. "We can't do this dance for our song."
"Why not?" Hoseok frowned.
"It's too much. We're going to be rapping and we need the breath support," Yoongi stated. "We're not going to sound good if we're struggling to get a single word out."
"...seriously?" Hoseok pouted at the news. He kicked the ground, seeing how bad Yoongi and Namjoon felt for his hard work being tossed aside. They just couldn't ignore the fact that it would be near impossible.
"Try rapping and dancing it full out," Namjoon suggested. Hoseok tensed up, still feeling awkward whenever he rapped. He felt like he was getting judged every time he tried. Namjoon and Yoongi were pretty accepting though. They saw a lot of potential in him and he sounded good to you too. The two rappers were already trying to get Hoseok to join in on writing and producing music. It seems like Hoseok is extremely talented. And he still refuses to admit it. What a shame.
"Rap my part?" Hoseok pointed to himself.
"Who else's?" Yoongi chuckled. "Do the part you wrote for us. It's pretty good. I mean, the structure is the same for all verses, but I told you how to—"
"Own the lines. Yeah, no, yeah. I-I got this." Hoseok shook his body out. You hovered your finger over the play button when Namjoon freaked out. The four of you had gotten the attention of school staff. You guys have been avoiding them like the plague. Yoongi looked up to see a certain pair of eyes watching them from the third floor building. Principal Yoo. The four of you quickly packed your things and parted ways to your last class. All of you will meet again after school as always. Yoongi wouldn't stop cussing under his breath. Namjoon was laughing and Hoseok was cheering that he didn't have to rap. You only grinned to yourself, wondering how the preteens were practicing on their own.
*~*
The middle schoolers were working hard at their own practice. They were working towards perfecting a specific choreo Hoseok had made up. It wasn't to any music. The only thing that allowed the boys to know their timing was correct was the sound of their feet. Their feet would have to play the beat for them. It played a song that went along with their breathing. It was fast, but the boys could manage. It was very convenient to have all the preteens be extremely talented in dancing. Jimin carried enough experience from taking lessons weekly that Taehyung occasionally crashed and followed along. Then Jungkook was naturally athletic and made sure to be good at whatever he found a passion in.
All the boys wanted to participate in the contest for fun. It was just another silly idea of theirs. The most Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin wanted were to perform in front of many. They pictured it to be thrilling and fun. Other than that, they had no real purpose for doing the concert. That's what they believed at first. The longer all of them worked hard towards the contest, they began to feel different towards the competition. Jimin wanted to improve his singing as he felt unconfident with it but knew he could do well with practice. Taehyung wanted to make sure his dancing was as good as Jungkook and Jimin's. Lastly, Jungkook felt a fire inside of him every time he practiced with his friends.
"I did it wrong!" Jimin whined. Sweat was forming on his forehead and his hair was damp from it all. He shoved his fingers in his hair, frustrated that he couldn't get his body to move the way he wanted it to. He needed it to be perfect. Even if his voice wasn't everything, he wanted to give the best performance.
"It wasn't wrong, Jiminie." Taehyung tried laying his hand on his friend's back. It was quickly swatted away.
"It was though! It was!" Jimin bit his lip. He wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect. He could see it in the reflection. The tiniest mistakes would scream at him. Unlike the two other boys, Jimin knew how cruel the dance world could be. He stood in front of the mirror for hours and danced until his entire body would ache. Though he was confident in his contemporary and modern dance, b-boying was something he was still trying to get the hang of.
"Show us what you did wrong." Jungkook put his hands on his hips.
"What?" Jimin frowned.
"Do it again," Jungkook ordered.
"I don't want my body getting used to doing it wrong!" Jimin huffed. The baby chick could be scary when angry. Even Taehyung flinched at his friend's raised voice. He wanted to help too, but he didn't know what he could do. Jimin was stuck on his faults and it was hard to take him out when he fell into those moods. So when Jimin heard Jungkook making that request of him, the baby chick could have cursed at the bunny for speaking utter nonsense.
"Again." Jungkook waited. Jimin attempted to calm himself down by breathing out through his nose. It sort of helped. It also made him look more terrifying to the puppy who now had his tail between his legs. Jimin stared at the maknae again with a small scowl. Though Jungkook used to be shy and easily afraid, he's quickly grown out of that. Dancing and improving his singing has made him more confident. He feels like he's found his place. Jungkook believed Jimin would find it too once he got over his wall of insecurity. Jimin begrudgingly began at the part where he was sure he had messed up on. Taehyung and Jungkook watched carefully. They could see where Jimin was coming from, but it could be easily fixed. "Slowly, like this."
"I know what it's supposed to look like, Genius." Jimin crossed his arms.
"Hey! Let's not be mean to each other!" Taehyung screamed at the top of his lungs. He said it louder than he needed to. It got his point across though. Jungkook had stepped closer to Jimin, almost about to say something mean in response. Their behavior was unacceptable to the fun-loving puppy. "Hoseok hyung always tells us the importance of teamwork! We're a crew. We're a group! Dancing is about community and we're all going to be sharing a stage together to make an amazing performance. We can't let them down because one of us can't get a dumb tiny move right! Hoseok hyung works hard to make these dances and teaches it well to us. Yoongi hyung loses sleep composing and so does my own hyung! I live with him and see how much this means to him. I've never seen hyung so happy and stressed at the same time! And don't forget that noona is also giving each of us her all!"
"Tae..." Jimin felt stupid now. Jungkook was feeling the same heavy weight on his own shoulders. The both of them were dripping with guilt. They knew their hyungs worked hard, but they didn't live with them. They didn't see everything that Taehyung got to experience.
"You know my hyung, Jimin. He used to not have a single friend for years! He would come home and lock himself in his room to study. Music was the only thing that gave him joy, but he kept it to himself. Now he's having fun with his friends and he's happy to work with me towards his dreams. I'm not going to let hyung down or myself!" Taehyung puffed out his cheeks. "I'm having a lot of fun doing this. I want to work hard for every single hyung who gives us their blood, sweat, and tears! So do the same, but please don't act stupidly or react pointlessly. You're not getting anything done by whining."
"That's harsh..." Jungkook mumbled. Taehyung quickly growled in response. Did the bunny not listen to the last part!? "Hey! I get it...sorry."
"I'm sorry too. I want to make Hobi hyung proud." Jimin sniffled, growing teary eyed.
"Oh don't cry!" Taehyung rushed to wipe his friend's tears away. It was more him shoving his finger in his friend's eye though.
"You're not helping!" Jimin made sure to wipe his own eyes.
"Let's start from the top again and this time, we have fun. Yeah?" Jungkook bounced into formation. Taehyung nodded his head enthusiastically and looked over at Jimin. The baby chick got into position with them. He was the one in charge of counts, but Taehyung and Jungkook were quickly getting the hang of it. Jungkook had his mind completely focused on the choreography with Jimin keeping the counts in mind. Taehyung was bouncing on his feet, more relaxed than the others when he heard feet scrape against the concrete. He looked over his shoulder suspiciously, but there was nothing there. Nothing, but green grass and a wire fence. Taehyung stared for a few seconds and eventually shrugged. Must be his imagination.
*~*
The Kim Household turned more into place to prepare for the concert than anything else. Namjoon figured that after the whole incident with his brother, no more tutoring. He believed in all of you. He was confident you guys would do fine on the testing anyway. If you guys ever needed help, he would be right there. Everyone was liking this set up a lot more. No one wanted to continue doing math after school ended. You were finally doing better and understanding everything Mr. Kim taught so you were fine with the tutoring getting cancelled. Besides, you'd rather focus on setting everything up for the boys.
Speaking of that, all six of the boys decided that they wanted to go by BTS. As long as they had a name for you to put on a poster. You asked them if that was their final decision since it was important. It was what everyone was going to know them as from then on. All of them were quiet, but Namjoon assured you that those three letters would come to mean something so much more in the future. Once he said that, you went on your laptop to design posters and inform Midnight Measure of the name they were going by. BTS was going to change everything that people usually expected of idols.
Yoongi brought some of his producing equipment over. He followed Namjoon to his room since the president had his own small set up. The two were working on making official instrumentals for them to record their voices on. At the beginning, they brought Hoseok up with them so he could learn. They were dead set on making Hoseok one of them. It was overwhelming for the boy who's traditionally a dancer, but he did his best to adapt. He worked with them on some of them and made some of the catchiest hooks Namjoon and Yoongi ever heard. He was fitting in just right.
Meanwhile the hyungs did this, Jungkook was going over vocal warmups with Taehyung and Jimin. All of them were in the living room. They wanted to make sure their singing voices improved. You listened to them as you worked on your computer. Hearing their voices was pleasant to the ears. Jimin carried the lightest voice of them all. It was gentle and sweet. Jungkook's voice was the most stable out of all of them. He knew how to touch in with his emotional side. His voice was melodic and moving. Then there was Taehyung. His voice was drifting off into a lower tone than all the others. When he sang, it was breathy and soulful. It was calming and beautiful.
"Er—that was too high." Taehyung cleared his throat with embarrassment. His voice had cracked again in front of his friends. Jungkook and Jimin found it hilarious, not hesitating to playfully pick on their friend. Taehyung's voice was becoming deeper at a rapid pace as time passed. Jimin and Jungkook's voices were more gradual as they lowered. That's why Taehyung got to be the butt of the joke all the time.
"Yikes." Jungkook snickered.
"Maybe drink a glass of water?" Jimin stifled his laughter. He wasn't doing a good job at it though. No matter how hard he bit his lips, the corners were raising higher. Soon he broke out and his eyes turned into lines as he bent over.
Taehyung pursed his lips at his friend's reactions. They were troubling him a bit. You quickly began to type up a question on your computer related to boys singing and going through puberty. Results came fast, most of them telling you that they should keep practicing no matter what. A break won't help them at all. Puberty will actually be a blessing to Taehyung's voice to help it mature. The puppy walked into the kitchen with you to get himself a glass of water. He moved around silently, his face still feeling warm. You sighed as you closed your laptop. Puberty was giving him a rough time, but you knew he would be fine.
"Your voice is beautiful, Tae," You commented. The puppy almost spilled his water at your words. He licked his lips, trying to act natural. You giggled as you watched him turn around to face you with big eyes.
"Y-You really mean that, Noona?" Taehyung asked.
"Of course." You nodded with a large smile. The puppy seemed a bit unconvinced and you knew why. "Listen, Tae. I know you're going through puberty and—"
"Gross. Don't say that." Taehyung scrunched his face in disgust.
"Namjoon told me you were acknowledging it!" You laughed as he shrugged. "Well, as I was saying! You're going through puberty. You're growing taller and your voice is changing. At the moment, your voice changing is the one causing you the most problems."
"...It's all over the place, Noona. It's like I have no control over it." Taehyung went to take a seat right next to you. He set down his glass and pulled out a chair. He let his body fall on the wooden seat, tired of the teasing.
"Your voice is getting very deep. I think that will make your singing incredibly powerful." You booped his nose. "And guess what? I looked it up and it told me singing boys going through puberty will be fine. It will pass, Taehyung. Just keep working hard and your voice will blossom." You assured him to see that adorable boxy smile of his. He giggled to himself, enjoying how warmly you treated him.
"Thank you, Noona." Taehyung bounced in his seat. "Hey Noona, can I tell you something?"
"What is it, Tae?" You smiled.
"I really hope you date my hyung. It'd be really nice to have you as my sister-in law." Taehyung jumped out of his seat. Before you could say anything, the boy ran off to his friends. That sneaky puppy! He left your face feeling like it was on fire. He wants you to date Namjoon? It wasn't anything new for you to hear, but it still left you feeling weird all over. Namjoon is your friend! All of them are your friends. You have no idea who you're defending yourself to. Sighing, you smacked your cheeks with your hands in hopes of pulling yourself together. Taehyung is still a bit young and doesn't quite understand how love works. You're young yourself too. The only thing you know for sure is that you don't get to choose who you fall for. So far, you're in the clear. Though you might not be safe forever.
By the time Taehyung returned to his friends, all their hyungs came downstairs. It was time to work on dancing together. Hoseok was clapping his hands as he led everyone outside to Namjoon's backyard. The rappers were already stretching their arms. The middle schoolers ran outside and began doing their own quick stretches. You stood up to go watch them practice. Hoseok was the only one not stretching but admiring his students. The three youngest were already showing the dance they had been practicing earlier today. They left their hyung greatly impressed, getting praise and encouragement. Yoongi and Namjoon looked a bit intimidated by their dongsaengs though.
Hoseok was ready to get everyone dancing. He even pulled you into the dance, saying he needed that seventh body to make the formations work. You did your best to keep up. You would say your level of dancing was the same as Yoongi's. The only difference with you was that you were able to go full out without being told. Yoongi was a little more timid to do so. He knew he couldn't afford to be lazy anymore with all the effort being put in to make this happen. Everyone was following the choreography Hoseok taught, making him extremely proud. It felt like a dream come true to him.
You eventually had to tap out for a second. You needed water or else you were going to die. With a dry throat and aching legs, you entered Namjoon's house again. Before you had a chance to step foot in the kitchen, someone knocked on the front door. God d*mn it! Water was all you needed! Dragging your feet over to the front door, you opened it without a second thought. The face you were greeted to was the one you were expecting. A handsome friendly face, ready to pick up their nephew. Seokjin greeted you as he came in. You told him that Jungkook was outside and vanished to get water already. Seokjin was a bit surprised when he saw you entering the kitchen in the blink of an eye.
It's not like you could help it. You spent a good while in the kitchen just drinking water. Two glasses of water to be exact. Though dancing with the boys was fun, the idea of performing on stage continued to make you feel sick. You just didn't feel the passion there. It was something you've been thinking of bringing up to them. You'd much rather handle all the technical things for them like booking them spots to perform, publicizing them, and things of those aspects. There was something more rewarding with helping them all accomplish their dreams. Setting down your empty cup, you went to go check up on the boys.
During the entire time you were in the kitchen, they managed to rope Seokjin to act as a body in your place. Seokjin was doing a lot better than you. That's mainly because you didn't want to be on stage dancing with them. You preferred watching them. Jungkook looked so happy to have his uncle dancing alongside him. Seokjin's stamina has gone up since last time. It looks like Jungkook's hard work of constantly teaching Seokjin has paid off. You also knew that Seokjin wanted to get closer with Jungkook and be loved by his nephew. That's why he was going this far to make his nephew happy. Not many uncles would go this far.
"Ah, this is so tiring...but the song is catchy. I've never heard it before. Is it from some new idol group?" Seokjin panted, bending over to catch his breath. His three students looked at each other in silence. They weren't so sure they wanted to reveal the truth to a teacher. Not even Seokjin.
"Something like that," Namjoon mumbled. Yoongi snickered while Hoseok quickly changed the subject.
"Who knew someone as old as our hyung still had it in him!" Hoseok laughed.
"I am not old!" Seokjin growled.
"Yeah, Hyung isn't old at all. Hyung is just...seasoned." Yoongi raised his brow as if what he said could have been potentially any better. Seokjin sighed but regained his energy once his eyes landed on Jungkook.
"I want to do it again! You look so cool when you go full out with us!" Jungkook tugged on Seokjin's sleeve. The teacher couldn't stop grinning. He would be willing to do it a hundred times over for this little boy.
"You really got the moves, Sir!" Taehyung giggled.
"You're less stiff than last time too." Jimin nodded.
"Alright, one more time. Then we can call it a night." Namjoon clapped his hands.
All of them agreed, getting into position. Seokjin just moved into formation with them. It was just one more time. It's also not like he had a choice. Once the boys had him dancing, they refused to let him have a break. The song began to play and it sounded a lot better the original demo version you heard. The boys moved along to the music, trying their best to act as if they were performing live with a backing track. The first years rapped and the seventh graders sang. Seokjin seemed to have gotten the song stuck in his head. You grinned to even hear him sing along. It was perfect. Seeing them all perform together looked so much better. You knew at this moment that you couldn't perform with them. As the song was near the end, you stepped outside when it happened.
"Hyung!" Jimin screamed in panic. Hoseok had fallen over during a quick movement. All the boys began to crowd around Hoseok. You felt your heart rate quicken. Right away, you shut off the music and pushed yourself into the circle to see what was happening. Hoseok was lying on his back, tightly holding his ankle.
"What's wrong with Hobi hyung?" Taehyung looked at his older brother.
"Does it hurt?" Jungkook questioned.
"Everyone, let's give him some space." Seokjin brought the children away.
"You okay, man?" Yoongi crouched down as Hoseok sat himself up. The dancer scrunched his face, trying to suppress his groans.
"Yeah, it just hurts a bit. I'm fine though. I'll walk it off." Hoseok waved off their concern. Namjoon gave Hoseok a hand to grab, his two friends pulling him up to a standing position. Hoseok smiled at everyone to let them know he was fine. They relaxed slightly while you weren't buying it. Namjoon still called everything off after what just happened. While they all got busy talking, you silently watched Hoseok wince as he put pressure on his ankle. He couldn't walk on it without feeling pain. You immediately went up to him, seeing the fear in his eyes. It was a problem.
"You're not okay."