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It’s pitch black, murmurs fill the space, expecting.
A hand squeezes his, as Minho feels Hyunjin’s presence beside him, vibrating with excitement.
Minho was new to the studio, he didn’t know anyone, didn’t know where to go. He timidly entered one of the supposed practice rooms, a rap track was blasting at basically full volume from the tiny plugged-in laptop and there was only one guy, dancing effortlessly to the fast-paced song.
“Excuse me, I think I booked this room for training at 4!”. He said, uncertain. The stranger turned around, surprised, his hair short, but fluffy and pitch black. His undoubtedly beautiful features scrunched up in despair. “I stayed too long again! My mom is going to kill me!” He scrambled to collect his belongings, breathing heavily from the dance, and then he introduced himself to Minho.
“I’m Hyunjin by the way, I suppose you’re the new dancer that joined last week? We’ve all been so curious to meet you!” Minho was a bit startled to hear that, not thinking everyone would know about new people joining. It was a pretty big studio after all. After a brief hesitation he replied, “Yes, I’m Minho. Nice to meet you. I hope I have the right room!”
“Yes actually! I just tend to get lost in my thoughts when I dance and lose track of time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been surprised by other people who were rightfully wanting the room they booked…” Hyunjin sighs and looks at the floor, bashfully, before remembering his previous hurry and grabbing his bag, running out of the door, Minho promptly scooching to the left.
Well, that sure was a meeting, Minho thought. Noticing the other guy left the track he was dancing to playing on the practice room’s computer he decided to take a look. The audio came from a SoundCloud profile, with quite the following even, named 3RACHA. He thought it was an interesting name, matching the style of the music pretty well.
He had always found rap music rather interesting; it wasn’t easy to dance to most songs in the genre, but when he found the right steps to match the rhythm he was filled with incredible satisfaction. Smiling to himself he tried a few tentative steps, his feet following an imaginary pattern, not really focusing on the voices, his attention fully captured by the beat. Until a voice different from the others reached his ears, he stopped right in his tracks, hypnotized by the voice that had appeared after the first verse. Energetic yet firm and incredibly melodic in a way Minho couldn’t describe with words. All he could think of was a river flowing towards a cliff, erupting from the sides and eager to reach the end of his path to create a powerful waterfall that was the hook of the song. His body moved on his own as per usual, crafting steps for a very fast paced dance while his ears got lost in the guy’s voice.
A reflector suddenly lights up, making a loud clang that causes a hundred heads to snap in the direction of the light. “3RACHA” is printed on a huge banner that adorns the backdrop of the stage, the font makes it look scribbled with a sharpie, flame decorating the last A.
Unexpectedly he stumbled across the group once again, as he was walking to the studio to get some practice done. He noticed a sign, right in front of the company, advertising their show, later in the night at a local music bar. Their logo written with sharpie on a whiteboard, a flame adorning the two As.
“Maybe that’s my chance”, he thought. He never managed to catch Hyunjin again to ask about the track or the group, but he had looked them up on SoundCloud and listened to all their songs. On repeat.
He was surprised by the professional production and the quality of the sound. He also couldn’t stop making up dance moves in his head, thoughts filled with one particular voice that sounded weirdly melodic, even when rapping.
Curiosity took the best of him and he jotted down the details of the event.
He couldn’t have imagined his night to end like this though, as he was already planning to go see the trio, wearing nice clothes and fixing his hair in the mirror, his mom called him: one of his cats was feeling sick and he just couldn’t go have fun with the burning thought of him feeling helpless and weak. 3RACHA had to wait.
The first floodlight is soon joined by two smaller spotlights, pointing at the center of the stage. A figure jumps down from the rise in the back of the stage, fierce gaze locking on the crowd. It’s Chan, he looks almost scary now and Minho remembers very clearly the first time they met.
Since then, he hadn’t had any occasion to have any contact with the trio, no more shows were advertised and nothing was posted on their SoundCloud. Minho had perfected his routine for the first song he had heard, though. He practiced almost every day, the rap track both a good exercise and a solace for his ears.
He had met Hyunjin again earlier, leaving the practice room just before his turn. The boy had smiled at him and told him that his friends were coming to the building too, so he was more than welcome to join them later if he felt like it. Minho smiled back politely and nodded, letting the other know he would think about his offer, and headed inside.
What he didn’t expect, ten minutes into his practice, was to hear the exact same beat coming from nearby. He opened the door curiously, poking his head out to listen better. The sound was muffled and somehow different , the first voice could be heard better over the music. It was obvious someone was practicing it. He couldn’t really make out how similar the voice sounded to the original track, so he got closer. His favorite part was about to start and he was intrigued to know how it would sound.
He didn’t realize how close he had really gotten to the door until someone, Hyunjin, threw it open, nearly falling on top of Minho. The other dancer screeched, before recognizing him. Putting a hand on his heart he sighed, “Oh my God you scared the shit out of me! Why didn’t you knock?”
Uncertain, he replied: “I didn’t mean to enter, I just heard the song and wanted to listen better…” He trailed off, unable to explain himself further. “Oh, you like it? My friends self-produced it! You should totally come in and listen!” The other dancer said enthusiastically. Minho hesitated, it was really them behind the door, a group of rappers he had been obsessing over for two weeks and the voice who circled inside his head like a hamster on his wheel. “Are you sure that would be okay, I don’t want to interrupt their practice or be a bother…”
Hyunjin beamed at him, eyes crinkling, “Of course not! They’re trainees here as well so you’re bound to meet them sooner or later”
He cautiously followed the other inside, greeting the three guys in the room. So, this was 3RACHA, he thought. He felt a bit intimidated by meeting them, their talent was undeniable and they seemed like already-made producers. Plus, he was dancing to their song just a minute ago.
As he had expected, the room had been converted into a producing station, a huge digital audio workstation was positioned on a small table, leaving just enough space for a small laptop. Two of them were looking over at the screen, while the other, headphones in hand, was sitting in front of the workstation, his hand resting on it.
He bowed to them and then went in to properly introduce himself. “I’m Lee Minho, I’m the new dancer here.” He scratched his neck and shook hands with the first one.
Eyebrow slit, silver colored hair and mature aura. He smiled at Minho, who found him immediately comforting. “I’m Chan, very pleased to meet you!” A shared smile. The second guy was wearing all black, sporting an equally black cap that covered most of his face. He, too, smiled at Minho, his scary aura immediately dissipating as the smile completely reached his eyes. “I’m Changbin” He nodded, and so did Minho, smiling.
The last guy was the least intimidating of them all, round cheeks, fierce gaze adorning his doe eyes and a grin plastered on his face. “And I’m Jisung.” He looked intensely into Minho’s eyes but averted his gaze shyly after the other gazed back.
After a short moment of silence Hyunjin spoke up. “Okay, now that I’ve done the presentations, I’m gonna grab snacks and come back, like I was supposed to before our eavesdropper arrived.” He laughed, “He likes your song guys!” He exclaimed, before quickly disappearing through the door.
Minho shuffled his feet awkwardly; it wasn’t like him to act so sheepishly but he was new there and being in front of such experienced producers made him insecure about his accomplishments.
The three guys didn’t hesitate to make him comfortable though, asking how he knew them and what he was good at. He answered with honesty and his admiration seemed to make the others very proud, especially Jisung, who seemed to ruffle his feathers like a peacock at Minho’s praises. Yep, definitely the youngest of the three, Minho thought, grinning internally. His guess was later confirmed when they shared their ages with one another.
Not knowing what to do with himself he perked up: “I really don’t want to bother you guys; I know you must be busy. I was practicing just now as well.” “You’re not bothering us Minho, we’re always happy to meet new trainees actually!” Chan had immediately come off as fatherly and warm to him, his smile was kind and Minho had found sincerity in his eyes and in his words.
He was beginning to like it there.
Chan’s eyes emanated a different light this time, fierce and icy, piercing through the audience’s mind. The stage was filled with his presence, despite him being just a small figure in the big space. He started his verse with confidence and Minho immediately recognized the song.
The second time Minho meets Jisung, he is alone. He’s silently humming to himself the lyrics of a song, seemingly intent in grasping their meaning, while walking in the narrow corridor. Minho spots him from the mirror, having left the door open during a break. He walks over the doorframe to say hi and Jisung, though a bit startled, waves back with a smile. He motions towards the door and Minho scooches to the left to let him in.
“It’s nice to see you again Minho-hyung! Hope I’m not interrupting your practice.” He scratched his head in embarrassment, seemingly guilty of having invited himself in without asking.
“Oh no, don’t worry! I was taking a break just now.” Minho said, raising a thin biscuit for proof.
Jisung nodded and sat down next to him, taking out a chocolate bar as well. They fall into conversation pretty easily after that, and Minho takes notice of how excited Jisung gets about his hobbies. The image of Jisung stuffing his cheeks with chips as he wails his arms burned deep in his mind.
He tells Minho about this new project they are working on, a performance to present at the trainee showcase in October. He explains that he’s trying very hard to learn the others’ parts as well, so he can cover for them if something slips up.
Jisung is fun, easy to get along with and very genuine. Minho is rarely a people person, of course he is always polite and friendly but he has never had a person match his energy and make him feel comfortable so fast. The boy in front of him is open and passionate and Minho feels like he can tell him anything and receive only pure interest back.
So he shares facts about him, his hometown, and his hobbies. And his dancing too; until, without noticing, he’s confessing about his fascination with merging rap music and dance.
Suddenly Jisung is getting up, alarming Minho who stops abruptly. “But then- You- You’re perfect! Please let me see it!” He’s jumping up and down now. Minho is embarrassed, red creeping up his neck and ears after being called perfect. “Oh uhm, but I’ve never shown it to anyone, I don’t know if my efforts are any good…” But Jisung looked at him with such pleading eyes, encouraging him with his curiosity, that he gave in.
He slowly stood up, walking over to the laptop that was plugged into the speakers. He opened his rap playlist and eyed the full display of 3RACHA songs, careful to avoid them. He then chose the song, inhaled deeply to give himself courage, and started dancing.
Changbin comes up next, the stage glowing red around him and lights blasting, matching the beat of the song. The crowd erupts into cheers, already warmed up by Chan’s intro. They take in his verses with excitement and Minho feels incredibly proud of his friend. Hyunjin is tensing up beside him, eyes sparkling with admiration.
Minho is surprised, to say the least. He hasn’t been at the company for more than 2 months and he already has a fan. Jisung slaps his arm when he says that, excitement still buzzing from him after seeing Minho dance.
The younger boy hasn’t stopped praising him for the past three weeks. After Minho danced for him in the studio Jisung has been following him everywhere.
It’s not that Minho minds it, it’s nice actually to have a friend who is also a trainee, who understands his schedule and impossible hours.
When Jisung isn’t imploring him to dance for him or with him, too, they hang out in the cafeteria or in a park. They share anecdotes, jokes, horror stories. But most of all they share music.
Jisung plays guitar for him under the leafy trees, making up lyrics on the go about destined lovers and warm pastries, and Minho shares his headphones with him when he comes up with dance routines.
Jisung is good at everything, Minho thinks sometimes. He picks up his choreographies fast, and Minho learned that watching the other dance makes his inspiration bloom.
He has been perfecting a 3RACHA dance routine for a bit now, when Jisung isn’t keeping him company. He’s very familiar with the beat now, even attempting to rap out some verses on his own when he’s dancing.
Jisung has begged him countless times to dance to something he produced, but Minho wants it to be perfect, to represent Jisung’s voice the way he feels it. He knows Jisung wants to show it to Chan and Changbin as well and even though their voice doesn’t give Minho the same rush in his veins, he wants to impress them too.
Minho is not a psychologist, nor has he ever studied psychology, but he has a theory.
He was never satisfied with his choreography until he got to know Jisung, their connection has made his bond with 3RACHA songs stronger, he feels like he can sense their reasons behind the words, he knows the story they’re telling.
Minho had always admired Changbin’s stage presence, despite being the bright friend he had learned to know, he completely transformed on stage. He looked intimidating, intense, and incredibly professional.
Despite the dark aura surrounding him, Minho can see Changbin is happy, proud of himself and his friends. He recognizes that fond look.
It’s finally the day. Minho is extremely nervous; he mentally curses himself for feeling like he’s about to perform at the opera in front of hundreds of people when he’s just showing his friends a choreography.
In his defense, the song he has to dance to his self-produced by said, very talented, friends. Also, Jisung has been spoiling him for 2 months now, constantly praising his dance with a flashing smile. He doesn’t want the fond look in his eyes to disappear because he didn’t give his work justice.
So, when they arrive, he shoots up in his seat, greeting them.
Chan laughs and assures him they are not there to evaluate him, to which Changbin nods eagerly. Jisung jumps in his arms, clearly very excited and whispers in his ear: “Don’t worry hyung, I’m sure you’ll do amazing!” Before giggling and running to the back of the room, with his friends. They move the chairs to the side wall, so Minho can’t see them when he’s facing the mirror. He shoots them a smile and mentally thanks them.
Then, he starts.
Like every time he dances, he enters a state of trance. Eyes fixated on his reflection in the mirror, the rest of the world muted out as music flows on him, through him, and out of him in the form of a choreography.
With this beat, and genre, he’s in his natural element, he doesn’t have to pull the movements out of his memory because they come to him like a vision. He feels ready to conquer the world, his limbs swinging with force and control, an extension of his soul.
When he’s done, he’s panting hard, sweat dripping down his forehead as he combs his hair back. The presence of other people is totally forgotten, until Chan and Changbin clap, getting up from their seats.
He whips his head towards them, pink spreading over his cheeks as he smiles.
It’s only when he locks eyes with Jisung that the other snaps out of his trance, closing his mouth that had been hanging open for a while. Now that Minho looks at him better, his friend is as red as a tomato.
He has no time to dwell on it because Chan is walking towards him, a hand reaching for his shoulder.
“That was spectacular Minho! You’re very good, as expected!” He seems satisfied, and Minho feels a weight lift off his chest. Another hand pats his back as Changbin speaks up. “We’ve been in the company for a bit now and let me say: not a lot of dancers have your talent Minho-hyung. You can follow our music perfectly.” He smiles brightly and so does Minho, thanking him.
Chan speaks up again, “I think Jisung has something to ask you also!” He turns towards the younger, who hasn’t spoken up since the end of Minho’s performance.
He looks like a deer caught in headlights and Minho is kind of scared.
“Ah uhm…yes, yes! We actually have this group of trainees…
That moment makes Minho really think. After that, things had gone back to normal for the two of them, Jisung had praised him endlessly in the following days and he wanted Minho to teach him the dance as well. They were together even more than before, Jisung often asking to spend time together at the local ramen shop or at the movies, always finding a way to touch Minho, stealing his popcorn at the cinema and grazing their hands together, or wiping his cheek with a napkin when he got a piece of food on it.
His stream of thoughts is interrupted when the lights suddenly go out and spark on again, like fireworks.
Jisung is on stage, he doesn’t give the public time to think twice, he’s already rapping, the flames on the screen behind him matching the flames in his eyes as he pours his soul out.
Minho’s mouth is agape, eyes widening at the incredible sight before him. The lights shine, reflecting blue on Jisung’s hair and Minho can’t help but remember the first time he heard the other’s voice. The image of a river, irreverent in its flowing, approaching the cliff at full speed.
His heart beats, no pangs , in his chest. Jisung’s whiny voice doing something to his insides, he feels like someone is having a campfire in his gut.
He understands Jisung’s behavior very well now; all he wants to do right now is hug him tightly, hold his hand, spend time with him and who knows what more. Hyunjin is still beside him and he can feel him stare at him but he chooses not to look.
Only Jisung now. No one else.
The performance ends and his friends are panting, fatigue spread over their features, trying to keep their composure to look cool until the end. He has seen them practice endlessly for this stage, in the mixing room, in the practice room…
With the excuse of congratulating them he runs towards the back of the stage, Hyunjin rolling his eyes as he disappears.
He locates them in a corner, wiping their sweat with towels as they chat. Minho heads towards Jisung, fully intending to squeeze him into a hug but as he gets closer his knees feel wobbly. His ardor turns into redness as he reaches them, spreading over his face and ears. He sputters a “Congrats” and then just points at Jisung, accusingly. “Y-you!”
The other is startled, rightly so, Minho thinks. But his mind, that seemed so sure until a moment ago, just won’t cooperate now.
Thankfully, Chan comes to his rescue, gently pushing Jisung towards him and motioning towards an empty space with his head.
Minho takes it as his cue to turn around and walk over there, not looking back, hoping Jisung is following behind him.
And he is, his gaze full of concern and uncertainty.
He starts talking immediately, “Hyung I’m sorry if I did something to upset you, I really have no idea of what I could’ve done on stage to make you mad but please forgive me!”
There it is. The whiny voice again. It never had any effect on him before, but then again, before he hadn’t seen Jisung on a stage before, the boy was a miracle, a natural-born performer and Minho thought that was tremendously attractive.
Meanwhile Jisung keeps rumbling, twisting his hands. So different from the Jisung Minho had seen just seconds ago. Minho can’t keep him waiting anymore. So, he grabs his hands and pulls them down, putting his forehead to Jisung’s.
“The only thing you’re doing wrong is not kissing me, J.One.” He can see Jisung’s eyes change before him, they widen, his pupils shrinking. And then they darken, glancing at Minho’s lips and then back at his eyes, before leaning forward to kiss him.
-
That’s how Chan finds them, 10 minutes later. He sighs and turns around, “We have to be ready in 10 so you better get your act together, unless you want to lose our first performance as a team!”
The two exchange a giggle and walk towards the stage, hands intertwined.