Chapter Text
"I'm so screwed."
Many of the other trainees either whisper or scream that sentence when they read the new schedule for their dance training. Around the middle of the list for Room B, there it is, the famous Choi Yeonjun. Everyone knows him as the legendary trainee that seems to excel in everything he does. Lots of them even predict he will be the first to debut among them, making him the number one threat to everyone else. Which is why they don't want to be in the same class a him, it's never a good thing to be in the same class as the top student.
Unlike them though, Soobin's face lights up when he saw his name three spot under Yeonjun's.
Yeonjun wraps his right arm around Soobin, "Again? Damn, guess I'm so unlucky this month too huh? Why am I always stuck with you, dummy." he teases with a wide grin that tells the exact opposite of how he actually feels.
"Yah! Don't be so cocky. I will topple you down from your spot, just wait and see." Soobin says while trying to wiggle out from the elder headlock, and failing miserably in the process (God, Big Hit really need to close its gym because how the hell is he this strong?).
"We'll see." Yeonjun finally let go.
After the initial ruckus, all the trainees go into their respective classes. Soobin and Yeonjun decide to have a running competition to their practice room, located on the third floor from the announcement board. They quickly pass by other trainees (surprisingly, there's more people than usual using the stairs than the lift), laughing along the way like kids on the playground.
Today seems to be a good day for Soobin. When he reached the third floor, he swiftly goes past the door to Room A. At that exact moment, the door open up and the trainees inside pour out of the room, blocking Yeonjun from Room B.
"Bye hyung! I'm winning today!" Soobin yells with a huge smile on his face. He couldn't hear what's the elder saying, probably cursing him out for beating him.
Soobin pushes the door open, "Firs-"
He stops right away when he saw a boy inside.
It seems like he's not the first one to come today.
Which, he's not going to lie, a bit frustrating. The reason why he and Yeonjun compete in the first place is because the first one to arrive at the dance practice room could control the song they'll listen to before the actual practice started. Soobin rarely won from the elder, and that's annoying because Yeonjun's music taste and his are vastly different from each other. That's why he wanted to beat Yeonjun in their silly-made up competition so bad.
Well, it seems like today isn't that much of a good day after all.
Or maybe it is a good day ? Soobin walks inside carefully, just now realizing that the studio is still silent. The boy in front of him hasn't turn on any song at all.
And not just that, he looks so nervous. Like he's not used to being there. The boy is wearing a blue and yellow striped shirt with short pants. He awkwardly stand against the mirror, fiddling with his phone. His too-long bangs cover his forehead and eyes, making Soobin unable to identify who he is.
"Ow!" Soobin groans, rubbing the back of his head after someone suddenly smack it from behind.
"If only there wasn't a roadblock, I would've won-" Yeonjun stops his sentence too.
Yeonjun notices the same thing as Soobin, and being more easy going, he greets the boy, "Hey there!" Yeonjun walks closer to the boy, putting his most friendly face on (which in Soobin's opinion, is not friendly, rather it's a bit scary, but he never says it to the elder to not bring down his confidence), "You're new here, right? I haven't see you around before."
Hearing he's being addressed, the boy finally looks up from his phone. He hastily set aside his bangs and-
Shit.
The boy is gorgeous, almost ethereal like.
His facial features indicates he's probably younger than Soobin. His jawline isn't quite sharp yet, but the bone structure is there. He also has a pointy nose, with small bumps on it that just adds on his cuteness. His thin lips glow when the lamp light fell just right on the side of it. Soobin also notices a mole on the right side of his neck and it's just so cute. Everything about him screams cute.
And then there's his eyes.
In just a mere second, Soobin averted to look at the boy's forehead (still covered with his brown hair) rather than his eyes.
Because, just by looking at it for a second, Soobin knows the boy has one beautiful pair of eyes. One that's probably the most fitted to "Eyes are the window to people's souls." saying he heard all the time during his childhood.
Soobin always thought the saying is stupid.
Not because he doesn't believe in it, oh no, it's actually quite the opposite.
The thing is, he has always been a sentimental child, to the point of believing those soulmate stories during elementary school. People tell him all the time about how he's a very emotional person. ("It's not a bad thing," his mother said to him once after he came home whining about how his classmates teased him for the matter, "It just meant you have a golden heart, Binnie.") So, it's not a surprise that he immediately believe in the old saying about people's eyes.
And that's exactly why he thought it's stupid.
Because he believes in it so much, too much, to the point of being afraid of making eye contact to others. He's afraid if he looked directly into someone's eyes, he'll get too mesmerized and embarrassed himself.
It's weird, he knows that all too well, but he couldn't do anything about it, could he? It's been ingrained in his brain for years, after all.
(Now that he thinks about it again, it's more like he's the stupid one rather than the saying. But he's not going to admit that.)
In recent years though, Soobin has been trying to get rid of his weird habit. Although people usually didn't mind (or didn't notice), Soobin's habit prevent him to become a good idol. If he wants to be one, he has to interact and look into the fans's eyes, which will suck if Soobin still avoid eye contact all the time. So, he's trying to overcome his weakness by looking into people's eyes when he's talking with them. Starting slowly from his family to his closest peers. And he's actually progressing pretty good.
Until, of course, this boy.
He can't look into his eyes. Not when even a single look made his heart beat faster than when he just finish running into the room.
"Yah Binnie?" Yeonjun calls out, snapping Soobin out from whatever he's thinking about earlier.
"Huh? Sorry?"
Yeonjun shakes his head, his shit-eating grin plastered across his face, "Geez. It's only the first meeting and you're whipped already?"
Soobin immediately respond by hitting Yeonjun's back. The boy scrambles nervously, and oh god, is he blushing right now?
"Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts a bit. Also ignore him, his big mouth can't stop spouting dumb shit."
"Soobin!" Yeonjun gasps as if Soobin had said something scandalous, "Kai is fifteen years old! You shouldn't swear in front of him."
The boy- Kai is his name? - interjects, "No! It's fine. I say bad stuff too sometimes..." he half whispers the last sentence, as if confessing a huge secret to Yeonjun and Soobin.
God, as if he couldn't get any more cuter, there he is.
"Anyway! I wouldn't mind introducing myself again if you want...?" he says in a hesitant tone.
"Of course. Sorry I wasn't listening." Soobin answers, genuinely sorry.
Kai smiles, showing off his white teeth, "It's okay! I'm Huening Kai, but you can call me Kai, and I'm a new trainee here. I can be a bit awkward at first but I promise I will be more comfortable as we get along later. Nice to meet you!" he introduces himself with his right hand stretches out.
Soobin softly shook Kai's hand, "I'm Soobin. It's nice to meet you too, Kai."
Soobin ignores how the butterfly in stomach act up again when he accidentally looks at the boy's eyes. His only hope is this is just a first time thing and he'll get used to Kai soon.