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“Jongin-ah!”
Jongin smiled and leaned back in his seat as his manager started the engine of the black van. As the car rolled out onto the street, Jongin waved to his crowd of dedicated fans, bidding them farewell from behind the window, then brought the phone to his ear. Despite his long schedule that day, it was a relief to hear his hyung’s voice. He had finished broadcasting for Inkigayo early, and he was excited to head home and sleep the exhaustion away.
“Lay hyung, it’s been a while! How have you been?”
Yixing’s voice filtered through the phone speakers. “I’m doing great, just finished a photo shoot with Hublot. How have your album promotions been going? I bet it’s been tough, but it looks like "Rover" is a big hit. I never expected anything less.”
Jongin watched the scenery move past the window, grateful for Yixing’s support. He was one of the most enthusiastic members out of all of EXO when he let them listen to the song before its release. “It has been very busy, but I’m so glad that I can now perform in front of the fans. I almost forgot how loud our EXOLs are.” He heard Yixing chuckle in agreement.
Jongin whispered, “I wish you could perform with us, Lay hyung, it’s been so long.”
Yixing hummed in response. “I wish I could, too. I miss you guys and the EXO concerts. Maybe soon.”
A comfortable silence soon settled in the van, as the streetlights sporadically lit up Jongin’s face every few seconds.
“Jongin-ah, are you performing at M Countdown next Thursday?” Yixing asked after a while.
“Yeah. I performed there yesterday as well, my promotion period is two weeks long this time.”
“I see. I don’t know if you’ve been watching Boys Planet, the survival show Mnet is airing?”
Jongin pulled at some strands of hair stiff with hairspray. “I’ve watched a few episodes when I had the time, but not recently because of album promotions.”
He heard Yixing shuffling in the background. “Ah, I see.”
“If I remember correctly, one of your trainees from Chromosome is participating, right?”
Yixing laughed. “Yes! I was just going to mention him. His name is Wang Zihao, and he and his team ended in first place in the recent episode, so they’ll be able to perform at M Countdown next week.”
“No way, congratulations! I might be able to meet him!” Jongin exclaimed.
Yixing agreed and proceeded to tell him more about Zihao, and Jongin could sense his excitement and fondness for his trainee. “He’s a bright one and a great dancer,” Yixing murmured, “I hope he can debut, but he’s been given so little screentime by Mnet.”
Jongin nodded, he and Yixing definitely knew and experienced how corrupt Mnet was firsthand.
“Thanks for letting me know about Zihao, hyung. If I see him around next week, I’ll be sure to give him a few words of encouragement.”
A week later
Jongin scrolled through Instagram as the stylists busied themselves with his hair and makeup. He remembered Yixing’s words from the week prior and had been keeping an eye out for the Boys Planet trainee ever since he stepped foot into the M Countdown building. But amongst the bustling crowd of staff and performers, and his own team telling him to finish getting prepared for the stage, Jongin had no time. He listened to the live performances being played on the TV in the styling room as he typed in "Wang Zihao" on his phone out of curiosity.
A few minutes later, Jongin was deeply impressed with all the videos he had watched. The trainee was in the group performing "Law" by Yoon Mirae and BIBI. He rewatched the clip of Zihao krumping during the stage, and couldn’t help but notice remnants of Yixing’s style in his dance. Jongin didn’t even notice his limbs moving on their own accord as he mimicked the dance steps and only stopped when he almost jostled one of the poor stylists.
As he listened to the TV broadcast, the MCs announced the next stage, which would be performed by the Boys Planet trainees. The first group to perform would be the Tomboy team, but Jongin knew that Law wouldn’t be far behind.
Once the styling finished Jongin hurried out of the room as soon as he thanked the hardworking stylists, elbowing past the staff members and apologizing as he headed to the hallway of waiting rooms. He scanned the labels on the doors until he found what he was looking for.
Boys Planet.
Jongin pulled at the collar of his leather jacket and patted down his slacks. He took a deep breath. Had to make sure to set an example for the hoobaes. However, just as he raised a fist to knock, the door swung open. The Law trainees filed out of the room, almost trampling over Jongin himself in the process- both sides stumbled as they stared at the other in surprise.
“Kai sunbaenim??” Many of them exclaimed, immediately bowing 90 degrees to their elder. Kai also bowed back in a hurry.
“I’m so sorry!” One of the shorter trainees (Yedam, Kai later remembered) had implored. Another with a scar drawn across his nose (Park Hanbin), had piped up, “Kai sunbaenim, oh my gosh, I love 'Rover'!”
Jongin barked out a laugh, bringing a hand to his face to hide his embarrassment. He vaguely heard the MCs begin reading their scripts detailing the end of the Tomboy stage- was it already over? He then noticed the intense glimmers in the trainees' eyes and knew that their stage was next. “Haha, thank you. Good luck with your performance!” As the trainees passionately thanked him and headed toward the stage, one member stumbled near the back of the group, hands fumbling with his mic. Jongin immediately recognized him as Wang Zihao and tried to say hello, but the young trainee was hurrying quite intensely down the long hallway. Jongin sighed but was soon tugged back to his waiting room by his manager who was chiding him for running off.
As Jongin waited in his room, he watched the Law members enter the stage on the screen of the TV. He couldn’t help but think that they looked like a newly debuted group, looking completely professional aside from a couple of trembling hands and stiff smiles. However, as soon as the lights dimmed and the music began to play, they all adopted a completely new persona. Jongin’s eyes fixed on Zihao near the side of the screen and watched his clean moves as he executed them perfectly. As Zihao danced, Jongin saw his Yixing hyung mirrored in the young trainee’s captivating movements. His krump skills and grooves were incredibly impressive, leaving Jongin with a profound sense of awe towards the younger.
He felt completely immersed in the performance, and couldn’t help but fanboy over Zihao’s amazing moves. Once Zihao began to krump, he commanded all attention on the stage. His stage presence and confidence were so immaculate, Jongin almost felt jealous. Zihao was truly fit to be Yixing’s trainee.
Once the performance was over, Jongin found himself still wishing for more. Three minutes was not enough to showcase Zihao’s full potential, he was sure of it. Jongin then exited his waiting room, ready to greet the hardworking trainees after their flawless performance.
Soon, five exhausted, sweaty trainees emerged from backstage. They looked tired, but excited and fulfilled. Jongin could tell that all of them harbored a lot of passion for the performance and knew that they’d make amazing, powerful idols one day. They all reminded him of his past self as a newly debuted member of EXO, nervous but always fired up for a new stage and opportunity to showcase his skills. As the trainees neared their waiting room, Jongin met eyes with Park Hanbin, who had glanced up while wiping his sweat with a towel.
“Kai sunbaenim!” He exclaimed in surprise.
All five trainees bowed in unison and complimented Jongin, showering him with words of admiration. He smiled good-naturedly back and made sure to praise them on their performance as well, but noticed Zihao hanging near the back of the group. The trainee was smiling sweetly but looked a little lost. Jongin realized it must have been because of the language barrier- he remembered Yixing telling him that Zihao was still learning Korean and still had a little bit of trouble adjusting to the language.
In an effort to include him in the conversation, Jongin summoned up his limited Chinese skills and uttered a carefully pronounced “你好 (nǐ hǎo),” to him, hoping he didn’t just butcher the greeting. Zihao's head immediately shot up, his eyes wide with surprise. He stuttered a bit, clearly caught off guard, but returned the greeting with a smile. Jongin found him quite cute, and the rest of the Law group also seemed to agree, giggling at Zihao’s awkward antics. Zihao was shy but was definitely a genuine and kind person. It was clear that his fellow trainees adored him as well. Jongin noticed that Yujin, the youngest trainee, clung to his arm like a little brother and that Hanbin liked to wrap him in a comforting hug every once in a while. Even Kamden, who didn’t seem to speak much, would smile softly at him from a distance. Jongin grinned endearingly at Zihao and beckoned the group to join him at a nearby sitting area. Surprised, nervous, but obviously excited, the five trainees eagerly trailed like ducklings behind their senior.
Once seated, Jongin engaged in some more banter with them, and after a bit, attempted to speak to Zihao again. He decided to try speaking in English, remembering that Yixing had told him Zihao’s English was quite good. His own was a bit rusty, but he made an effort to recall what he had learned back in SUPERM.
“Zihao, Lay is your boss, right?”
Zihao anxiously nodded, too nervous to meet Jongin’s eyes.
“He’s told me all about you.” Jongin carefully said.
Zihao’s eyes widened and covered his face with his hands, “Oh my gosh.” It was obvious that he greatly admired Yixing, which made him seem even more adorable in Jongin’s eyes. The rest of the group chuckled at Zihao’s embarrassment, with Hanbin soothingly patting Zihao on the back.
“I wanted to ask you all a favor.” Jongin said, “I’ve been doing the dance challenge to my song 'Rover' with a lot of people.”
The group’s eyes widened collectively, in anticipation of Jongin’s next words.
“So,” Jongin continued in English, “Do you want to dance to 'Rover' with me?”
“Oh my gosh!” The trainees, including Zihao, all exclaimed in excitement, “Sunbaenim, we’d love to-”
They were suddenly interrupted by one of the Boys Planet staff members.
“Where have you all been?” The staff member asked the trainees snottily, “We’ve been searching all over for you! All the Boys Planet stages are done. We need to return to the dorms and shoot new filler content for next week’s episode!”
“Awww,” Yujin complained. “We were just about to do the Rover challenge with Kai sunbaenim!” Jongin nodded along.
“Yeah! Could we stay just a little longer?” Yedam pleaded.
“Absolutely not! We are already behind schedule. You have to head back and film the dorm trivia show. Everyone’s waiting! And what did I say about leaving your waiting room without permission!” The staff member retorts sternly, pushing the trainees away from Jongin.
As the group began making their way back to the room with Jongin sadly watching them trudge off, Hanbin sneakily tapped Zihao on the shoulder.
“Hey, listen hyung,” Hanbin whispered, “I have a plan.”
“Um, what plan?” Zihao whispered back, frazzled and eyes shaking.
“This is what I’m thinking,” Hanbin said, grinning from ear to ear. “You stay and do the dance challenge with Kai sunbaenim…”
“Wait, what?” Zihao interrupted, almost too loudly, because the staff member whips their head around to squint at them.
“Think of it this way.” Hanbin said, “Hyung, you’re an amazing dancer.”
Zihao blushes, “Okay? So?” He replies.
“I and the others know that you’ve been cut out of so many dance scenes even though you are one of the best dancers,” Hanbin whispers.
“But I’m not-” Zihao starts, but is instantly cut off by Hanbin.
“No, you clearly are. We can see it. And out of all of us, I think you should take this opportunity to dance with Kai sunbaenim.” Hanbin said, with absolute conviction.
Zihao thought about this. He thought about his journey to get here. The pain, hardships, and tears but also the joys of meeting all the other trainees. If he was eliminated, he’d have to return to China. Away from all his new friends and all of these opportunities being on Boys Planet has given him.
Dancing with his boss’ team member Kai would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Zihao, and he didn’t want to continue his journey with regret.
So, he looked Hanbin straight in the eye and said, “I’ll do it. But what will you tell the staff?”
“It's okay,” Jongin suddenly interjected, appearing behind them, having observed the conversation from a distance until now. “I’ll explain the situation and make sure the staff understand. Just trust me.” He gently patted Zihao’s arm reassuringly.
“No need to worry hyung,” Hanbin whispered determinedly, hands moving to grip Zihao’s shoulders, “We got your back. See you soon! Fighting!”
With one final hug between the two trainees, Hanbin retreated behind the rest of the Law team as they headed off, leaving Zihao and Jongin alone in the stretch of hallway.
“So, “ Jongin said, stepping forward and breaking the silence. He had no doubt heard the conversation and knew what was next. “You ready?”
Zihao nodded nervously, and they began setting up to film the dance challenge.
Jongin demonstrated the steps to Rover’s chorus slowly, but realized he didn’t need to.
Zihao caught on to the moves in a flash and was soon executing the choreography with ease. He truly was a dancing king, just like his Yixing hyung.
They finished the challenge in one take, much to Jongin’s surprise. But once he thought about it, it was to be expected with Zihao’s level of innate talent. When Jongin replayed the video, he was astonished by the trainee’s moves. He was so relaxed while dancing, but also poised and sharp. But what stuck out the most about Zihao was his passion. His eyes glittered as he moved, thoroughly enjoying every beat of both the dance and the music. Even through the phone screen, Jongin could feel Zihao’s dedication, and could see that his amazing ability was the result of years of hard work, sweat, and grit. It reminded him so much of his younger self. Jongin saw a reflection of himself in Zihao, so maybe that was why he felt such a natural likeness to him.
As they prepared to say their goodbyes, Zihao spoke up first. Jongin could see that the other was warming up to him, which made him very proud.
“Um,” Zihao stammered, in broken Korean. “I had a lot of fun today. Really, thank you, sunbaenim.”
He bowed deeply, his brown hair bouncing along with the movement.
How cute, Jongin thought. Zihao’s efforts to communicate and his sincere attitude were so touching to him. I like this kid.
“Me too, Zihao.” Jongin replied to him, “It was an honor to dance with such a budding young talent.”
Zihao blushed in embarrassment, “Oh no! It’s me who’s honored to dance with you!”
Jongin smiled endearingly at Zihao, “No really, I’m so proud of you. And I know Yixing is too.”
As they prepared to go their separate ways, on different journeys, and chase their different dreams, Jongin offered the Chromosome trainee one last word.
“Zihao, 加油 (jiāyóu)!”