Chapter Text
The rehearsal room smells like sweat, cheap air freshener, and someone’s (probably Hyeonjun’s) extremely strong cologne. Inside sits Park Jaehyuk, Lead Rapper of AF7ERSHOCK, clutching a bottle of water like it's his only lifeline. He watches his teammates wearily from where he's collapsed in the corner, then glances down to the phone by his side. Nearly 7:00PM. He grimaces. Park Jaehyuk, illustrious Lead Rapper of the award-winning, chart-topping, Hallyu-wave leading group AF7ERSHOCK, is more than ready to just give everything up, get out of here and go home.
His eyes scan the entire room, checking on everyone else; especially on their younger members. Their maknae, Geumjae, is leaning against Daegil, taking a nap. Hyeonjun and Minhyung are sprawled together across the couch... and Dohyeon is next to him, looking like he'd just been dragged through hell and back.
"5 more minutes! That's all you'll get before we take the choreo from the top again.. Remember, we have comeback stages next week and we need to nail it down before MusicBank on Thursday!" Kwanghee, their leader, announces from the middle of the room; followed by a chorus of tired groans and protests. Just great...
"Hyuuuungggg, when are we heading back to the dorms?" Their lead dancer Hyeonjun whines from where he's sat, leaning his weight even further onto Minhyung's broad frame, slowly slipping into a spineless heap on the floor. Minhyung just sighs, heaving his fellow main dancer up as best as he can despite the obvious exhaustion on his face.
"We're here until 7:30, Hyeonjun-ah." Jaehyuk finally speaks, his voice hoarse and airy from overuse. He forces himself to stretch and get ready for another round of practice. As much as he'd love to stay unmoved from his current position, the hard unforgiving wooden floor is starting to give him killer back pain. More importantly, he'd rather go through another round of torture (dance practice) than endure one of Kwanghee's infamous lecturing and nagging sessions.
"Come on everyone, get up! Just a little longer and we can go home!" Kwanghee urges again and the rest of AF7 promptly get up to continue practice.
"If we can finish up before 7:30 that'd be great! I'll have Jinhyuk order dinner when we get back." Jihoon leisurely strolls into the room, relaxed and carefree with his phone in hand as he texts the groups' assistant manager. His demeanour paints a stark contrast to the other sweaty 7 people in the room, all dishevelled, exhausted, and starving
"I want fried chicken, hyungg!!" Hyeonjun whines.
"Tell Jinhyuk hyung to order noodles, please.." Geumjae pleads.
"I'm craving samgyupsal though..." Daegil mutters.
Sensing the mounting distraction caused by Jihoon's promise of food, Kwanghee quickly interjects- "We'll... practice!" The stern edge in his voice is a telltale sign of an impending lecture, causing everyone to quickly scramble upright lest they face "Nagging Mother" Mode Kwanghee, which no-one wants to face. They all quickly get into position and wait for the music to start again.
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The group is split into two as they head back to their dorms. Geumjae, Hyeonjun, and Minhyung have taken off in the first car with Kwanghee watching over them— leaving Jaehyuk with Dohyeon, Daegil, and their manager Jihoon in the second car. Maybe he can catch some sleep for once..
Jaehyuk glances to his left where Daegil is and finds him already fast asleep. Sweet. He closes his eyes and slowly starts drifting off... when a voice suddenly cuts through the peace and quiet. Damn it.
"Have you guys heard? NEX//US just broke our record of being the quickest to get a PAK with their newest song." Jihoon glances back at them from the passenger seat, holding his phone out. Oh? That's new. NEX//US was a group that debuted barely just a year ago, and are already contending with the achievements of a group 1 year their senior? Jaehyuk squints his eyes at Jihoon's too-bright phone screen.
"NEX//US Shatters Charts With Fastest Perfect All-Kill in History, Surpassing Record set by AF7ERSHOCK". Huh. There hasn't been a group that could rival AF7ERSHOCK in terms of commercial success in their generation before.
"Isn't that Siwoo hyung and Hyunjunnie's group?" Dohyeon reaches for it without hesitation, scrolling through whatever article Jihoon had opened. "They're rivaling us now? Wow.."
"Yeah, crazy right? Even crazier, I took a look at our MuBank timeslot, and it looks like they're performing right after you guys next week. Nice coincidence, huh? Maybe you'll have a chance to say hi to them." Jihoon chuckles as he grabs his phone back from Dohyeon, who's now grinning from ear to ear.
"That's exciting.. I haven't heard a lot from them ever since we parted ways after our trainee days. It'd be nice to have a proper catch up…”
Huh, I didn't know Jihoon and Dohyeon were trainees together…
"Right? I should send Siwoo hyung a message.. I'll tell the other members about them, maybe they're already familiar." Jihoon leans back against his seat, tapping away on his phone. Probably off to text whoever Siwoo is. Dohyeon glances over at Jaehyuk with an inquisitive smile.
"Aren't you curious about NEX//US, hyung?"
"Ah, I mean- kinda? I think I'll just look them up tomorrow... after I get my sleep" Jaehyuk yawns, "I'm taking a nap first, practice has me beat." He fishes his earbuds lazily from his bag and puts them on to drown out any noise… "Wake me up when we're at the dorms.”
"Okay~"
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1 Week later
MusicBank
"Ever-evolving Kpop! The heart of the Korean wave. With the world watching... it's Music Bank live!" The two Music Bank MCs greet the audience and start the program off with the usual theatrics while the groups and singers wait backstage.
The members of AF7ERSHOCK are lined up together with Jihoon leading them at the front. Jaehyuk is casually browsing through his phone near the middle of the line. Daegil is next to him, fumbling with the choker around his neck and asking Kwanghee to help adjust it for him.
To his left is Dohyeon, who's leaning forward to get a better look at the end of the hall. “Where are Hyunjunnie and Siwoo hyung's group? Shouldn't they be here soon?” His voice cuts through the music, catching the attention of their center.
"Is that the group Jihoon-hyung told us about? Why should we care–" Hyeonjun, ever so arrogant, asks from near the back of the line. Only to quickly shut up when he gets smacked right on the shoulder by Minhyung, who's internally hoping no one heard him.
"Don't be so arrogant. And keep your voice down, jeez.."
“Whatever…” Hyeonjun grumbles and rolls his eyes.
"You mean NEX//US? I spoke with their manager, they should be here any second now." Jihoon responds and looks down the hallway, waiting (im)patiently for their junior group.
"Isn't that the group that broke our record? They're overtaking us on the charts too." Kwanghee adds, finally done adjusting Daegil’s collar. "Last I checked they were already #1.”
Kwanghee's words grab everyone's attention and they all look towards the same direction as Jihoon, waiting to finally meet the group that could rival their own.
"I'm kind of curious about them now.." Geumjae murmurs from the back of the line.
"Weren't you guys listening when Jihoon-hyung told us about them?" Minhyung chuckles.
"...No."
"Not really.."
“I think I was asleep.”
"Wow, you guys are hopeless."
Only Jaehyuk stays unbothered, still browsing through his phone without a care in the world. He didn't bother to look NEX//US up either last week. Maybe he should, they're his group's rivals now after all.. Or maybe not.
"Oh! Jihoon-ah! Dohyeonnie!" Someone excitedly calls out as NEX//US finally appears from down the hallway, followed by their manager Sanghyeok.
"Siwoo hyung! Hyunjunnie!" Jihoon smiles before he quickly greets Sanghyeok with a bow, which the other quickly returns with a polite smile.
It's not until said group lines up next to theirs and greet them that Jaehyuk finally looks away from his phone, figuring he should introduce himself as well with the others. He looks up— and freezes.
Oh my god.
Who is that?
He locks eyes with... what he can only describe as the prettiest boy he's ever seen. Soft curly hair, a radiant smile, and warm eyes he couldn't look away from even if he wanted to.
"Ah- Hello..!-" Jaehyuk stutters as he bows with his group, barely managing to greet their juniors properly. He watches and tries to listen as NEX//US introduce themselves one by one, but he can't focus on anything else other than this princess in front of him.
I think I'm gonna go insane.
He struggles to pay attention as NXS’ leader introduces themselves, though the same can't be said for Dohyeon; who seems a little too interested.
“Hello, I'm Han Wangho, the leader of NEX//US. Glad to finally meet you all. I've heard so much about you and Jihoon from Siwoo-yah and Hyunjunnie already. Please take care of us..~”
Okay. Jaehyuk could barely process a word Wangho said. It only gets worse from him when the one in front of him starts speaking right after. God, someone tell him he's staring.
"Nice to meet you all! I'm Son Siwoo, you might've heard about me and Hyunjun from Jihoon and Dohyeon.. I swear, I'm not as scary as they make me out to be." The princes— Ahem Siwoo smiles as he greets them, laughing as Jihoon tells the rest of AF7 to not believe him.
Someone else from NXS speaks up, a taller boy with a teasing smile. “Ah, I'm Hyunjun.. Don't believe him, Jihoon-hyung is right.”
Jaehyuk takes a deep breath and is about to introduce himself as well, when Hyeonjun suddenly cuts him off.
“Oh, so you're the other Hyeonjun Jihoon-hyung and Dohyeon-hyung keep talking about? I was expecting more.”
“Wow, bold words from someone who hasn't even introduced themselves.”
“Wh- Hey! No fighting!” Siwoo's voice interjects and he gets both Wangho and Kwanghee to split the two up.
The rest of the introductions from NEX//US goes in one ear and out the other, fading into background noise.
Jaehyuk stands there, completely entranced by NEX//US' main dancer. Not that he wasn't already, Siwoo's laugh was just that final nail in the coffin for him. Everything else that's happening gets completely ignored and forgotten.
"Hey, Jaehyuk? You alright?" Kwanghee's voice pulls him out of his trance and Jaehyuk looks back at him, embarrassed and relieved.
"Oh. Sorry. Lost in thought." Thank God for Kwanghee.
He looks over at the other members of AF7 and tries to look for a way to distract himself, but it's completely useless. He keeps stealing glances. He can't even bother his members to keep himself busy.
Dohyeon is chatting with Siwoo and Wangho, Minhyung and Hyeonjun are focused on practicing the choreo, Kwanghee is speaking with Jihoon and Sanghyeok ,and Geumjae is talking with NXS' youngest at the back of their line.
He contemplates getting back on his phone; debating on whether or not it’d be a good idea, considering they were going to perform any moment now. When suddenly, Siwoo comes over and looks up at Jaehyuk with a curious smile. "Hey, I never got your name?"
Jaehyuk’s heart nearly stops right then and there. Shit. Right. Hyeonjun cut him off earlier right when he was about to.
"Y..Yeah?" Jaehyuk slowly looks to his side, trying not to look so flustered. "I'm Jaehyuk, pleased to meet you." He extends a hand out, unsure if he really wants Siwoo to take it or not.
"Pleased to meet you too." Siwoo happily shakes his hand. Oh God, his hands are so soft—
Before Jaehyuk can process what's happening, Jihoon calls them up. "Guys, we're performing in 5 minutes!" Their manager announces as he stands in front of AF7's line, leading them up closer to the stage.
Jaehyuk hurriedly straightens himself up and follows the rest of his group onstage, muttering a quick “Oh, sorry..” to Siwoo.
"It's fine, talk to you later. Good luck, guys!" Siwoo cheers, followed by his members.
"Don't embarrass yourself out there!" Hyunjun jabs at AF7’s center.
“Shut up!—”
Jaehyuk shudders as he gets into position, Siwoo's voice replaying nonstop in his head. Fuck. How am I gonna perform like this?—