JISOO'S POV
We were forty minutes into rehearsal when Taemin stopped the music.
"Again," he said, wiping sweat off his brow.
I reset my position. We had run this formation six times already. My shirt was damp and my knee was doing the thing it did when it had been at this for too long but I reset and waited as the music started again.
We got through the first chorus. Into the bridge. And I hit every mark correctly.
Thenㅡ Taemin stopped the music again. The room went quiet in that specific way it did when everyone could feel something coming but nobody wanted to be the one to acknowledge it.
"Jisoo-ya." Taemin walked toward the center, gesturing at the space I'd just occupied. "You're half a beat behind on the turn and it's throwing the whole line off."
My brows knitted. "I've been hitting that turn the same way for three weeks."
"I know." He smiled. "That's the problem."
Seo Jun to his credit, kept his face completely neutral from across the room. Hyunsuk, our main dancer, did not. He looked at the floor and pressed his lips together. "Let's just run it again."
"I'm just giving feedback." Taemin turned to him. "As the leader, I should point out mistakes, shouldn't I?"
Hyunsuk looked up. "And he's hitting the mark correctly. I'm watching him from right here. You're the leader and I'm the lead dancer ㅡ I would be able to spot his mistakes if there were any."
Taemin ran a hand through his hair dyed blue, dragging his fingers through the bright strands. "Hyunsuk-ahㅡ"
"The turn is fine." Hyunsuk turned to me. "Reset. Let's go from the top."
Taemin didn't push it. He never pushed it when someone pushed back ㅡ that wasn't how he operated. He just nodded and stepped back into his position with his expression perfectly intact. Like a man who had simply made an observation and couldn't help it if others were sensitive.
The music started.
We ran it twice more. I was not half a beat behind. I knew that the way I knew my own heartbeat at this point ㅡ five years of muscle memory didn't lie. I hit every mark and kept my face forward and I didn't look at Taemin once.
We were setting up for the fourth run when the door opened.
My manager stepped in, slightly out of breath, and scanned the room until he found me. "Jisoo-ya, get cleaned up. You're needed."
I looked at him with a frown, my breathing heavy. "What? We're in the middle of practice."
"I know. It's been cleared." He glanced at Taemin briefly. "He's excused for the rest of the session."
Taemin didn't move. "Of course. Everyone knows his other commitments come first these days."
The room heard it and Jun's eyes cut to Taemin immediately. Hyunsuk looked up from his water bottle but nobody said anything.
I picked up my towel from the mirror ledge.
"See you tomorrow," I said to everyone. Including Taemin.
Because I was used to it already.
Then I was out.
In the corridor, my manager walked fast and I matched his pace.
"Wait. What is it?"
He slowed down. "The companies want a shoot. Something candid. They already scouted a location."
My brain short-circuited. "Like…right now?" I hissed.
What happened to giving me at least a day's heads up?
"Yes. Minjae-ssi had a gap in his schedule so they wanted to fill it up and take the chance."
"So I left a rehearsal for…this?"
He continued walking forward. "The stylist there will sort you out. The car is already waiting."
Of course.
Of course, they were.
The location was a side street in Seongsu ㅡ the kind of place that looked accidentally aesthetic, exposed brick and good light, the sort of backdrop that made things look spontaneous.
A small crew was already set up when we arrived. Two coordinators, a photographer, a stylist with a rack of clothes, and the expression of someone who'd been waiting for longer than they'd like.
Minjae was already there.
He was leaning against the wall with his phone out and he looked up when I approached with an expression that communicated very clearly that he was also not here by choice.
"You're late," he said.
"I came from rehearsal."
"And I came from a full schedule."
My eyes literally rolled to the back of my head. "Didn't ask."
"Neither did I, Han Jisoo."
Something about the way he used my full name set me off and I glared at him.
The photographer pulled up a reference on his tablet and showed it to both of us.
I took one look at it and laughed, the sound low and hollow. "No."
The reference was a close shot. Close as in ㅡ one person from behind, the other facing forward, foreheads nearly touching, the kind of image that fashion magazines used when they wanted to imply something without saying it.
"That's the concept." The coordinator tried carefully.
"Change the concept."
"The companies are already approved."
"They're not the ones doing the shoot, are they?" I shot back.
For someone who liked to bow to every whim, I was somehow defiant this time.
"Jisoo-ssi." My manager sounded stern. Almost like he was reminding me of what I had to lose.
I shut up almost immediately and looked at Minjae who hadn't said anything.
He just stared at the reference photo with the expression of someone who had been asked to do something deeply beneath him. He sighed and turned to his manager, pulling him aside as they had a short, quiet exchange that ended with Minjae nodding.
He turned back around. "Fine."
Waitㅡ he was agreeing to it?
I didn't have time to think about that as the stylist put us into coordinated outfits. Dark tones, clean lines and close enough in color palette that we'd read as intentional.
That part was fine. I could handle that.
The problem was the positioning.
"Okay." The photographer set up his angle and looked at us. "Minjae-ssi, just behind Jisoo's shoulder. Looking forward. Jisoo-ssi, turn back slightly ㅡ not fully, just ㅡ yes. Like that. And close the gap a little."
I closed the gap a bit.
"More."
I hissed under my breath and shuffled closer to Minjae.
"Just a bit more…" the photographer urged.
"I'm right here," Minjae said from directly behind me, low enough that only I could hear it. "If I get any closer, I'll introduce myself to your spine or something."
"Don't say stuff like that." I hissed under my breath.
"Seems like you want to get closer to me, Jisoo. Always knew you wanted to know how I'd feel if you rubbed off on me."
My eyes widened and I almost turned around but his hand gripped my wrist, holding me steady.
"What is wrong with you?" I hissed.
"If I'm not comfortable, you can't be either." He muttered matter-of-factly.
"Nobody asked you to be comfortable."
"I'm not. Already made that clear."
His words were a tickle and I shuddered. "Can you not whisper things into my ear? This is humiliating enough."
Minjae scoffed but leaned back lightly. "For you, maybe. I think I look great."
There it was again. The prick is showing his narcissistic side.
"Okay, hold thatㅡ" The photographer was already shooting.
"You're unbelievable," I whispered under my breath.
"Thank you."
"Not a compliment."
"Well, the fuck aware." He adjusted slightly, hand still gripping mine. "I'm just choosing to receive it as one."
Okay, that's it. I was already entertaining him a bit too much and he seemed to be getting a kick out of it.
The photographer called a reset and we immediately pulled away with a shudder, glaring at each other. "Ugh, finally done with that."
His lips pulled up into a small smirk. "It's not exactly a small feat to be paired with me."
I rolled my eyes. "Fuck off."
Then I walked back to my manager. "Can we go now?"
He nodded, looking pleased. "Good job. Let's go. We should be back in time for lunch."
The car pulled up and slid into the backseat, fingers immediately reaching for my phone.
A message. From Seo Jun.
"What did Taemin say to you? He seems to be pissed off about something."
I looked at it for a second then typed back. "Nothing I haven't heard before."
Then I leaned my head back against the seat and waited to get home.