"Nice job, you two, really nice." Jaehyun said once the pair finished the dance. "Momo, make sure to make more eye contact and Sana, clean up the footwork in the second half a bit, but overall good job."

Hyemi's Jae dropped hearing the praise leaving Jaehyun's mouth. Not because she didn't think they deserved it, they totally did. They performed the piece as if they'd known it for years. But she was shocked that Jaehyun was even capable of saying anything remotely nice.

"Good practice today guys, see you later." Jaehyun said as he checked his watch, starting to pack up.

"I can close down today." Hyemi offered, standing from her spot. "I have a free period right now."

"Fine." Jaehyun said, grabbing his bag and leaving the room without a second glance.

Once she was sure they had all left, Hyemi returned to the center of the room and turned on some music. Even though she was tired after their practice, she still wanted to do more. As the hip hop instrumental played over the speakers, Hyemi danced to the combo from earlier, watching herself in the mirror and trying to find errors.

She kept doing the combo over and over but it didn't look right. She walked through it slowly, watching her every move in the mirror but something was still wrong.

"Your hand is facing the wrong way, and you're still not putting enough power into the kick."

She turned to see Jaehyun leaning on the doorway.

"How you didn't notice those errors by now, I'll never know, they're so obvious." He continued, throwing down his dance bag and going to stand next to her.

"You were watching me?"

"Obviously I was. I'm not about to trust a first year to shut this place down properly after all the work it took to get this room for us." He said, rolling his eyes as faced her. "Do it again."

She stared at him in confusion.

"The combo. Do it again."

"Oh, okay."

She went through it once more, her nerves spiking under Jaehyun's close eye.

"The hand position is still wrong."

"Oh, like this?"

She tried to correct it but he shook his head. She tried again but was wrong. Eventually Jaehyun let out a frustrated huff and grabbed her arm, moving it into proper position for her.

"God you're slow at this, you're gonna need to pick it up if you want to keep up with us." He scoffed out, playing the music for her again.

This time she did it right, to her relief, but of course nothing was perfect fo Jaehyun.

"Put more power into your footwork."

"That kick needs to be higher."

"You're not getting low enough on the drop."

"That move isn't precise enough. Make it sharper."

Hyemi was totally exhausted now, having run the combo over and over again trying to get Jaehyun's approval.

She ran it a final time, finally feeling like she must've done it correctly, but sadly Jaehyun just shook his head.

"You're not there yet."

"I know, but thanks for your critiques, Jae, I really-"

"It's Jaehyun to you. Only my close friends call me Jae. And you're going to need a lot of work, but I don't have any more time. Figure it out on your own and show up tomorrow ready to do it right. Now leave so I can close down."

He turned away from her with a cold glare that sent shivers up her spine. Hyemi quickly grabbed her dance bag and ran out of the room.

- - -

"So, how was training with Jaehyun yesterday?" Jaemin asked as they walked through the halls on their way to practice the next day.

"Rough. He's so tough to please, I swear, I'll never squeeze a compliment out of him."

"Honestly, if I didn't see him say it to Sana and Momo, I wouldn't think he was capable of praise." Jaemin said, nodding his head.

"I don't know if he hates me because of Taeyong or what, but I swear, he's always glaring at me."

"Well you'll just have to change his mind."

"Sounds like a pretty tough task." She mumbled out.

"Eh, if anyone can do it, it's you."

"Thanks, Jaem, I'll just work har-"

Hyemi was cut off as someone knocked into her shoulder as they passed in the hallway, causing her to drop her things and fall on the ground.

"Watch where you're going loser."

When Hyemi looked up, she saw that it was Kyunghee and Iseul looking down at her.

"Oh, hey Kyunghee, my bad." She said cheerily, expecting her friend to return her smile but all she was met with was a cold glare.

"You know, Hyemi, you'd think that an All Star would be able to walk straight." Kyunghee said with a mocking tone, shocking Hyemi.

"Maybe they made a mistake." Iseul added in with a sneer. "I mean, I don't know about you, Kyung-ah, but I don't see an All Star in front of me." Iseul looked her up and down with a disdainful smirk.

"I've danced with her for years, and believe me, she's no all star." Kyunghee replied, turning to Iseul with a laugh.

"Kyunghee, what are you saying? You're supposed to be my friend." Hyemi said in shock.

She approached Hyemi, bending down to her eye level and glaring straight at her.

"Listen to me carefully, Hyemi: I got what I wanted, I'm on Taeyong's team. I have no use for you anymore. But watch your back, because it should be me on the All Stars team, and one little slip up from you and I'll be sliding right in." She straightened back up, smiling deviously down at Hyemi. "By the way, Iseul took your room, so when you fail, you're not getting it back."

"Hyemi's not going anywhere. Just because you're bitter that she's a better dancer than you, doesn't mean you have to be cruel. Ugly dancing combined with an ugly personality isn't a good look for you." Jaemin said, coming to Hyemi's defense and helping her to her feet.

"Oh look at that, you're coming to her defense... so sweet." Kyunghee drawled out, straightening up. "You're only defending her because you know that you were also chosen out of luck and not talent. Birds of a feather flock together I guess."

Jaemin took a step forward but Hyemi stopped him, grabbing his arm and shaking her head.

"Let's just go Jaemin, we have to get to rehearsal." She dragged him away towards their practice room.

"Rehearse all you want, you can't make up for your lack of talent!" Kyunghee called after them, causing Hyemi to walk faster.

"Hye... wasn't she your supposed best friend?" Jaemin asked as they turned down the final hallway.

"I guess not...." Hyemi sniffled out, fighting back tears.

"Hey, don't let her get you down." Jaemin said, pulling her to a stop outside of the practice room. "You're wearing the All Stars jacket. Not her. It's only a matter of time before she realizes that. Prove it to her on the dance floor."

With a reassuring smile, Jaemin opened the door and they walked in.

- - -

"Alright, you two, now that you've had a day to work on it, let's see the combo." Jaehyun said to Hyemi and Jaemin, bringing them out onto the floor.

The music started and they began their dance. Hyemi felt more confident this time, and, at the very least, she knew the choreo better. She tried her best to make all the corrections that Jaehyun had told her about, and by the end of it, she had a smile on her face.

But that smile instantly fell when she saw Jaehyun's expression. His cold glare was boring into her, the disappointment written all over his face as silence filled the room. Jaehyun squeezed the bridge of his nose in frustration, letting out an annoyed huff before speaking.

"I was hoping you two would have gotten better, but I was wrong. Yuta, Sana, please work with them and make these dances presentable before I lose my mind. The rest of us will start planning for Regionals." He waved his hand and the two older dancers instantly rushed up to them, Yuta going to Hyemi and Sana going to Jaemin.

"Was it that bad?" She asked the older boy, cringing in nervousness.

"Actually no. I don't know why he's being so picky but it wasn't. Why don't we walk through it together so we can see what's missing, hmm?" Yuta said with a smile. "Don't stress, we're going to get this."

- - -

"I don't get it." Yuta breathed out, staring at her with a confused expression. "You know all the moves, your facial expressions match the music, and you're technique is great. I don't know what more he wants from you."

"I don't know, Yuta, but something looks off. Don't you think?" Yuta stared at her in confusion.

"I'm not following."

"I don't know how to explain it but it just doesn't look right. I'm not forgetting moves or anything but I know this isn't the best it can be... I just feel like there's a wall blocking me from doing this 100% and I don't know why."

"Hmm... I have an idea." Yuta said excitedly, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the entrance. "Hey Jae, we'll be back in 10." Yuta called out as he pulled her through the door and out into the hallway.

"Where are we going, Yuta?"

"To help you break down that wall. Trust me."