25: Command

462 39 3
                                    

"Fuck," Sunoo cursed, closing his eyes in frustration before opening them, walking off in a rage. Everyone in the hallway bundled, looking at him in some sort of awe and fear at his sudden outburst. 

"What happened?" Riki asks curiously at the back, tiptoeing slightly.

Jay sighs, turning his head to look at the younger, "He's probably not satisfied with the result he got with the evaluation," he shrugs. "He just always wants to be the best," he turns his head back at the front, moving forward as people left. 

As soon as they were in front of the paper, the crowd already dispersed with only one or two more people besides the three friends, they search for their own names. They started with their finger from bottom to top stopping until they found their names, half-satisfied, half-disappointed. Riki pursued his lips, however, unsure of how to feel. 

"How'd you guys do?" Sunghoon questions, turning to look at the other two.

"4th for singing, 3rd for dance, 4th overall. You?" Jay answers casually.

"6th for singing, 4th for dance, 6th overall," Sunghoons answers, nodding to himself, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "You Riki?" He questions as he turns to him.

"1st for dance, 13th for singing, 15th overall," he replies, his lips still pursued with mixed emotions.

The older two widen their eyes, glancing at each other before setting their gaze on the youngest. "That's amazing!" Jay exclaims with a bright smile that resembled that of a proud dad.

He looks up with a tight-lipped smile before looking back down at the ground. He shrugs, "I guess I just need to focus on improving my vocals in the next three months."

Jay puts his arm around his shoulder with a wide smile, "I like the way you think man! Let's improve together!" He exclaims, putting up a fist with his other hand.

"Okay, let's go celebrate!" Sunghoon says enthusiastically, putting an arm around Riki from his other side, putting his own hand up in a fist just like his best friend which made the three burst out in laughter. 

Ni-Ki takes both of their arms off by moving a step forward before turning to look at them, abruptly hugging them. "Thank you so much Hyungs," he mutters as the two wrap an arm around him with small smiles. He was about to walk off with them but furrowed his eyebrows as he turned to the side the silver head had stormed off to earlier. He bit his lips lightly, turning back to the paper on the wall looking for his name.

Under dance, 10th: Kim Sunoo. Under vocal, 1st: Kim Sunoo. Overall, 8th: Kim Sunoo.

"What's up Riki?" Sunghoon asks as he realizes that the younger was not following them but instead staring at the chart. He glances between the two before settling his eyes on the boy. Just as he was about to put a comforting hand on his shoulder, the blond turned which startled him.

"I um forgot something. You guys go downstairs while I go fetch it!" He exclaims, running towards a certain direction before getting an answer--a habit he seems to have.

The 2002 born look at each other with confused expressions before shrugging lightly and walking in the opposite direction of the younger.

Riki kept jogging aimlessly, peeking into each door until a thought came into his mind and he abruptly stops, startling a male who was walking behind him. He turns to quickly bow down to the male before beginning to run again, a location now set in mind.

He pants slightly, stopping at the door labeled I-26, peeking in. He sighs in relief when he sees somebody in the corner of the room though the room was dark. He takes a deep breath before slowly turning the knob, the boy not budging to turn its way. 

He quietly walks in, glancing at the boy who was blankly staring ahead then at the spot next to him. After a few seconds, he decides on settling on the spot. He shifts a couple of times, a not-so-comfortable silence upon them.

"I told you to never come here again," the older finally speaks up in a monotonous tone, his eyes looking ahead into the mirror which covered the opposite wall.

Riki looks at him through the mirror, "I don't get why you're so upset..." he mutters, looking down at his knees as soon as he pronounces those words. 'He was so nice a couple of days ago and now he's back like this,' he thinks disappointedly, shaking his head slightly at the thought, a sigh unconsciously scaping his lips.

"Get out if you're going to be sighing."

"S- sorry," he apologies before opening his mouth again. "I don't think you should be this upset about your results," he states sincerely, making eye contact. "You placed first in vocals and tenth in dance. That's amazing!" He exclaims with an enthusiastic gleam in his eyes.

Sunoo glares at him, "You have no idea what you're saying."

"You were one of the best, I know what I'm saying," he glares back. "I was there during your performance and I could see your passion and..." he pauses. "You were just amazing," he mumbles shyly, turning his head to look at his shoes while his hands played with the shoelaces. "I received 13th for vocal and first for dance. Of course, I'm disappointed but now all I'm thinking of are ways that I can improve. Think of the low rank as a way of determination rather than a way to lower your confidence," he smiles, speaking those words to himself as well.

"I ranked 11th place in dance last time. I barely improved. I'm supposed to be the best."

"Even if it's one rank higher, that means that you improved and you have no idea how much that means," he says, a wide smile on his face. "And whoever told you that you have to be the best can go screw themselves. Remember that you are doing this for yourself, and the determination of wanting to be the best and the set of mind that you have to be are completely different."

Sunoo stares at him through the mirror for a few moments, his heart beating abnormally fast.

"Riki," he calls out, receiving a hum from the boy who was still playing with his shoelaces. "Help me improve in dance," he states firmly.

Ni-Ki shoots his head up, eyes wide open, "I- I can't-"

"That wasn't a request, it was a command," he states with fierce, firm eyes.

"Can I get something in return?" He asks sheepishly after a few seconds.

He sighs, "What is it?"

"While I help improve your dance, can you help improve my singing?" He asks with a nervous smile.

After a while, Sunoo nods.


A/N: I am SO sorry for the late update and for not updating yesterday! Tomorrow will also be really hectic for me so I doubt that I will be able to update but I'll try my best. I will do everything that I can to update on Friday.

Have a great day!!

Serendipity | SunKi AuWhere stories live. Discover now