Refractive Errors

Chapter 7

They'd been working for hours, Mark's brain was fried as he tried to remember the lyrics and his steps along with his placement in their formation. Something about it felt off. Like they were missing something (or someone). He didn't dare voice this thought, knowing it would only anger their managers and choreographer.

"Come on guys. I need you to keep your arms straight and then pop them, back out after you bend them. Do it again." The choreographer called from his seat in front of the mirrors. His displeasure clear as he watched them mess up again. Sighing he ran his hand through his hair and down his face. Mark agreed, they clearly weren't getting this one step and didn't need to run it incorrectly so much. "Stop, stop, stop." Standing up he walked to the front of the group and showed them the move again. Helping the boys get into better synchronization, again the thought of a seventh member jumping into Mark's mind. Once they were good, he stepped back and called for them to do it over. Clearly he was more frustrated about their uncoordinated attempt. The man looked to their manager for help.

"Why don't you guys take a break, everyone gets five minutes to cool off and then we'll try it again." The kind man said, watching in amusement as they all collapsed to the ground and groaned in unison. Mark probably the loudest as he caught his breath. Quietly listening to the sounds of complaints and groans of pure exhaustion from the guys around them. However, he picked up on the conversation happening behind them.

"Oh, that they can do." Their choreographer muttered under his breath. Shaking his head he walked to the managers. "They're off balance and I don't even know how that's possible." He complained. Mark winced, knowing there really was something about them that didn't look right. He'd been thinking about it more and more since that day the guys met YugYeom in the park.

"I think I have a solution. There's a kid who auditioned a few weeks ago. Let's see how he fits in with the rest of them." This caught the young man's attention. The idea of meeting someone else and having to ask them to speak slowly and clearly would be a problem. He also hoped they weren't messy, the dorm all the trainees were living in could get quite gross and he didn't want to deal with more of it, plus the stress of them having to redo everything and learn the dances, plus having to spend time with the person to get their personality to mesh with theirs. Mark let his mind wander on the possibility of a new member and what that would entail and how stressful that would be for them at this point.

His thoughts however, were cut short by their choreographer clapping his hands and shuffling back to the front. "Okay, let's try this again."

The results however were worse it seemed. It was a disaster that didn't seem to be working out for any of them, especially for him and BamBam who somehow ended up too close together and hit each other. Mark wanted to scream in frustration as they continued practicing only for all of them to get it wrong or for the timing to be off. It seemed like none of his members were even thinking about the dance.

It only took four more run-throughs for their managers to pick up on it. The choreographer took about six, his eyes burning with fury as he tried to take a few deep breaths. Mark was kind of hesitant to ask for a water break, but looking at YoungJae the younger was swaying in his place as his shirt was soaked through with sweat. He was sure they all looked that rough, but he was particularly worried for YoungJae, who had been working harder than the rest of them to catch up to the others in terms of dancing. Luckily it wasn't him that spoke.

"Can we borrow you, sir." A young woman with her hair pulled back into a high ponytail asked, she was looking at the choreographer with large brown eyes and a sweet smile. "We're trying to remember the moves you showed us and I told them you...." Her voice trailed off as she walked with the man out of the room. The sound of the door clicking shut seemed to be like a pair of scissors cutting the strings from a marionette.  All of them falling to the ground in piles of hot, sweaty, unattractive messes.

"Alright, I want you guys to cool down. Make sure you stretch and drink water. The last thing we need is you pulling something." The kind manager, with sympathetic eyes, said. "I'll meet you guys downstairs in thirty minutes to take you home."

That got them all moving, Mark and BamBam sliding on the floor as they headed towards their water bottles, JinYoung rushing to the manager while JaeBeom helped Jackson to his feet. YoungJae the only one still laying on the ground panting. Not that anyone blamed him, the poor kid looked exhausted.