Light A Flame || Hoshi

Chapter 5

Though Hoshi always got nervous before having to coordinate practices with lots of dancers, this time felt particularly nerve-racking. He couldn't tell if it was due to Jang-mi's looming presence or some other reasons the universe had yet to reveal to him.

"So, I guess we're meeting her today?" Dino asked as he climbed into the sleek minivan after Hoshi.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Hoshi responded absent-mindedly, picking at his hair as a nervous habit. A few more members filed inside and the van took off to the HYBE building. He couldn't help but contemplate working with her, but not before releasing a slight chuckle.

Funny. Were it not for Jeonghan's poor planning skills, he never would've met her.

**

"Hi everyone! Today we're going over Left & Right. Dokyeom has four 8-counts of the transition and it's a freestyle, so try to keep up with his moves before the actual intro," Hoshi boomed to the few dozen dancers assembled before him, surreptitiously sneaking glances at Jang-mi who stood next to Jidae and Saeyeon, dancers that have been with the group for many years. She seemed to have already fit in well.

Practice finally began, Hoshi's reputation as performance leader extremely clear. He knew he wanted perfection, to deliver the absolute best he could for Carats: tweaking lines, changing steps. Always watching intently.

"Great job today, everyone. Remember the things I noted for the full runthrough later, but other than that, great session." he capped off the rehearsal with his signature motivator.

"Alright, I'm clocking out. Gotta check some samples for this beat I came up with," Woozi sighed. "Oh, hip-hop, come with me. You still need to finish writing your parts," he beckoned whilst grabbing his belongings, the hip-hop team slowly queueing behind him to leave the crowded practice room.

Soon, most of the members and dancers had cleared out, significantly alleviating the room's humidity. Minghao quietly approached Hoshi from behind and whispered in his ear, as if he was a light breeze.

"She's right there, so go talk to her and don't mess things up," he offered with a mildly judgmental tone.

Hoshi took a deep breath and sauntered towards Jang-mi on the polished wooden floor.

"Hey! Well done on the practice today. You caught on really quick-"

"Hi. Gotta go." she blurted in monotone, pushing past him to borderline jog out of the studio.

He stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds. Glancing over at Minghao, he saw his friend trying to unsuccessfully stifle a large laugh as if it were a blaring siren. What was that?

"Did you just see-"

"Yeah.."

The pair stood in silence, Hoshi glaring at Minghao as he finally succumbed and let out a melodic laugh around the room.

Suddenly, the door swung open with a loud bang, revealing an agitated Seungkwan on the other side. He was tightly gripping his phone in one hand and his trademark coffee in the other.

"Hyung, look at this-" he panted whilst reaching out the phone towards Hoshi. The older took it and began scanning what was written on the website.

"Shit."

**

"Okay, emergency meeting!" Coups yelled in the living room of the spacious dorm, stirring a few of the members from their idle activities as if they were ghosts summoned by a ritual.

"Did we get another truck for Joshua outside the HYBE building?" inquired Wonwoo, glancing up from his PlayStation game.

Joshua pouted. "Hey, listen-"