lights off | baekyeon

chapter eleven

U SUNGEUN // SOMETIMES

[6 months later]

-

The ground came to meet Baekhyun as he crouched and swept his left leg in a wide arc, leaving just enough space for his band member, Yixing, to pass through when his part in the song came on. Sneakers' soles screeched against the polished wooden flooring as the dance instructor continued to count the beats aloud, finishing with loud claps as all 9 members came to complete halt when the song ended. This time, the pants were less hurried and none of them rushed off to grab bottles of iced water. Practice makes perfect, and they were getting better, indeed.

"Now, to reward you boys for your hardwork..."

All 9 pairs of eyes turned towards the instructor, waiting for him to continue. Hearts pounded in anticipation, adam apples already bobbing up and down at the thought of food.

"Just one last practice and then I'll tell you what we're having for dinner."

They groaned in disappointment, but threw good-natured punches to the instructor's shoulders as he shooed them into their positions once again.

The familiar tune started, eyes stared back at their own reflections intensely, and the practice room was heated up soon after. This time hotter than ever as food caused their minds to be alert and moves more precise.

//

Shutters went off every few seconds as she changed her poses slightly, receiving nods of approval from the director. After a few more close-up shots, the shooting wrapped up successfully, earning sighs of relief from the crew. It had been a long day, after all.

Taeyeon, being the last member to have her photoshoot done, got up from her position at the far end of the room and half-jogged over to the computers to see how the pictures turned out to be. Much to her relief, they captured her expressions well and the staff were happy too. A tap came at her shoulder and she spun to find the director beaming widely at her.

"You did really well today. Your expressions were on point and your face is literally glowing. Did something good happen recently?"

She chuckled lightly at his praises and waved his question away. "You're too much, Mr Jung! I guess I'm just in a really good mood today."

It was true that her heart had felt a lot lighter than it had in months. Ever since the SMTown concert tour ended, SNSD had a good six months hiatus where they mainly did photoshoots, variety shows, and plannings for the next comeback. Her collaboration with Jaehyeong was also a big hit, with their single climbing up various music charts rapidly.

For once, in a very long time, things were going right.

The 27 year old was noticeably more cheerful, more outspoken. Her laughter also made its comeback, and colour was finally returning to her slightly chubbier cheeks. Fans were extremely delighted about it.

She hoped this feeling would last.

//

"Thank you for the food, hyung!"

Cutlery clattered as several hands reached for the widespread of food. There were steaming hot kimchi stews, fried seafood pancakes, fried chicken, and loads more of supposedly prohibited food. The boys were, after all, preparing for a comeback and it would definitely not bode well if any of them gained another few pounds. However, practice the past few days had been extremely vigorous and their manager had agreed to let them out on a healing trip before they continued to work.