Forever wild: Chanjin

𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓷𝓮

Hyunjin's lungs stung with every sharp intake of breath. His entire body was glazed in sweat, the harsh fluorescent lights of the dance studio made his reflection sparkle in the wall-sized mirrors. The exhausted dancer drug himself toward the studio's counter where his lukewarm water bottle, refilled endlessly by the water fountain out in the hall, was lazily tossed from a previous break. Hyunjin tasted strongly of salt as he licked his lips before relieving his dry throat. Throwing himself down onto the cold hardwood, he flipped his phone above his face to check the time.

6:42AM

Hyunjin sighed and ignored the string of unopened notifications that trailed down his lock screen and placed his phone aside. He knew that if he didn't move and just laid on the floor he would feel weightless and eventually gain some strength back. However, he had to be at work by seven.

Hyunjin shakily forced himself to his feet and moved as fast as he could to the locker room, ready to shower. The zombie-like dancer stripped himself of his practice clothes, his shirt suctioning to his back as he tried to pry it off, and stepped onto the cold shower floor. The striking contrast between the shower tiles and his overheated body sent a shock of alertness through him, and Hyunjin realized there was only one way he'd be fully functioning for work in time.

Hyunjin turned the shower's cold water on full blast. He painfully hissed when the piercingly icy liquid began sliding down his skin. He, thankfully, only spent a rough five minutes in the numbingly freezing shower rinsing himself off with some cheap soap the studio provided.

Shortly after drying off, Hyunjin changed into his work clothes he had stored in his locker. Hyunjin worked for a really well known fashion company named Clé. The store sold streetwear, along with popular shoe brands that they collaborated with. The company was run by one of Hyunjin's closest friends, and he was gracious enough to give Hyunjin a job. '

Hyunjin loved his job. The pay was good, his coworkers were some of his closest friends, and the customers were always very friendly. Hyunjin worked as a typical employee, stocking shelves, manning the register, cleaning the shop, etc. However, Woojin had also granted him the opportunity to model for the store.

Woojin had gotten sick of looking at the floating, shapeless, white background, online displays their beautiful clothing items were forced to be showcased in. So, he promoted Hyunjin and had him model the clothing and spread the news to his large social media following. Hyunjin's stunning visuals and nice body brought in, if possible even more, customers and gave the company more personality.

With a little over eight minutes before his shift began, Hyunjin rushed out the dance studio's door and down the street. Clé wasn't far from his studio, which was mainly why he chose to practice there, so Hyunjin was always just on time.

"Hyunjin!" Felix greeted as he leaned over the registers counter, waving like a mad man. "Hey, Felix," Hyunjin replied. Hyunjin ruffled Felix's soft hair as he passed the register and made his way toward the breakroom. The interior of the store had a very nice aesthetic to it. Think Hot-Topic mixed with Tilly's. This included glass exterior walls, for window shoppers, brick interior walls, black and a ruffed up concrete floor, and a variety of different displays scattered around. (Felix always favored the brightly decorated BT21 display, However, Hyunjin favored the streetwear brand displays. He found it closer to his personal aesthetic.)

Hyunjin pushed open the breakroom's door that was covered in caution tape to match the aesthetic of the store. Inside, he found Seungmin and Woojin at the breakroom's large round table. What's a good breakroom without a large ass table, right? Hyunjin walked past them with a small hello and ventured deeper into the room toward a small row of metal wall lockers. Each employee had their own so they could safely store their personal belongings.

Hyunjin stuffed his backpack full of his sweaty clothes into the locker and retrieved his lanyard (which had his name tag inside), placing it over his head to rest against his black button up.

As Hyunjin crossed the room, he heard Seungmin and Woojin talking about a concert Jeongin wanted to attend. Jeongin was also their friend, however, he was still in school so he couldn't work with them just yet.

"His parents will only let him go with a group," Seungmin explained. Woojin nodded and they began talking about how dangerous it would be for a soft child like him to attend such an intense concert. Hyunjin wasn't really interested, so he walked past the remainder of the conversation and headed into the workday.

Felix was still leaning on his stomach over the counter, his feet barely touching the floor, with his phone propped up by his elbows. "I'll go open up," Hyunjin mentioned after checking the time. Felix made a noise that sounded like agreement or acknowledgment, maybe both, and Hyunjin started walking toward the entrance.

"Hyung!" Felix called as if he suddenly remembered something, which he had. "Yeah?" Hyunjin half-laughed at Felix's sudden change in energy. "Are you doing anything three weeks from now?" He asked. Hyunjin thought for a moment as he made his way back across the store. How was he supposed to know what he was doing three weeks from now? He didn't even plan ahead for weekends. "I don't think so, why?" Hyunjin replied.

"3RACHA is coming to Seoul!" Felix screamed excitedly. Hyunjin looked at him with concern as Felix jumped up from the counter and started doing Fortnite dances behind the register. "And I care, why?" Hyunjin asked. Felix stopped mid-orange justice and faked a hurt look, clutching his shirt like he'd just been shot. "That's Jisung's group!" Felix reminded him. They used to have a friend named Jisung, although he was closer with Felix and Jeongin than anyone else in the group. Hyunjin had never really hung out with Jisung (besides with the whole group) so he didn't really consider them friends. He also never really looked into 3RACHA, even after they became famous.

"I literally don't know anything about 3RACHA," Hyunjin admitted. Felix froze. He leaned over the counter and glanced around the still empty store. He then stared into Hyunjin's eyes with fiery determination, which admittedly scared Hyunjin a little. "Oh, sis. I have links, apon links, apon links. I have photos to attack you with, different stages of the same performances, 3RACHA as Vine compilations, and multiple 'unhelpful' guides full of memes and key moments you have to know. I have it all, baby. Prepare your mobile data." Felix grinned psychotically. Hyunjin audibly gulped and promptly ran to the other side of the store to hide from Felix for the rest of his shift.