Hate | Nosung

3

Has anyone ever mentioned how hard it is to mentally prepare for an audition when everyone else is flirting with the basketball team that is practicing in the next room over?

Pretty hard. Even for Jisung. While he stretched and popped his joints, he tried to tune out Lee Jeno and his little posse's obnoxious chatter. He was becoming increasingly more bothered by the second.

"Park Jisung? Are you really here doing what I think you are?"

Oh man, he had to physically shake out his irritation. He breathed deeply into his diaphragm and aligned his spine in a form of meditation.

A thick whiff of cologne and deodorant bombarded his senses as Lee Jeno stood very closely, looking over Jisung's shoulder.
"Ignoring me again, baby boy?" With a low, sultry voice, the jock purred into the dancer's ear.

"I suggest you back it up before I deck you in front of your little fan club." Jisung remained calm, continuing to stretch as if he was unbothered. However, he answered so quickly that it was obvious the comment angered him in some way. Jisung was set off.

"I thought you like it when I call you that, Sungie," hearing the nickname Jaemin had coined coming out of Lee Jeno's icky mouth made Jisung livid.

"What I like is for gross basketball players to stay at least ten feet away from me, please and thank you." Jisung was the one to move away. He didn't care if that meant he 'lost', at this point, getting away from Lee Jeno was taken as a solid win in his book.

Jeno tried to defend his honor, holding his hands up in a shrug. "But I'm all nice and showered, baby!"

Jisung turned his head to make eye contact with the jock, which was a rare occurrence. "That's not what makes you gross."

With a sweet smile, Jisung found a new spot in the corner, far away from Jeno and his goons. What he refused to acknowledge was the reason behind why he escalated so quickly in an angry fit.

He just warmed his body up and readied himself. Eventually, the basketball team was called back into the gym, and Jisung had peace once again. The nerves kept on piling and piling as he watched groups enter and exit the audition room every five-ish minutes.

Being in the last group to audition sucked.

"Break both legs, my perfect son!!" Jaemin took a break from basketball to wish Jisung luck. It was just what he needed to feel better. The young boy laughed at his friend's choice of nickname, and he realized it felt like the first time in weeks that he'd laughed at all.

"You'll do great!" Jaemin retreated back into the gym with a wave, and Jisung felt a little more ready to face the coaches.

He braved through the buzzing butterflies that swirled in his stomach when he and the few others were called into the room, using the powers that Jaemin had bestowed upon him to summon confidence..

The coaches were both male, and both had very pretty faces. Jisung did take notice of that, but it wasn't as important to him as doing his best was, unlike a few of the auditioners that couldn't keep their eyes off of them.

If anything, the boy was more fixed on the air of confidence and authority they gave off. He wanted to learn to be like that.

"Okay, this is the last group." The skinnier one said to the other, who nodded after taking a swig from his water bottle.

Setting the bottle down on the floor, the man cleared his throat a bit. He stood up fully and pulled his lips up into a smile. "Hello, my name is Taeyong, and this is Ten. We are the instructors for the school's dance team, and we'll be taking you through some quick pieces for your audition today."

"Let's get started!" Ten raised his hand, wanting to go first. "I'll be showing you a more lyrical set."

Jisung wasn't too proud of his contemporary skills, but he wasn't too bad. Whatever moves he made, he turned into his own with attitude and a unique flare that he knew he could pull off. Every moment he was in that room, he was performing, and he made sure to dance like it was in front of an audience.

Did he mess up a little bit? Yes. He also was stiff in some parts, not getting the right images across. He was going to wait until after leaving the room to criticize himself, though.

The hip-hop section was Jisung's redemption story. This was what he lived and breathed for, and it definitely showed when he was going through it for the coaches during the final presentation.

Isolations, rolls, locks, and pops, Jisung was all over it. His body definitely looked comfortable with these movements more than it did with the Lyrical. Hopefully it'd get him noticed.

"You guys did great!!" Taeyong praised the kids that were all panting and sweaty by the end of it. "The list will be posted in a few days, so keep an eye out. Thanks guys!!"

They all thanked him back, and shuffled out to grab water from the hallway drinking fountain. Jisung had different idea, and banked around to enter the gym.

There, he took a drink from the fountain on the far wall before scanning for Jaemin. The boy sat on the bleachers across the busy court, scrolling through his phone.

Bag slung over his shoulder, Jisung started to make long strides toward his friend.

"Ball!" Someone shouted, catching the boy's attention. His eyes caught the sight of a basketball flying straight for his head, and he gasped, flinching away as his shoulders raised to try and protect his neck.

Before he knew it, a large hand palmed the ball, stopping it just inches away from Jisung's face.

The large orange obstruction lowered to reveal none other than a smug looking Lee Jeno. The basketball prodigy.

"Ooh, be careful, lovey. Don't want to hurt that pretty face now, do we?"