You were used to rooms like this.

Mirrored walls, scuffed floors, the faint smell of sweat and cleaner mixed together. Being a backup dancer meant constantly stepping into other people’s worlds, learning their choreo, matching their energy, disappearing just enough to make them shine brighter. You’d danced behind more idols than you could count, your name passed quietly between choreographers as someone reliable. Sharp. Clean. Worth booking again.

So when you were assigned to Stray Kids’ dance unit, you treated it like any other job.

Danceracha walked in midway through practice. Minho first, hands in his hoodie pockets, eyes already scanning the room. Felix followed, smiling politely at the dancers who straightened instinctively. Hyunjin lingered by the door for a second, head tilted, watching the way bodies moved even before the music started again.

After they left practice wrapped up. One by one, the other dancers filtered out, chatter fading down the hallway. You stayed. You always did.

The lights were dimmer now, the building quieter. You ran the choreo again, slower this time, correcting small things only you would notice. The mirror reflected someone focused, serious. You didn’t hear the door open until it closed again.

Minho’s voice broke the silence. “You rehearse like this every time?”