Yejun was frozen on the spot, hands trembling, and legs unable to move. I knew he wasn’t used to that sort of atmosphere. There was a mildewy scent of wet wood piled in the corner, cobwebs strung across the high ceiling, dust blowing up with every step someone took, broken windows, and wild cheers like overly stimulated animals.

He was originally from the world of twinkle-toed Christmas programs, wearing sparkly tights and ballet shoes. His fans at the huge stadiums he performed in called him cute over the simplest of tasks.

Drank water—“Cute!” Sneezed—“Cute!” Did nothing—“Cute!” But you would not find such people there.

The song kept going. A few in the crowd were getting impatient and began to boo at his stage fright. Giving up without trying would hurt Yejun’s pride more so than losing honorably.

Where was the punk who threatened my career and decided one day to be a thorn in my side? It annoyed me to no end!

“Jun! Do anything! Don’t go down like this or you’ll regret it!” I shouted.

That got his attention. My yelling helped him snap out of the stunned trance he was stuck in. He cracked his neck and wiggled his arms like some sort of warm-up. All eyes were on him.

Yejun bopped his head in sync to the song’s rhythm. His leg kicked up in a straight 180-degree line. That shocked us. It was bold. Then he landed and did some interesting, interwoven footwork with his arms punching the air.

He kept up with the tempo through twists and spins that hadn’t been seen yet that night. I noticed he incorporated some of my krumping moves. Not as strong, but I was honestly impressed since he was able to copy them by just watching once. It was a rare talent to catch on so quickly.

The problem was, he was stiff as a board at some points. I didn’t know if it was nerves, his ballet training, or both, but my professional eyes were habitually criticizing it.

Yejun eventually passed the next part back to Joo-Young. The song was more than halfway finished, which meant Yejun would be the closer for the final round. That was the most nerve-wracking position to be in. Either the crowd was going to start flocking to the other team during his performance or they were going to love it and wait until he finished.

Nothing crushed the spirit more than to see people walk away while you were dancing. I would know. It happened to me when I first started learning hip-hop. Like everyone who started with anything that required skill and talent, I wasn’t always as good as I am now.

During his routine, Joo-Young spun on his knees, snickered, and flipped the bird at Yejun.

Dude, the middle finger? How rude.

Unexpectedly, Yejun closed his eyes and turned his head, totally ignoring Joo-Young.

“Hmph,” he huffed.

My hoobae would not give him the satisfaction of watching. I could not help but laugh, hiding my exposed teeth behind my hand. Not Flamin’ Hot’s cocky leader getting shut out by a newbie! That was bad manners too, but hilarious in the moment.

The others were the same. Donghyun was red. Jihoon shook from holding in his cackle. I was sure the secret camera footage he was recording for SCORPIO to study later would rattle.

Joo-Young’s face darkened at the reaction. His dance became destructive as he moved closer to Yejun. His anger made me nervous. He was known for lashing out sometimes.

Finally, it was Yejun’s turn again. He returned to the mat by sliding across the smooth floor before twisting his entire body in the air to land on his feet. My eyebrows rose. His freestyling was more confident than a minute ago. He was probably pissed off by Joo-Young’s offensive gesture. The newly lit fire was awesome to see, but would it be enough? Apparently not.

As I predicted, some individuals moved over to Flamin’ Hot’s corner. It wasn’t necessarily because of Yejun’s ability—he was more amazing than we thought he would be. It was just that many were loyal to certain crews. Even if Joo-Young hobbled around with a broken leg, I was positive those same onlookers would still favor him. It was a biased opinion, so we couldn’t take it personally.

But Yejun saw them go to Flamin’ Hot.

Oh no.

“Jun doesn’t know,” Momona whispered to me. “That’s not fair.”

I agreed, wishing I could sucker-punch Joo-Young in his ugly ass face.

Yejun’s steps were becoming inconsistent and out of sync with the counts. He was clearly overthinking and wondering where he had messed up along the way to make people choose the other team. The kid was panicking.

I was angry, but not at Yejun. For Yejun. Unlike SCORPIO, he wasn’t prepared to do that last night. We always came expecting to be called out by others and put our dignity on the line. If I had an inkling that such a thing would happen, I would have told him on the day he blackmailed me to practice something—anything—just in case. I was foolish to believe everyone involved would play fair.

More people left our side. It was frustrating because humans tended to go with the crowd even if it didn’t align with what they believed in. Next time, I’d have to ask the forum master to invite spectators who wouldn’t show favoritism for a specific group. We were seeing their bias in real-time. They even high-fived the Flamin’ Hot members. The winner was clear.

At least Yejun didn’t lose face completely and finished the routine. He didn’t give up. Poor thing. His eyes were watery as he tried to hold in the tears. After eyeing the champion briefly, he walked towards me.

Without warning, red and blue lights flashed through the windows and lit up everyone’s faces in two tones. We paused. No one moved or breathed.

“Police!” a man announced.

We scattered to the back doorway that led to freedom. It was a sea of people. I couldn’t find Yejun. The crowd must’ve taken him.

Dang it, his pink hair would be a great beacon right now!

“Jun!” I called while cupping my hands around my mouth to make myself louder.

It didn’t work since the police opened the wide, rolling door big enough for warehouse vehicles. Women screamed in surprise. My voice was drowned out.

I finally escaped the building. People were zigzagging in all directions, trying to avoid the police. More cops came and surrounded us. By a stroke of luck, I saw Yejun. He was under the police cars’ scrutinizing beams like a deer caught in headlights.

“Freeze!” the officer ordered him.

His hands went up in surrender.

I wasn’t about to let SCORPIO’s fake intern get caught. What sort of leader would I be? If Yejun got arrested, his own career as an idol would be done for. There would be no coming back with a criminal record. They’d make an example out of him. His family would get doxxed and Yejun would receive countless hate messages online. No one deserved that.

I sprinted over and grabbed his hand, yanking him behind me. I’m positive I saw his head whip sideways from jerking him abruptly. I’d have to apologize for his sore neck later.

“Not today, Satan!” I hollered at the police.

“Stop!” the same officer yelled at us.

He and four others were hot on our tails. We ran along the warehouse dock trying to find a route out of there.

Wow. What dumb luck.

An ultra-popular idol knew my identity, we were challenged by a sleazy group who didn’t respect the rules, and then the police had crashed the battle since we were trespassing. It wasn’t even annoying anymore. In fact, I found it comical.

I looked behind me, still dragging my sheltered pupil. Terror filled Yejun’s eyes. The recent events gave me a fresh dose of adrenaline through my veins. I laughed like a wild man as we ran from the police behind us. Yejun was bewildered by my insanity.

My short burst of giddiness ended quickly when I realized we had taken a turn onto a long pier that ended over the ocean. It was a dead end. It was dark since that area was either closed or abandoned, so there were only a few flickering streetlights.

Our footsteps pounded on the wooden dock, disturbing the birds that were resting on the rails. Once we reached the end, we faced the officers approaching the pier. They’d be on us in seconds. Their flashlights were getting closer.

That was it. My life was over—possibly Yejun’s too. My clean record and my freedom… gone.

Goodbye cruel world!

I walked backward until my butt touched the handrails. I turned around. The horizon was pitch black. If someone were to fall into the water, it’d be impossible to see.

Impossible to see…

“Can you swim?”

Yejun glanced at me and the salty waves before asking in a shaky voice, “What? S-swim? I guess. Wait, you’re not thinking o—”

I pulled him behind me again and forced him to climb over the metal rail. Once our feet were teetering on the highest pole, he tried to reason with me.

“Wait, wait, wait! Minwoo, that’s at least a 50-meter drop! Minwoo!”

Before he could say another word, I braced myself to do the stupidest thing I had ever done. I jumped and pulled him with me.

After we fell into the crashing waves below, the police shined their lights into the murky water. They had lost sight of the two criminals.