Chapter 13 #2
Midway through a transition, one of Leo’s steps landed just far enough out of place to throw off the dancer to his left.
The team’s deceptively simple choreography required complete synchronization, and the misstep sent a barely noticeable but definite waver rolling through the line.
A small error, maybe imperceptible to a casual viewer.
But a glaring disruption to Andy’s trained eye.
For two agonizing counts, the crispness of their formation was gone, a ripple in a still pond.
Leo recovered right away, his smile never faltering, his energy undiminished.
And the rest of the performance was flawless.
But Andy had seen it. That tiny stumble, a momentary lapse in spatial awareness.
His cheeks warmed in secondhand embarrassment.
Leo’s mistake wasn’t a lack of talent. It was a momentary slip in focus.
And Andy’s focus had been AWOL for days, lost in a self-fulfilling fog of yearning and distraction.
That could so easily be him. His performance demanded total precision, absolute trust. One wrong step, one moment of his mind drifting, and it could all fall apart.
Not just a small wobble in a formation. A complete train wreck, broadcast live to the world.
Andy shook his head, throwing off the fog curling at the edges of his thoughts, and took a deep, steadying breath, seeking the sharp, crystal clarity that had won him his number one rank.
No amount of good natured banter or goofy grins would rescue him from a lapse in focus.
The stakes were real, so he’d better get his fucking head in the game.
Huddling with his team as the applause roared, Andy showed them his game face with some final words of encouragement.
“Whenever I perform in dance competitions, I always remind myself that, win or lose, the most important thing is to be proud of what I did. Right now, I couldn’t be prouder of you all.
So, be proud, because we’re about to turn this whole damn place on its head.
” He shoved his hand in the middle of the group, waiting as everyone stacked their hand atop his.
Min Jae, the last to do so, met Andy’s gaze, sharing the barest smirk. “One, two, three, fighting!”
Andy led his team onstage before Si Woo had finished calling for them.
They didn’t march or walk. They strolled.
They sauntered. Andy smirked as murmurs and gasps rose up from the crowd.
Even Si Woo was caught mid-sentence. Dark concepts, their leather wardrobe, and bad boy personas were nothing new.
But Andy’s stage was all about the attitude.
About injecting just the right amount of carefree, don’t give a shit swagger only an American could achieve.
Goofy, charming, fun-loving Andy had been put away for the performance. Bad-ass Andy walked out in his place.
The team stopped in a loose lineup at center stage, Andy on one end, Min Jae on the other. Si Woo gave them a quick, questioning once-over, his gaze finally landing on Andy as he asked them for an introduction.
Andy stepped forward, stretching his smirk a bit, defiantly lifting his chin. “You really want to know who we are?”
The audience screamed. Andy glanced at Min Jun beside him, nodding.
“We’re the Thieves of Heart!” Min Jun called out.
“We’re here to steal your heart,” Woo Jin added.
“And make it ours,” Tae Woo said.
Min Jae snorted, stepping forward to match Andy. “Forever.”
The screaming jumped to a fever pitch, even driving Si Woo back a step. Survival show mission performances would always be hit or miss for the live audience. But these Dream Makers knew they were in for a real one.
Andy and the others took their first positions as the lights dimmed and Si Woo cleared the stage.
For a beat, the performance hall was thrust into darkness to the sound of a thousand gasps.
Then the sub-bass throbbed, vibrating the floor in a slow, predatory heartbeat as a single, sharp spotlight sliced through the gloom, finding Andy.
He lifted his head, showing off a slow, confident smirk. The crowd roared. Gotcha.
Andy’s voice rang out, layering the first verse in a smooth, seductive invitation as he glided through the opening choreography.
He found the crane cam pointed at him, practically lighting it on fire as he sang.
His team’s energy buzzed around him like an electric current as they launched into the pre-chorus, diving into a lull, a hitched breath, before the first chorus exploded.
The lights flared, blinding him, but he didn’t hesitate as he moved, trusting everyone to hit the marks they’d drilled a thousand times.
Andy stepped back for Woo Jin’s verse, slowly moving up toward the light, Min Jae on the other side moving in time to the low, primal pulse vibrating the stage.
As Woo Jin slipped away, Min Jae met Andy’s intense gaze across the stage, a raw, almost possessive stare that pierced straight to his core.
Andy let his eyes linger as they circled each other, a deliberate invitation.
Min Jae tightened his jaw, hunger flaring hot in his dark eyes.
Their first touch was electric. Min Jae’s hand found the small of Andy’s back, owning him as he guided him into the back bend.
Andy leaned into it, trusting the strength in Min Jae’s grip, gasping from the delicious rush of adrenaline, their bodies, inches apart.
Drunk on Min Jae’s hot breath and spicy, primal scent, Andy allowed himself a single, delicious moment of surrender.
Min Jae sang first, the voice of temptation. Andy responded, answering in kind before their voices shifted into layered harmonies, a velvety fog wrapping them in a drowsy, decadent haze.
Every nerve ending in Andy’s body sparked as they moved into the climactic pose.
He came alive as Min Jae’s thumb brushed the nape of his neck, fighting the urge to lean further into the touch.
His hands tightened possessively on Min Jae’s waist. Face-to-face, their breath mingling, the air between them crackling with a tangible charge, the illusion of the performance dissolved, leaving something raw, real, and undeniable in its place.
He soaked up Min Jae’s stare until he was delirious.
He was in trouble. Deep, delicious trouble.
Andy spun away for the final chorus, Min Jae belting out the lyrics as he stalked Andy across the stage.
You and me, forever. You’ll be mine, forever.
Forever. The chant continued into the outro, the melody falling away, the five of them slinking forward with each thump of the heartbeat bass.
Andy found his camera, fixing his gaze on the lens for his final step and pose.
Silence fell as the fading, final note echoed through the soundstage.
His chest heaving, sweat pouring down the sides of his face, Andy almost broke from his pose to make sure everyone hadn’t disappeared.
A moment later, the Dream Makers erupted into screaming, floor-shaking bedlam.
A riot, in the best possible way. Andy relaxed from his pose, grinning ear-to-ear as he stepped into a line with the others.
Yeah, he was in trouble, but that was for future Andy to deal with.
This Andy had just given the performance of a lifetime.
Si Woo strode back to center stage, his expression electric. “Team One!” he roared over the applause. “Don’t go anywhere! It’s time to see what our Dream Makers thought.”
The other nine teams were brought back onto the stage behind Andy. He turned as the giant screen lit up, displaying the names of all ten teams, ready for the final ranking, and got his first look at the crowded sea of tense and anxious faces.
The results came in a quick, brutal succession.
The lower-ranked teams were announced first, their vote counts lower but respectable.
As the ranks climbed, so did the numbers, breaking into the high triple digits.
Andy watched the teams react, a mix of disappointment and relief.
The first real surprise came when Team Three, a unit of powerful vocalists, was announced in fourth place, narrowly beaten by the charismatic Team Four.
And then there were two. Leo’s small misstep hadn’t cost them so dearly to place them in the lower ranks, but Andy would’ve been shocked to lose to them. Unless he’d totally misread the Dream Makers’ vibe.
Si Woo let the tension build, a wicked grin on his face. “And the winning team for the Updated Retro-Classics Mission is–” He paused again, earning a call of frustrated shouts from the audience. Andy was ready to join them. “The winning team is Team One, the Thieves of Heart!”
Confetti cannons exploded, showering the stage in glittering gold.
The triumphant outro of their song blasted from the speakers.
Before Andy could even process it, his teammates crushed him in a massive group hug, their shouts of joy and disbelief ringing in his ears.
He looked up at the screen. The number displayed next to their name didn't seem real. It was more than double the vote for Team Two. A landslide. It wasn’t even close.
In the middle of the chaotic, joyful celebration, his eyes found Min Jae. The ice king’s mask was completely gone, replaced by a look of pure, breathless, shocked triumph. He was laughing, a wide, genuine laugh, as Woo Jin slapped him on the back.
Andy had been terrified of that performance, of laying his true feelings so bare on a global stage for everyone to see.
But he hadn't been alone. Min Jae had been right there with him, taking the same insane risk, matching his fire with a heat he hadn’t known the guy possessed.
And the risk, for both of them, had paid off in a way Andy could only have dreamed of.
The adrenaline pumped on as Andy went backstage, the crowd’s roar dissipating as the teams left the stage only to be taken over by his team’s roar–a jumping, shouting, back-slapping mob of absolute joy. Andy was right in the middle of it, laughing so hard his already sore abs ached.
But the celebration could only last so long.
Andy spotted the looks from the other contestants right away.
Envy, of course. And more than a little defeat.
But some of the looks veered far too close to suspicion for his comfort.
Or, at least, that’s what the suspicious voice in the back of Andy’s head claimed.
He’d put too much of himself out there. His secret was no longer safe. But it was only a voice.
After the initial jubilation settled, the reactions started to come in.
Other Dream Boys, even from teams they'd just beaten, approached Andy with wide eyes and looks of genuine awe.
Dae Hyun shook his head in disbelief as he slapped Andy on the shoulder.
"Wow. I gotta hand it to you guys. That duet was genius.
That chemistry is how you win this damn show. "
"Your chemistry was insane!" Hyun Woo enthused. "I've never seen anything like it."
One after the other, they praised the performance and the brilliant, calculated choice to sell the "insane chemistry.
" Andy just smiled and nodded, each compliment chipping away at the cold, isolating feeling snaking its way through the darker parts of his mind. But the voice never shut up. Yeah, maybe his secret was still safe. But that didn’t change the fact that he still had to keep it a secret.
That he could only express feelings like that if they were a performance.
Eventually, Leo rescued Andy from his mob of well-wishers, dragging him away from the crowd to the very spot he’d been pacing in before the show.
"Dude," Leo said, quietly chuckling as he smirked.
"You just changed the whole fucking game. That cute bromance stuff everyone else is doing? It’s worthless, now.
You two went full-on, high-stakes, dramatic angst." He shook his head.
"That’s master-class fan service. The Dream Makers are absolutely gonna lose their fucking minds. "
Fan service. A brilliant, calculated performance. A genius act. Everyone was applauding the lie. Andy forced a grin, clapping Leo on the back. "Hey, we just wanted to put on a good show, right?”
Leo laughed. “I think you did. And with Min Jae, no less. It just goes to show that no one, not even the ice king, can resist Andy fucking Kim.”
Andy’s laugh sounded real. It even looked real.
But the terrifying truth had its claws in his mind and refused to let go.
The intensity, the connection, the fear, the desperate, undeniable attraction—it was all real.
Calling it a lie was the lie. Yeah, that lie had bought him another mission win.
But it was with him forever, now. Another lie to add to the ever growing pile of deflections, diversions, and outright deceptions.
Another lie he’d have to continue if he wanted to keep on winning.